Specialist in Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Brings Subspecialty in Hematology Oncology
St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center (SVCCC), a center of excellence in hematology oncology, adds Azra Raza, MD, as attending physician in Medical Oncology. Dr. Raza is an internationally recognized specialist in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The addition of Dr. Raza to its staff is part of an initiative to build SVCCC as a cancer center with subspecialty oncology programs.
Dr. Raza will direct the study and treatment of MDS, which refers to a group of conditions caused by abnormal blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. Considered a relatively rare cancer, 15,000-20,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the United States. In about 3 out of 10 cases, the MDS will become AML.
Dr. Raza treats 500 to 600 AML and MDS patients from around the United States who travel to receive cutting edge individualized therapies based on molecular and genetic studies of their bone marrows. The MDS program at SVCCC will be unique, in that Dr. Raza has built a national referral base for MDS treatment and research with a large enough population for patients to participate in meaningful clinical trials.
Most recently Dr. Raza was chief, Hematology Oncology and professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts, and UMass Memorial Medical Center, Worchester, MA. Prior to that appointment, she established the most clinically active and well-funded basic research programs in the United States at Rush Cancer Institute, Chicago, IL, for studying MDS and the leukemias arising from them.
