1999 Individual Investigator Award Recipient — Abbie Fields, MD

Project Summary

Dr. Fields and her co-investigators will undertake a study of the genetic predisposition of development of cancer of the lining of the peritoneal cavity which, while identical under the microscope to patients with cancer of the ovary, differs in several biologic parameters from “conventional” ovarian cancer. Approximately 1,000 patients a year in the United States who have peritoneal cancer, but by analyzing the genetic pattern in such patients, much can be learned about the hereditary predispositions which distinguish it from sporadic ovarian cancer. Such information will allow more precise counseling of patients who are found to have germline mutations for the genes BRCA-1 and BRCA-2, which predisposes to both peritoneal and ovarian cancer. In addition, Dr. Fields will establish a registry and a tissue bank for women who undergo prophylactic oophorectomy as prevention of subsequent ovarian cancer and will thus provide a resource of tissue and serum for investigators in the future to apply new techniques of analysis to this resource of banked material.

Bio

Dr. Fields is a 1982 graduate of Case Western Reserve University in Ohio and a 1987 graduate of Ohio State University where she received her medical degree. She went on to complete her residency at Northwestern University and a Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. For many years she was with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. Her research interests focus primarily on cancer genetics and novel chemotherapeutic strategies. In addition to a busy clinical practice, Dr. Fields authored or co-authored numerous publications and developed and directed a genetic screening program for patients and their families suspected to have inherited familial cancer syndromes. Dr. Fields is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics/Gynecology with her specialty being Gynecologic Oncology. She moved to Richmond, VA in Sept. 2005 to start her own practice, Virginia Gynecologic Oncology.