Parathyroid adenomas have been demonstrated to occur following external head and neck irradiation. The median latency interval is 30 years. In a series of 74 consecutive patients with histologically diagnosed parathyroid adenomas, 25% gave a history of prior radiation exposure. When compared to a matched control incidence of 7.9%, statistical significance is reached at p < 0.01. Thyroid abnormalities were present in 68% of the irradiated patients, and 30% of these were malignant. Tumors of skin, breast, and parotid gland also occurred more frequently than expected. Forty-seven percent of the irradiated group had malignant neoplasms within the radiation field. The histopathology of the radiation-associated parathyroid adenomas is similar to that seen experimentally. Cancer 43:1078–1083, 1979.
An outstanding teacher, surgeon, and scientist has left us. Dr. Donald L. Morton passed away on January 10, 2014. He certainly will be missed by his friends and colleagues in the oncology community. Dr. Morton's accomplishments in surgical oncology research were extraordinary. His early work with BCG laid the foundation for the use of intravesical BCG for bladder cancer, the first FDA-approved form of cancer immunotherapy. He developed a cancer vaccine for melanoma, which led to NIH funding for a large prospective randomized trial. His work examining regional lymphatic drainage for primary cutaneous melanoma, which began in the early 1970s, led to the introduction of lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy for melanoma. This has become a practice-changing contribution to the field of surgery and to the management of patients with various types of solid tumors, especially melanoma and breast cancer. Dr. Morton trained over 100 fellows in surgical oncology, most of whom are in leadership roles in academic institutions or major cancer centers. He authored almost 1,000 publications and had competitive research funding from the National Cancer Institute for over 40 consecutive years. Dr. Morton's publications have been cited nearly 20,000 times, and he published over 60 articles, which were each cited more than 100 times. In fond memory of our colleague, the editorial staff, and our publisher, Wiley, announce the establishment of the Donald L. Morton Award, to be given annually to the authors of the most cited article published in the Journal of Surgical Oncology (JSO) in the prior year. In this way we honor Dr. Morton's prolific abilities as an author and contributor to scientific literature. The winners of the first annual Donald L. Morton Award are Douglas E. Guggenheim MD and Manish A. Shah MD from Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, for their article entitled “Gastric Cancer Epidemiology and Risk Factors 1.” The award was announced on Thursday, March 13, 2014, at the annual meeting of the JSO editorial board, held during the 67th Annual Cancer Symposium of the Society of Surgical Oncology.
