Francine Foss, MD
Professor of Medicine (Hematology) and of DermatologyCards
About
Titles
Professor of Medicine (Hematology) and of Dermatology
Director, Multidisciplinary T cell Lymphoma Program, Hematology; Scientific Leader, Lymphoma CRT, Yale Cancer Center
Biography
Dr. Francine Foss, Professor of Medicine in the Section of Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center, is an internationally recognized clinician and clinical researcher with expertise in adult lymphomas and in stem cell transplantation. She has developed and tested therapies that have been used to treat thousands of cancer patients, and her research has substantially impacted the field of stem cell research, benefiting patients at Yale and around the world. Dr. Foss has brought a nationally established clinical trials program to Yale Cancer Center. In her previous position at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston, she designed, initiated, and directed multi-center national clinical trials which led to FDA approval of several novel therapies for lymphomas. One of these, Interleukin-2- Diphtheria toxin fusion protein, was the first FDA-approved fusion protein biologic drug and the first drug to be FDA approved for the treatment of T-cell lymphoma. In her laboratory work, she investigated and elucidated the mechanism by which extracorporeal photopheresis modulated antigen presenting cells, leading to a reduction in graft-vs-host disease in patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplant. These findings led to the initiation of two National Cancer Institute-sponsored trials to confirm these results in patients with lymphoma and myelodysplastic syndrome. Dr. Foss is a member of the Stem Cell Therapy clinical program at Smilow Cancer Hospital.
Dr. Foss is a world expert in T cell Lymphomas. She has pioneered several novel therapies for T cell lymphomas and has been a leader in many national studies. She developed and initiated the first national registry for T cell lymphomas in the United States and is a founder and co-chairman of the T CELL Forum, the preeminent international T cell lymphoma research meeting. She is a co-founder of the United States Cutaneous Lymphoma Consortium and currently serves as its President. She has been a Director of the international T-cell Project to research treatment and biology of T-cell lymphomas and serves on the NCCN panel of experts for T-cell lymphomas. As a translational researcher in T cell Lymphomas, she currently is collaborating with a number of laboratories and scientists at Yale to identify molecular targets in T Cell Lymphoma and recently was awarded a grant through the PITCH program for the state of Connecticut to develop a promising small molecule therapeutic for a rare form of lymphoma. Dr. Foss currently leads the multi-disciplinary T-cell Lymphoma clinical team at the Smilow Cancer Center and co-directs the Cutaneous Lymphoma Program at Yale with Dr. Michael Girardi. Her clinical practice at Smilow Cancer Hospital attracts patients from around the world.
Appointments
Hematology
ProfessorPrimaryDermatology
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Fellow
- National Cancer Institute (1985)
- Resident
- Brigham & Women's Hospital (1983)
- MD
- University of Massachusetts Medical School (1982)
- BA
- Dartmouth College (1978)
Research
Overview
Over the last 10 years I have been a leader in the establishment of an international T cell lymphoma working group. I initiated a T Cell Lymphoma workshop at the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma 12 years ago and from that workshop, the United States Peripheral T cell Lymphoma group was formed. I subsequently initiated the first T Cell Lymphoma Forum, an international meeting incorporating basic and clinical sciences related to T cell lymphomas. (www.tcelllymphforum.com). This meeting is now recognized as the pre-eminent international T cell Lymphoma meeting. A number of collaborations have arisen from these meetings and there is now a world-wide effort to coordinate the care of patients with T cell lymphomas.
Another initiative that I undertook was to establish a T Cell Lymphoma Registry. I initiated and am the Principal Investigator for the COMPLETE T cell Registry (www. Clinical trials.gov/COMPLETE REGISTRY). This is a US based registry to determine the frequency of types of T cell lymphoma, physician’s treatment patterns, outcomes with therapy, and prognostic factors associated with common and rare subtypes. Thus far this registry has enrolled 500 patients in its first phase, and the second phase of enrollment is about to begin. I have also been a co-Founder of a European based registry, the TCELL PROJECT (www.TCELLPROJECT.org). This registry is similar to COMPLETE but includes pathologic review and includes many other countries in Asia, South America, and Europe as well as in the US. This registry has enrolled 1000 patients and is ongoing. In a recent initiative, I have collaborated with several countries in Latin American to initiate their own registry which will interface with our existing registries.
I was one of the founders of the United States Cutaneous Lymphoma Consortium. This organization includes oncologists, dermatologists, radiation oncologists, and pathologists and its goal is to develop novel clinical trials and to define clinical approaches for patients with cutaneous lymphomas. I also serve as a Co-Chair of the Registry Committee and have been instrumental in starting a patient registry for both T and B cell cutaneous lymphoma patients. This registry has a research focus. I am now the President of the USCLC.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Francine Foss, MD, professor of medicine in the Section of Medical Oncology at the Yale Cancer Center, is an internationally recognized clinician and clinical researcher with expertise in adult lymphomas and in stem cell allotransplantation. She has derived and tested therapies that have been used to treat thousands of cancer patients, and her research has potential to substantially impact the field of stem cell research, benefiting patients at Yale and around the world. Dr Foss has brought a nationally established clinical trials program to the Yale Cancer Center.
In her previous post at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston, she designed, initiated and directed multi-center national clinical trials which led to FDA approval of several novel therapies for lymphomas. One of these, Interleukin-2 conjugated to Diphtheria toxin, was the first FDA-approved fusion biologic drug to be approved for use in the United States. She also developed a treatment for patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplant that reduced the development of graft-versus-host disease. These findings led to the initiation of two National Cancer Institute-sponsored trials to confirm these results in patients with lymphoma and myelodysplastic syndrome.
Dr Foss is a world expert in T cell Lymphomas. She has pioneered several novel therapies for T cell lymphomas and has led a number of national studies. She is currently overseeing a national registry for T cell lymphomas and is a founder and co-chairman of the T CELL Forum, the preeminent international T cell lymphoma research meeting. She is a founder of the United States Cutaneous Lymphoma Consortium and the Peripheral T cell Consortium. She has been a translational researcher in T cell Lymphomas and currently is collaborating with a number of laboratories at Yale to identify molecular targets in T cell Lymphoma.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Blood Cancers
Learn More on Yale MedicineLymphoma
Learn More on Yale MedicineHodgkin's Lymphoma
Learn More on Yale MedicineNon-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Learn More on Yale Medicine
Board Certifications
Medical Oncology
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Original Certification Date
- 1987
Internal Medicine
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Original Certification Date
- 1985
Yale Medicine News
News & Links
News
- August 12, 2024Source: Cure
FDA Approval of Lymphir Is ‘Thrilling’ for Rare Lymphoma
- August 08, 2024Source: Oncology Nursing News
FDA Approves Denileukin Diftitox for Relapsed/Refractory Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
- July 30, 2024Source: Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation/YouTube
Clinical Q&A - Virtual Patient Educational Forum 2024
- March 20, 2024
Serendipity in action