From the December 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Allen S. Lichter, M.D.
Lichter has served as chief executive officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) since 2006.
He earned bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University of Michigan. He trained in radiation oncology at University of California, before joining the faculty at The Johns Hopkins University and later the National Cancer Institute.
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With research focusing on breast cancer treatment, Lichter was an early advocate of the breast conserving approach and while at NCI conducted one of the trials that found the use of lumpectomy and radiation therapy to be as effective as the traditional treatment of mastectomy. This work, along with other trials conducted in the U.S. and Europe, subsequently revolutionized breast cancer treatment standards.
Lichter served as the director of the Radiation Therapy Section of the NCI’s Radiation Oncology Branch. His research and development of 3-D treatment planning led to a gold medal from the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (now the American Society for Radiation Oncology). In 2002, he was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science.
Lichter returned to the University of Michigan to serve as chair and professor of radiation oncology and later, as dean of the medical school. He was named the first Isadore Lampe Professor of Radiation Oncology and also served as the Newman Family Professor of Radiation Oncology. Lichter introduced an innovative curriculum, oversaw creation of a new Biomedical Science Research facility, and was known as a prolific fundraiser in support of the medical school, with more than 70 endowed professorships established during his tenure.
His tenure with ASCO has been no less impressive. While leading the organization, Lichter has overseen projects including a rapid learning system called CancerLinQ, clinical practice guidelines and a quality care symposium. He also has led the development of the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative, an oncologist-led, practice-based quality assessment and improvement program. His tenure also has seen the launch of ASCO International and the renaming of the society’s philanthropic arm as the Conquer Cancer Foundation, of which Lichter was founding chairman.
