Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., MD is an internationally recognized pioneer physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

 in the field of oncology

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

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DeVita earned his Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 degree from the College of William and Mary

College of William and Mary

The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...

 in 1957. He was awarded his MD

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 degree with distinction from the George Washington University

George Washington University

The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

 School of Medicine in 1961.

DeVita spent the early part of his career at the National Cancer Institute (NCI

NCI

NCI can stand for:*National Cancer Institute*National Captioning Institute*Nordic Centre in India*National College of Ireland*Native Communications Inc - Aboriginal Public Broadcaster in Manitoba, Canada....

). In 1980, the president of the United States appointed him as director of the NCI and the National Cancer Program, a position he held until 1988. While at the NCI, he was instrumental in developing combination chemotherapy programs that ultimately led to an effective regimen of curative chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease and diffuse large cell lymphoma

Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...

s. Along with colleagues at the NCI, he developed the four-drug combination, known by the acronym MOPP

MOPP (medicine)

MOPP is a combination chemotherapy regimen used to treat Hodgkin's disease. The acronym is derived from the component drugs of the regimen:*Mustargen...

, which increased the cure rate for patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease from nearly zero to over 70%.

In addition, in collaboration with Dr. George Canellos

George Canellos

George P. Canellos is a renowned American oncologist and cancer researcher. His research career spans many decades as well as several areas of therapeutic agents for the treatment of malignant diseases. He is perhaps most known for his work with Vincent T. DeVita in which he developed the...

, DeVita developed the combination chemotherapy CMF, which still remains a useful therapy for breast cancer

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

.

DeVita was the Director of Yale Cancer Center

Yale Cancer Center

Yale Cancer Center was founded in 1974 as a result of an act of Congress in 1971, which declared the nation's "war on cancer." It is one of a select network of 41 NCI-designated Cancer Centers throughout the country, designated by the National Cancer Institute , and the only one in southern New...

 from 1993 to 2003. He is currently the chair of the Yale Cancer Center advisory board and is professor of internal medicine

Internal medicine

Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...

 and of epidemiology

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...

 and public health

Public health

Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...

 at Yale's medical school

Yale School of Medicine

The Yale School of Medicine at Yale University is a private medical school located in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. It was founded in 1810 as The Medical Institution of Yale College, and formally opened its doors in 1813....

.

DeVita currently serves on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals and is the author or co-author of more than 450 scientific articles. He is one of the three editors of Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology and serves as the editor-in-chief of The Cancer Journal.

Personal

Vincent DeVita diagnosed his son Ted

Ted DeVita

Ted DeVita was a victim of severe aplastic anemia who was forced to live in a sterile hospital room for eight and a half years....

 as a child with aplastic anemia

Aplastic anemia

Aplastic anemia is a condition where bone marrow does not produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells. The condition, per its name, involves both aplasia and anemia...

. Ted thereafter was placed in a sterile environment for his safety, and died in 1980 at the age of 17. Ted's situation

Boy in the bubble

Bubble boy, boy in the bubble and boy in the plastic bubble are colloquialisms used to describe a person who must live in a microbiologically sterile environment for medical reasons...

, and that of David Vetter

David Vetter

David Phillip Vetter was a boy from Shenandoah, Texas, United States who suffered from a rare genetic disease now known as severe combined immune deficiency syndrome . Forced to live in a sterile environment, he became popular with the media as the boy in the plastic bubble...

, inspired the 1976 TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble is a 1976 made-for-TV movie inspired by the lives of David Vetter and Ted DeVita, who lacked effective immune systems. It stars John Travolta, Glynnis O'Connor, Diana Hyland, Robert Reed, and P.J. Soles...

starring John Travolta

John Travolta

John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...

.