AUA 2017: The Whitmore Lecture

Boston, MA (UroToday.com) Dr. Colin Dinney delivered the always anticipated Whitmore Lecture at the Society of Urologic Oncology session at the 2017 American Urological Association’s annual meeting. Dr. Dinney is a pioneer in the basic science research arena, particularly with respect to bladder cancer (BC), and most deserving of this honor.

Dr. Dinney was born in Canada and did his undergraduate and medical schoolwork at the University of Manitoba in the frozen tundra of Winnipeg. From there, he moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he took his residency at Dalhousie University before moving to Houston, TX, for a fellowship in immunotherapy of renal cell carcinoma in 1989.

He never left the warmer climate of the south and has been on faculty at Houston’s MD Anderson since 1992, and its chairman since 2007. Shortly thereafter, he changed the focus of his research to BC, using small institutional grants to develop orthotopic models of human BC to study metastasis and develop novel therapeutics. Early findings included identifying a reversible epithelial-mesenchymal transition during BC metastasis as well as early work assessing angiogenesis and metastasis. This further developed to identify interferon-beta gene therapy in inhibiting tumorigenicity and metastasis of BC, and anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibodies for hindering bladder tumor growth.

To begin transitioning these early laboratory findings to the clinic, Dr. Dinney started the first SPORE program, surrounding himself with leaders in the field, including Drs. Bart Grossman and David McConkey. The first funded SPORE was in 2001, leading to five BC-specific projects. As Dr. Dinney noted, much of the success of the SPORE he has overseen has been secondary to his collaborators, including the many fellows he has had a part in training. Some of these projects include (i) characterizing the aggressive micropapillary variant of BC, (ii) development of the cytokine nomogram for predicting Bacillus Calmette-Guerin sensitivity, (iii) identifying Ral as a therapeutic target, and (iv) developing interferon gene therapy. Dr. Dinney’s other accomplishments include being fellowship director from 1997 to 2005 and serving as the founding president of the Society of Urological Oncology Clinical Trials Consortium.

Dr. Dinney left the audience with a number of excellent lessons he has learned over the years: (i) you need a man, a plan (vision), and a fan; (ii) don’t get married to your hypothesis; (iii) find ways to bring out the best in those around you; (iv) ask for advice but make your own decisions; (v) take responsibility for the failures but give credit for the successes; (vi) when things get tough, always take the high road; (vii) if you have to make enemies, make sure they are at home, and (viii) it does not matter where you came from but only where you are going.

As he concluded, “The road to success is paved with failure, but enjoy life when you get the opportunity.”

Presented By: Colin Dinney, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

Written By: Zachary Klaassen, MD, Urologic Oncology Fellow, University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Twitter: @zklaassen_md

at the 2017 AUA Annual Meeting - May 12 - 16, 2017 – Boston, Massachusetts, USA