Herbert I. Hurwitz

Biography

Dr. Herbert I. Hurwitz, Associate Professor of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, is an internationally recognized oncologist who is at the forefront of antiangiogenic cancer research. He is the clinical director of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Phase I Program, one of only 14 NCI-sponsored Phase I Centers of Excellence. In this role, Dr. Hurwitz oversees numerous Phase I clinical trials of novel anticancer agents, with a particular emphasis on antiangiogenic therapies. His research also includes identifying biomarkers for the evaluation of novel targeted therapies, mechanisms of tumor angiogenesis and angiogenesis inhibitors, and looking at parallels between wound angiogenesis and tumor angiogenesis. Dr. Hurwitz has a particular interest in gastrointestinal cancer and is co-leader of the Duke Gastrointestinal Oncology Program. As a recognized GI cancer expert, Dr. Hurwitz was the Principal Investigator of the pivotal Phase III trial of the antiangiogenic agent bevacizumab (Avastin), in combination with IFL, for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). This seminal trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June 2004, led to the approval of Avastin for mCRC and validated the antiangiogenic approach for cancer therapy.

Research Interest

Dr. Hurwitz completed his medical training at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, and began his career with a residency in Internal Medicine at the Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago. In 1992, he became a Fellow in Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Baltimore, where he also obtained a masters degree in clinical investigation. Dr. Hurwitz has authored numerous papers in prestigious medical and scientific journals and lectures internationally, with a focus on anti-VEGF therapies for colorectal cancer and angiogenesis biomarkers.