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JF Pingpank Jr, M.D.
Renowned for his groundbreaking research in the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma and liver metastases, James F. Pingpank, Jr., M.D. currently practices in Pittsburgh at the Hillman Cancer Center. Dr. Pingpank is part of the Surgical Oncology division in the Department of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) as well as a National Institutes of Health researcher affiliated with Hillman Cancer Center.
Hillman Cancer Center is the premier therapeutic and research facility of the network of agencies in the UPMC Cancer Centers system. It is internationally acclaimed for its medical, surgical and radiation oncologists, including Dr. Pingpank, who provide treatment alternatives that are not possible in any other location. Hillman Center houses a part of General Clinical Research Center, funded by the National Institutes of Health, which supports the clinical trials conducted at Hillman.
Dr. Pingpank obtained his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in 1992. He completed residencies at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and the University of Connecticut Health Sciences Center. He fulfilled a surgical oncology fellowship at the esteemed Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. He is board-certified in general surgery and surgical oncology. He has also led the Surgical Metabolism Section, Surgery Branch at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
Dr. Pingpank is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association. He has authored or co-authored approximately 37 peer-reviewed articles and other publications, many of which deal with treatment strategies for peritoneal mesothelioma. For example, he wrote an article entitled “Analysis of Factors Associated with Outcome in Patients with Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma Undergoing Surgical Debulking and Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy,” published in the December 2003 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
He has also written a number of papers on regional chemotherapy perfusion, which involves an innovative technique of excluding the tumor-bearing region from the general circulation of the body through external bypass and then infusing high amounts of chemotherapy locally into the organ. This allows highly potent, targeted delivery of the chemotherapy while sparing the patient from the toxic effects of the chemotherapy in other parts of the body.
Additionally, Dr. Pingpank has been a regular presenter at a variety of conferences dealing with mesothelioma, including an international symposium sponsored by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation in 2008. Dr. Pingpank talso participates in many clinical trials in all phases of investigation. In 2009, he was a lead investigator in a trial assessing cytoreductive surgery with continuous peritoneal perfusion for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. The results are published in Annals of Surgical Oncology.