| James Haim I. Bicher | |
|---|---|
Dr. James Bicher at his desk |
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| Born | May 12, 1937 San Cristobal, Santa Fe, Argentina |
| Profession | Radiation Oncologist |
James Haim I. Bicher, M.D. (born May 12, 1937 in San Cristobal, Santa Fe, Argentina) is an American radiation oncologist. He is a pioneer in the clinical use of Hyperthermia combined with low dose (protracted) radiation therapy (thermoradiotherapy). He is a founder and past president of ISOTT,[1] North American Hyperthermia Group, and the American Society of Clinical Hyperthermic Oncology. Dr. Bicher was a student of Nobel Prize winner Bernardo Alberto Houssay, and one of the pioneer contributors[2] to the basic principles that allowed later development of Plavix.
Dr. Bicher is the founder and a director of Bicher Cancer Institute, one of the largest Hyperthermic research and clinic treatment centers in the US.[3] Prior to this role his career included the following positions: Chief of Hyperthermic Clinic at Western Tumor Medical Group in Van Nuys, California, Director of NonIonizing Radiation Cancer Treatment Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and Associate Chief of Department of Radiation Medicine at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.
He currently serves as the North American Vice-President of the International Clinical Hyperthermia Society [4] and Senior Consultant at the Beritashvili Institute of Physiology, Georgian Academy of Sciences, Georgia.
One of James Bicher, MD latest and more infuencial papers, THERMORADIOTHERAPY WITH CURATIVE INTENT BREAST, HEAD AND NECK AND PROSTATE TUMORS, was published in the German Journal of Hyperthermia,[5] This scientific paper shows that Hyperthermia therapy[6] potentiates or increases the effectiveness of Radiation Therapy[7]. The introduction of this paper also explains that prospective randomized Hyperthermia clinical trials[8] in the 1990's, showed the effectiveness of Hyperthermia combined with low dose radiation not only on superficial cancer tumors but also in deeper tumors,[9][10][11] when these cancer tumors are effectively heated. The addition of heat in the form of Hyperthermia Therapy, approximately doubles the effectiveness of Radiation Therapy, but also the fact that Hyperthermia Therapy increases the tumor oxygenation, makes hypoxic cancer tumors, such as sarcomas or glioblastomas more susceptible to thermoradiotherapy [12] [13](hyperthermia combined with radiation)[14].