Larry Goldenberg

Dr. Larry Goldenberg, O.B.C., M.D., F.C.A.H.S., F.R.C.S.C., F.A.C.S., D.A.B.U. (born 1953 in Toronto, Ontario) is an award-winning Canadian researcher in the field of medicine and a pioneer in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Goldenberg is recognized around the world as being one of the first researchers and medical practitioners to compare the practical effectiveness of intermittent androgen suppression (I.A.S.) as a treatment alternative to continuous hormonal therapy for patients with advanced cases of prostate cancer. His work with IAS has provided the scientific basis for a number of prominent international Phase II and III clinical trials.

Goldenberg spearheaded the clinical development of a low-dose antiandrogen/DES protocol that was among the leading treatment options for advanced prostate cancer until the mid-1990s. He was also one of the co-developers of clinical protocols for the use of neoadjucant hormonal therapy before radical prostatectomy.

Goldenberg's present lab and clinical research undertakings centre on the potential role of MRI in prostate cancer treatments, on the potential uses of focal therapy, and on developing new treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

A world-renowned advocate of patient education, Goldenberg authored one of the first books to explain prostate cancer treatment options in layman's terms. His book, "Prostate Cancer: All You Need to Know to Take an Active Part in Your Treatment", now in its third edition, is widely considered to be one of the best resources available to men diagnosed with the disease.

In 1999, he secured a $20 million donation, from Vancouver business mogul Jimmy Pattison, to The Prostate Centre at VGH, at the time the largest donation ever made to a Canadian health care facility. That same year, the federal Government of Canada designated The Prostate Centre at VGH as a National Center of Excellence in Prostate Cancer. Goldenberg was the founding Executive Director of The Prostate Centre at VGH, and presently serves as its Director of Clinical Research.

In September 2007, Goldenberg succeeded in bringing the first multipurpose surgical robot to Western Canada. Nicknamed "Jack", for philanthropist and Vancouver Olympics Organizing Committee Chairman Jack Poole, the robot is the most advanced of its kind and is expected to dramatically improve surgical outcomes for prostate cancer patients in British Columbia.

Goldenberg was born in Toronto, Ontario to survivors of the Holocaust who had immigrated to Canada after the Second World War. He completed his medical training at the University of Toronto in 1978. He is married to Paula Gordon, a pioneer in the diagnostic imaging of breast cancer. They have two sons. Goldenberg is currently Professor and Head of the Department of Urologic Sciences at the University of British Columbia. He holds adjunct faculty appointments at the BC Cancer Agency and the University of Washington, and is a past president of the American Urological Association, Western Section, the Canadian Urological Association, and the Northwest Urological Association.

Honours

*1984, named a Terry Fox Fellow of the Cancer Research Centre
*2006, named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
*2006, named to the Order of British Columbia
*2008, awarded the Scopus Award of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

External links

* [http://www.prostatecentre.com/aboutus/aboutus.php?pageID=118 Webpage at the Prostate Centre at VGH]
* [http://www.med.ubc.ca/__shared/assets/Goldenberg_2006_announcement_card1523.pdf Order of British Columbia announcement]
* [http://www.protocol.gov.bc.ca/protocol/prgs/obc/2006/2006_SGoldenberg.htm Order of British Columbia biography]