Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY, was founded in 1898 as the nation’s first center devoted to cancer research, setting the standard for today’s multidisciplinary approach to cancer research and patient care. Roswell Park is among a select group of Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute.
The Shashi Lele, MD, Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry was established at Roswell Park in 1981 by then-Chair of Gynecologic Oncology, M. Steven Piver, MD. In 1990, it was named The Gilda Radner Registry to honor the memory of American comedian Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. Her husband, actor and producer Gene Wilder generously agreed to lend his late wife’s name to the registry in an effort to increase awareness of the disease and to help national research efforts.
The registry was renamed the Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry in 2013 to help expand awareness worldwide, and to foster increased collaborative partnerships with hospitals and research centers across the world.