Edward A. Levine, MD
Dr. Levine is a surgical oncologist at Wake Forest Medical Center and Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has diverse clinical expertise including soft tissue sarcomas and breast surgery, and is particularly skilled in the complex combined modality therapy known as cytoreductive surgery with hypothermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), which has proven extremely effective in the treatment of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.[1]
Dr. Levine says the HIPEC procedure, which has been performed at Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center over 2,000 times in the past 30 years, provides real options with the hope of long-term disease-free survival, with good quality of life, where before there was none. The procedure involves surgical removal of all tumor material that the surgeon can see or feel, followed by administration of intraperitoneal chemotherapy directly onto the tissue immediately following the surgery to remove any microscopic malignant material that is left behind. This allows far greater concentrations of chemotherapy than would be possible through other delivery methods and avoids the adverse effects associated with systemic chemotherapy.[2]
Education and Career
Dr. Levine earned his medical degree at the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. He completed an internship and residency at the Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center and a fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago.[1]
Following completion of his education, Dr. Levine moved on to a role as Assistant and then Associate Professor of Surgery at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport, Louisiana, then moved to Wake Forest Medical Center where he is a Professor and Chief of Surgical Sciences at Wake Forest University and Director at Large of Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Research
Dr. Levine’s research interests include HIPEC (regional perfusion of gastrointestinal neoplasms), breast cancer, melanoma, sarcoma, and surgical oncology. He is a prolific author who is cited in hundreds of publications and journal articles and has been the principal investigator on several clinical trials.
His articles on peritoneal mesothelioma include:[1]
- Cisplatin exhibits superiority over MMC as a perfusion agent in a peritoneal mesothelioma patient-specific organoid HIPEC platform, July 2023, Scientific Reports 13(1). DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-38545-4
- ASO Visual Abstract: Long-Term Survival in Patients Treated with Cytoreduction and Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for Peritoneal Mesothelioma at a Single High-Volume Center, February 2023. Annals of Surgical Oncology 30(5). DOI:10.1245/s10434-023-13168-1
- The Chicago Consensus on Peritoneal Surface Malignancies: Management of Peritoneal Mesothelioma, June 2020. Annals of Surgical Oncology 27(6):1774-1779. DOI:10.1245/s10434-020-08324-w
Professional Memberships[1]
- Connective Tissue Oncology Society
- Society of Surg of Alimentary Tract
- American College of Surgeons
- American Association of Clinical Oncology
- Society of Surgical Oncology
- Association of Academic Surgery
- North Carolina Medical Society
- Alpha Omega Alpha
- Southern Surgical Association
- American Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary Association
- National Surgical Adjuvant For Breast and Bowel Cancer
