James Ewing (pathologist)

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James Ewing

James Stephen Ewing (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; December 25, 1866 in Pittsburgh – May 16, 1943 in New York City) was an American pathologist. He was the first professor of pathology at Cornell University and discovered a form of bone cancer that was later named after him, Ewing sarcoma.

Life

James Ewing, was born in 1866 to a prominent family of Pittsburgh. When he was 14 he was diagnosed with osteomyelitis and was bedridden for two years.<ref name=Index>Simon Cotterill for Cancer Index. About James Ewing, 1866 - 1943 Last modified: 16/03/99</ref> He first completed his B.A. in 1888 at Amherst College and then studied medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, from 1888 to 1891.<ref name=BrandBio>Template:Cite journal</ref> He returned to the College of Physicians and Surgeons as instructor in histology (1893-1897), and clinical pathology (1897-1898). After a brief stint as a surgeon with the US Army, Ewing was appointed in 1899 the first professor of clinical pathology at the newly formed Medical College of Cornell University in New York, where he was the only full-time professor.<ref name=BrandBio/><ref name=NASbio/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1902, Ewing helped to establish one of the first funds for cancer research, endowed by Mrs. Collis P. Huntington.<ref name=NASbio/> With his discoveries using that research funding, Ewing became the most important experimental oncologist and helped to found, in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research, and in 1913, the American Society for the Control of Cancer, now the American Cancer Society.<ref name=BrandBio/><ref name=NASbio/> In 1906 Ewing, working with S.P. Beebe and collaborators, showed the first proof that a cancer (canine transmissible venereal tumor in dogs) could be transmissible.<ref name=BrandBio/><ref>Ewing, James & Beebe, S. P. (1906). A study of the so-called infectious lympho-sarcoma of dogs. Journal of Med. Research. 10:209.</ref><ref>Beebe, S. P., and James Ewing. (1906). "A study of the biology of tumour cells. "The British Medical Journal": 1559-1560.</ref>

In 1910, Ewing had approached New York Hospital about establishing a clinical research facility; when this fell through, he established a collaboration with Memorial Hospital (which would become Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) with the help of industrialist and philanthropist James Douglas, who gave $100,000 to endow twenty beds for clinical research, equipment for working with radium, and a clinical laboratory to Memorial for that purpose.<ref name=NASbio/> Douglas' enthusiasm and funding for development of radiation therapy for cancer inspired Ewing to become one of the pioneers in developing this treatment.<ref name=NASbio/> Ewing soon took over effective leadership of clinical and laboratory research at Memorial.<ref name=NASbio/>

In 1919 Ewing published the first edition of Neoplastic Diseases: A Text-Book on Tumors.<ref>Ewing, James. (1919). Neoplastic Diseases: A Textbook on Tumors. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders, and London. Fourth edition 1940.</ref> The book, which is translated into numerous languages, becomes a cornerstone of modern oncology by establishing a systematic and comprehensive basis for diagnosing human cancer.<ref name=NASbio/> In 1921 he published a paper detailing a type of osteoma which later received his name: Ewing sarcoma.<ref name=BrandBio/><ref>Ewing, James. (1922). Neoplastic diseases: a treatise on tumors. WB Saunders Company.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 1931 Ewing was formally appointed president of the hospital<ref name=BrandBio/> and was featured on the cover of Time Magazine as "Cancer Man Ewing";<ref>Time Magazine Cover, January 12, 1931</ref> the accompanying article described his role as one of the most important cancer doctors of his era.<ref>Cancer Crusade. Jan 12, 1931. Time Magazine 17(2):26</ref> He worked at Memorial Hospital until his retirement in 1939.<ref name=BrandBio/> In 1942, he was presented with the prestigious gold-headed cane award of the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Under his leadership, Memorial became a model for other cancer centers in the United States, combining patient care with clinical and laboratory research,<ref name=EwingLecture>Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead link</ref> and it was said of him that "The relationship of Ewing to the Memorial Hospital can best be expressed in the words of Emerson, 'Every institution is but the lengthening shadow of some man.' Dr. Ewing is the Memorial Hospital".<ref name=NASbio>James B. Murphy James Ewing Biographical Memoir National Academy of Sciences Washington D.C., 1951.</ref>

In 1951, The James Ewing Hospital, a 12-story building on First Avenue between 67th and 68th Streets, opened; it was intended to treat cancer among New York City's poor.<ref>New developments in cancer, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Volume 1, Issue 2, pages 64–67, January 1951.</ref>

Bibliography

A collection of his correspondence is held at the National Library of Medicine.<ref>Manuscripts at NLM</ref>

• Zantinga, AR; Coppes, MJ: James Ewing (1866-1943): "the chief". Medical and Pediatric Oncology, New York, 1993, 21 (7): 505-510.
• Huvos, AG: James Ewing: cancer man. Annals of Diagnostic Pathology, April 1998, 2 (2): 146-148.
• Ewing, J: Clinical pathology of Blood: A Treatise on the General Principles and Special Applications of Hematology. Philadelphia and New York, 1901.
• Ewing, J: Neoplastic Diseases: A Textbook on Tumors. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders, and London, 1919. Fourth edition 1940.
• Ewing, J: Causation, Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer. Baltimore, 1931.
• Ewing, J: Blood. Philadelphia. 1910.

References

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