Richard Berry Womer, MD

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Emeritus Professor CE of Pediatrics (Oncology)
Senior Physician, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Medical Director, Tumor Registry, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Cancer Center
Department: Pediatrics

Contact information
Division of Oncology
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
3401 Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: (215) 590-2229
Education:
B.A. (Biology, with Distinction)
University of Rochester, Rochester NY, 1974.
M.D.
University of Rochester, Rochester NY, 1978.
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Description of Research Expertise

I conduct clinical and translational research on sarcomas in children, adolescents, and young adults, mostly through the Children's Oncology Group. My current projects include fusions of clinical and biological data from the COG AEWS0031 Ewing sarcoma study (which I chaired), and secondary clinical analyses of data from combined data sets including AEWS0031. As a member of the Executive Committee of the COG Bone Tumor Committee, I help determine the directions and priorities of its projects.

I also have a longstanding interest in medication safety, particularly chemotherapy safety, and co-chair a COG effort to standardize chemotherapy dosing and administration across diseases and protocols. Our committee has just begun to publish the results of this work.

Description of Clinical Expertise

My clinical practice in pediatric oncology focuses on solid tumors in children, particularly connective tissue tumors. These include soft tissue sarcomas (rhabdomyosarcoma and others), bone sarcomas (osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma), and fibromatoses.

Description of Other Expertise

I am almost always eager to discuss photography, choral singing, cooking, home brewing, canoeing, or hiking.

Selected Publications

Dirksen U, Brennan B, Le Deley MC, Cozic N, van den Berg H, Bhadri V, Brichard B, Claude L, Craft A, Amler S, Gaspar N, Gelderblom H, Goldsby R, Gorlick R, Grier HE, Guinbretiere JM, Hauser P, Hjorth L, Janeway K, Juergens H, Judson I, Krailo M, Kruseova J, Kuehne T, Ladenstein R, Lervat C, Lessnick SL, Lewis I, Linassier C, Barec-Berard P, Marian N, Morland B, Pacquement H, Paulussen M, Randall RL, Ranft A, Le Teuff G, Wheatley K, Whelan J, Womer RB, Oberlin O, Hawkins DS. : High-dose chemotherapy compared with standard chemotherapy and lung radiation in Ewing sarcoma with pulmonary metastases: Results of the European Ewing Tumour Working Initiative of National Groups, 99 Trial and EWING 2008. Journal of Clinical Oncology 37(34): 3192-3202, September 2019.

Narayan HK, Putt M, Kosaraju N, Paz A, Bhatt S, Plappert T, Mercer-Rosa L, Armenian SH, Desai A, Womer RB, Ky B. : Dexrazoxane preferentially mitigates doxorubicin cardiotoxicity in female children with sarcoma. Open Heart 6(1), June 2019.

Isakoff MS, Goldsby R, Villaluna D, Krailo MD, Hingorani P, Collier A, Morris CD, Kolb EA, Doski JJ, Womer RB, Gorlick R, Janeway KA .: A phase II study of eribulin in recurrent or refractory osteosarcoma: A report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Pediatric Blood and Cancer 66(2), 2019.

Adamson PC, Veal GJ, Womer RB, Meany HJ, Bernhardt MB, Frazier AL, Balis FM. : Fundamental problems with pediatric adaptive dosing of carboplatin using nuclear-medicine-based estimates of renal function. Pediatric Blood and Cancer 66, 2019.

Hill-Kayser CE, Tochner Z, Li Y, Kurtz G, Lustig RA, James P, Balamuth N, Womer RB, Mattei P, Grupp S, Mosse YP, Maris JM, Batell R : Outcomes after proton therapy for treatment of pediatric high-risk neuroblastoma. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics 104(2): 401-408, 2019.

Kopp LM, Womer RB, Schwartz CL, Ebb DH, Franco VI, Hall D, Barkauskas DA, Krailo MD, Grier HE, Meyers PA, Wexler LH, Marina NM, Janeway KA, Gorlick R, Bernstein ML, Lipshultz SE. : Effects of dexrazoxane on doxorubicin-related cardiotoxicity and second malignant neoplasms in children with osteosarcoma: A report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Cardio-Oncology 5(15), 2019.

MacFarland SP, Sullivan LM, States LJ, Bailey LC, Balamuth NJ, Womer RB, Olson TS: Management of refractory pediatric Kaposiform Hemangioendothelioma with sirolimus and aspirin. Journal of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology 40(4): 239-242, May 2018.

Fox E, Levin K, Zhu Y, Segers B, Balamuth N, Womer R, Bagatell R, Balis F: Pantoprazole, an inhibitor of the organic cation transporter 2, does not ameliorate cisplatin-related ototoxicity or nephrotoxicity in children and adolescents with newly diagnosed osteosarcoma treated with methotrexate, doxorubicin, and cisplatin. Oncologist 23(7), February 2018.

Vogel J, Both S, Kirk M, Chao HH, Bagatell R, Li Y, Womer R, Balamuth N, Reilly A, Kurtz G, Lustig R, Tochner Z, Hill-Kayser C: Proton therapy for pediatric head and neck malignancies. Pediatric Blood and Cancer 65(2), 2018.

Balis FM, Womer RB, Berg S, Winick N, Adamson PC, Fox E, Children’s Oncology Group Chemotherapy Standardization Task Force: : Dosing anticancer drugs in infants: Current approach and recommendations from the Children’s Oncology Group Chemotherapy Standardization Task Force. Pediatric Blood and Cancer May 2017.

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Last updated: 07/01/2020
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