Peter Bing, MD, (pictured right) is a nationally- renowned philanthropist and public health expert. Dr. Bing served as executive director of the National Advisory Commission on Health Manpower during the Johnson Administration and has made significant contributions to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston (DFCI) to support research on Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia (WM), a rare and chronic type of slow-growing, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Founded in 1999, the WM program at DFCI was officially designated as the Bing Center for Waldenström’s Macroglubulinemia in 2005 in honor of Dr. Bing. Steven Treon, MD, PhD, (pictured left) is the director of the Bing Center, which aims to advance understanding of the cause of WM and to pursue novel therapies.
The Bing Center is the largest referral center for this disease and attracts patients from all over the world. The center focuses on research, clinical trials, and patient and physician education. Its research accomplishments include defining the incidence and clinicopathological characteristics of the familial form of WM, which affects about 20 percent of WM patients. Dr. Treon and his team recently announced the identification of a gene mutation that underlies most cases of WM. The discovery of this mutation will now enable researchers to develop targeted therapies for the treatment of WM. The groundbreaking research on this rare cancer undertaken by Dr. Treon with the generous support of Dr. Bing is truly remarkable.
