Valerie Francescutti, MD, FRCSC

Assistant Professor, Surgical Oncology

Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Clinical Instructor, Surgery

State University of New York at Buffalo

Profile

Areas of Expertise:

Melanoma

Soft tissue sarcoma of the GI tract (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors – GIST)

Peritoneal metastases (carcinomatosis from colorectal cancer, appendiceal cancer), primary peritoneal mesothelioma, DPAM

Isolated limb perfusion (ILP) and infusion (ILI)

Minimally invasive colorectal cancer surgery (laparoscopic)

Biography:

I joined the Surgical Oncology faculty at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 2012 as an Assistant Professor of Surgical Oncology in Soft Tissue and GI surgery.

I earned my medical degree from McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I then went on to complete a General Surgery residency at McMaster University, becoming certified in General Surgery by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (2010) and the American Board of Surgery (2010). I completed my Surgical Oncology fellowship at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (2010-2012) with special interest in Soft Tissue and GI cancers.

I am active in clinical research, specifically addressing knowledge translation strategies to improve cytoreduction/HIPEC practice and quality of surgical care in colorectal cancer. From a basic science and translational research perspective, I am working with a pre-clinical model of HIPEC to improve our understanding of current chemotherapeutics used in this procedure, and test novel chemotherapeutics for ultimate translation into clinical trials for patients.

I am a member of the American College of Surgeons, Society of Surgical Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Research

Research Interests:

Development and use of pre-clinical models to study HIPEC, and to assess effects of novel chemotherapeutics in HIPEC for translation to clinical studies

Use of knowledge translation strategies to improve cytoreduction/HIPEC practice, referral patterns, patient understanding and satisfaction

Identifying opportunities for quality improvement in colorectal cancer surgery, including multidisciplinary conference discussion, indicators of surgical quality, and predictors of poor outcome

Treatment strategies for patients with advanced cancer (Stage IV) and bowel obstruction, with focus on quality of life

Background Information

Education and Training:

2011-present - Master of Science (MSc, in progress), Health Research Methodology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

2002-2005 - MD, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Residency:

2005-2010 - General Surgery Resident, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Board Certification:

2010 - General Surgery, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

2010 - Surgery, American Board of Surgery

Fellowships:

2010-2012 - Surgical Oncology Fellow, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY

Publications

Publications:

Francescutti V, Watroba NL, Edge SB. Concordance with NCCN practice guidelines for local therapies as a measure of quality of care: Review of practice and identification of quality gaps : ASCO Meeting Abstracts Part 1. Journal of clinical oncology 2011; 29(15 Suppl.):6019
Jarkowski A 3rd, Hare R, Francescutti V, Wilkinson N, Khushalani N. Case report of pneumatosis intestinalis secondary to sunitinib treatment for refractory gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Anticancer research 2011; 31(10):3429-3432
Francescutti V, Skitzki JJ. Sarcomas and the immune system: implications for therapeutic strategies. Surgical oncology clinics of North America 2012; 21(2):341-355
Haslinger M, Kane JM, Francescutti V, Burke R, Skitzki JJ. The morbidity of cytoreduction/hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC) in the modern era. Journal of clinical oncology 2012; 30(15 Suppl.):Abstract #e14172
Francescutti V, Khoury T, Kulkarni S. Foreign body reaction mimicking breast carcinoma in patient with stage IV ovarian cancer. Breast journal 2012; 18(5):490-491

Referral

Email:

Valerie.Francescutti@RoswellPark.org

Fax:

716-845-2320