David Warr, MD, FRCPC, is the recipient of MASCC’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award. The DSA, MASCC’s highest honor, is made in recognition of meritorious achievement and outstanding contributions to the Society. Candidates are nominated by their peers in recognition of exemplary leadership and accomplishments in support of the Society’s mission.
David is currently Head of Breast Medical Oncology and Inpatient Solid Tumor Chief at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In addition, he is an Associate Professor in Medical Oncology and Hematology at the University of Toronto and Active Staff in Medical Oncology and Hematology at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. He is on the executive of the Symptom Control Subcommittee of the National Cancer Institute of Canada’s Clinical Trials Group.
David has been an outstanding ambassador for MASCC and for supportive care, both at home and around the world. He is MASCC’s Immediate Past President, having served from June 2014 to June 2016. In addition, he has served as Vice President (2013-2014), a member of MASCC’s Board of Directors (2006 to 2012), Chair of the Guidelines Committee (2006 to 2012), and Vice-President of the Nominating Committee (2013-2015). He served as Section Editor and on the Editorial Board of Supportive Care in Cancer from 2008 to 2010. Dave is currently Chair of MASCC’s Awards Committee.
A member of the Antiemetics Study Group, David worked with the MASCC/ESMO Antiemetic Guideline Committee to develop the 2016 Updated Consensus Recommendations for the prevention of nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy of both moderate and high risk and by radiotherapy. He has authored or co-authored numerous research papers on these topics, as well as on the effects and side effects of breast cancer chemotherapy, prognostic factors and treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, patterns of cancer pain, and measurement techniques for assessing cancer pain and its psychosocial dimensions.
David is a member of numerous national and international medical associations and programs. He is a frequently invited speaker at professional meetings around the world, most recently having addressed the Qatar Breast Cancer Society (Doha, Qatar), the Society of Medical Oncology (Copenhagen, Denmark), and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi, India), the South African Society of Medical Oncology (Cape Town, South Africa) — not to mention his long history of contributions MASCC Annual Meetings. And he is equally well known at home in Toronto, where he participated, for the past 30 years, in local and regional meetings on medical oncology and supportive and palliative care.
Reflecting on what drew him to supportive care, Dave has said that early in his career, as a medical oncology resident, he was appalled by patients’ suffering due to chemotherapy-induced side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, and pain. He decided then to learn more about managing these problems in the clinic. As a young staff doctor, he became involved in a Phase I antiemetic trial of granisetron and was introduced to MASCC by one of its founding members — and the rest is history!
The Distinguished Service Award honors David for his significant contributions to MASCC and signifies the Society’s appreciation and gratitude for his years of service.
