Valerie Francescutti, MD, FRCSC
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:
- . 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
- . Case report of pneumatosis intestinalis secondary to sunitinib treatment for refractory gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Anticancer research 2011; 31(10):3429-3432
- . Sarcomas and the immune system: implications for therapeutic strategies. Surgical oncology clinics of North America 2012; 21(2):341-355
- . The morbidity of cytoreduction/hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC) in the modern era. Journal of clinical oncology 2012; 30(15 Suppl.):Abstract #e14172
- . Foreign body reaction mimicking breast carcinoma in patient with stage IV ovarian cancer. Breast journal 2012; 18(5):490-491
