Doctor’s work on TV
By Adrienne Law
Oct. 16, 2008 11:07 p.m.
Dr. Dennis Slamon’s discovery of the drug Herceptin about two decades ago at a UCLA laboratory has made its way into a nationally televised movie.
On Saturday, Lifetime Television will premier “Living Proof,” featuring the challenges that Slamon, the chief of the UCLA Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, and his clinic had to face to receive public approval of Herceptin, a breast cancer drug.
Slamon was unavailable to comment due to scheduling conflicts.
The movie features actor and singer Harry Connick Jr. and other actors and actresses such as Amanda Bynes, Jennifer Coolidge and Angie Harmon.
Herceptin saved about 400,000 lives this past decade, according to mylifetime.com. It targets a genetic mutation found in about 25 percent of breast cancer patients, according to UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Web site.
Though Slamon received nearly two dozen research awards, according to the cancer center, it took a tremendous amount of effort to receive public approval.
“Dr. Slamon had to fight a very lonely battle to get it accepted and approved. Nobody believed in it, nobody wanted to do it,” said Dr. John Barstis, a hematology and medical oncology physician at the UCLA Medical Center.
Slamon published his findings about Herceptin in 1988, a year after its discovery at UCLA. Eight years later, Genentech Inc., a biotechnology company, finally decided to manufacture the drug, Barstis said.
After the battle to receive funding and approval, clinical trials were allowed around 1995, he added.
Patients had to take a risk by being the first ones to try the drug, which turned out to be a success.
There are survivors who would not be around if it were not for Herceptin, said Dr. Saeed Sadeghi, an assistant clinical professor of medicine at the division of hematology and medical oncology.
Besides patients, companies were taking a big risk to trust that Herceptin could be a success, Barstis said.
“He (Slamon) persevered in the fact that many people doubted him. That should be something highlighted,” said Dr. Sara Hurvitz, a clinical instructor at the division of hematology and medical oncology.
After much public doubt, positive responses from clinical trials proved Herceptin to be a valid drug to treat breast cancer.
Slamon’s scientific achievements were previously written in a book by NBC News’ chief science and health correspondent Dr. Robert Bazell.The novel is titled “Her-2: The Making of Herceptin, a Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer.” This book claimed Slamon and his research to be a significant success in the field of oncology, Sadeghi said.
UCLA scientists and physicians who worked with Slamon said they admire his humble character. His colleagues said that he is embarrassed that a movie is featuring him.
Slamon has never sought out personal fame or fortune. The only type of publicity he would like is his research, not himself, his colleagues said. Despite the fact that he is a scientific researcher from the lab, he would do anything to help his patients, Barstis said.
“He is probably a physician who works with more integrity than almost anyone I met,” Hurvitz said.
Scientists and physicians who have worked with Slamon said they are very interested in watching “Living Proof.”
They added that they are confident that the movie will demonstrate the dramatic and powerful success of Slamon’s research.
“I am sure the movie will turn out well,” Sadeghi said.
“I think it is an intriguing story about, you know, one of the most important discoveries that has been made in oncology.”
