Charles George George MOERTEL

Background

Moertel was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 17, 1927. He grew up in Maywood, Illinois, and graduated from Proviso East High School.

Education

Bachelor of Science, University Illinois, 1946-1951; Doctor of Medicine, University Illinois, 1953; Master of Science, University of Minnesota, 1958; D honoris causa, U. Grenoble, France, 1987.

Career

Moertel joined the Mayo Clinic in 1954, after an internship at the Los Angeles County Hospital. He founded the North Central Cancer Treatment Group. Moertel was known for research into the effectiveness of cancer treatments.

In one study, Moertel and his team reduced colon cancer recurrence by 41% by treating patients with a combination of levamisole and fluorouracil.

He presented these results in a 1989 talk he gave to the National Cancer Institute. He is also known for conducting clinical trials of laetrile and vitamin C for the treatment of cancer, and his trials of these treatments found that both of them were ineffective.

In 1993, he published a study which found that a commonly used blood test used to detect colon cancer was ineffective at improving cure rates. Moertel died of lymphoma on June 27, 1994, at his home in Rochester.

Achievements

• Charles George Moertel has been listed as a noteworthy Physician by Marquis Who's Who.

Works

• book

  • Advanced Gastrointestinal Cancer/Clinical Management and Chemotherapy
  • Multiple Primary Malignant Neoplasms: Their Incidence and Significance (Recent Results in Cancer Research) by Charles G. Moertel (1966-01-01)

Membership

Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee Food and Drug Administration, Cancer Advisory Committee American Medical Association, board scientific counselors National Cancer Institute, Colorectal Cancer Advisory Committee American Cancer Society, American Society Clinical Oncology, Society Clinical Trials, American Association Cancer Research, Society Surgical Oncology, American Gastroenterologic Association. Editorial board: Cancer since 1974, Cancer Medicine since 1978, Current Problems in Cancer 1978-1983, Journal Soviet Oncology since 1979, Cancer Research 84, Institute Journal Radiation Oncology and Biological Physics since 1981, Journal Clinical Oncology since 1986, Journal Medical and Pediatric Oncology.

Connections

Married Virginia Claire Sheridan, March 22, 1952. Children: Charles Stephen, Christopher Loren, Heather Lynn, David Matthew.

Father:

Charles Henry Moertel

Mother:

Alma Helen (Soffel) Moertel

Spouse:

Virginia Claire Sheridan

child:

Heather Lynn Moertel

child:

Christopher Loren Moertel

child:

David Matthew Moertel

child:

Charles Stephen Moertel