Earle A. Chiles Research Institute
Medical Director, Gastrointestinal Oncology Program, Providence Cancer Center
Medical Oncologist, The Oregon Clinic
As medical director of Providence’s Gastrointestinal Oncology Program, Dr. Todd Crocenzi strives to translate the latest research findings about immune-based cancer therapies into something tangible: decreased cancer rates and better treatments for patients living with gastrointestinal cancer.
For Dr. Crocenzi, the late diagnosis that occurs with most gastrointestinal cancers underscores the need for integrated treatment as well as innovative research and prevention efforts. At Providence Cancer Center, his skills as a clinician, educator and scientist are welcomed in both multidisciplinary care team conferences and research settings.
Before joining Providence, Dr. Crocenzi undertook a year-long immunology research fellowship at Dartmouth Medical School while also acting as an instructor in medicine for that institution’s Hematology-Oncology department. Prior to serving as staff internist for Scott Air Force Base, he was both a resident and an assistant instructor of medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s Biology program, Dr. Crocenzi earned his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Crocenzi is certified in medical oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
- Duke University selected the Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center, Earle A. Chiles Research Institute for the West Coast’s first immunotherapy-based colon cancer clinical trial. Dr. Crocenzi serves as the study’s site principal investigator.
- Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center chose Dr. Crocenzi for a Hitchcock Foundation Award (2002-2003) for his research efforts on behalf of melanoma patients.
- In 2003, the American Society of Clinical Oncology/American Association for Cancer Research Workshop selected Dr. Crocenzi to work alongside other cancer specialists and investigators to develop a promising interleukin-2 based treatment for melanoma.
"Immunotherapy is really beginning to blossom, but its use in gastrointestinal malignancies hasn’t been fully explored. Providence Cancer Center is pushing forward towards new therapies that will actually be better, safer and easier to tolerate for patients. Because gastrointestinal cancer almost always requires the involvement of surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists and other care team members, we’ll demonstrate how multidisciplinary efforts add value for everyone. While physicians work together to develop patient treatment plans that use the best medical technology and simplify follow up care, patients will receive compassionate, comprehensive and coordinated care."