Prof. Ross Camidge

University of Colorado

Dr. Camidge joined the University of Colorado as a visiting professor in November of 2005 and was recruited as full-time faculty in October of 2007. He is dual-trained in both medical oncology and clinical pharmacology.

About Doctor Camidge:

Dr. David Ross Camidge is Director of Thoracic Oncology at the University of Colorado. His focus is in Thoracic Malignancies and Developmental Therapeutics (Phase I studies). In 2012, he was announced as the recipient of the 5th Bonnie J. Addario Lectureship as a “Luminary in the quest to eradicate lung cancer.” In 2013, Dr. Camidge became the first physician to receive the Hank Baskett Sr. Spirit Award, for which he was credited as being “one of the leading minds in lung cancer today.” In 2015, he became the inaugural recipient of the Joyce Zeff Chair in Lung Cancer Research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Dr. Camidge is also the National Medical Director of the Academic Thoracic Oncology Medical Investigators Consortium and a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Lung Cancer Committee.

Medical School

MD, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK (1995)

Graduate School

PhD, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (1992)

Undergraduate School

BA, Oxford University, Oxford, UK (1988)

Internship

John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK (1995)

Research Interests

The CU Thoracic Oncology Program has been behind almost every major development in the treatment of thoracic cancers, particularly lung cancer, in the last decade. In addition to research ideas originating directly from CU, as our national and international reputation has grown to make us one of the top lung cancer programs in the world, we get offered a very wide array of new drugs and new approaches to explore in clinical trials. We then use our extensive experience to try to pick the experimental drugs and treatments with the very highest chances of success to include in our clinical trials portfolio. Nationally only about 3% of lung cancer patients are placed on clinical trials, but for many years our own accrual rates have consistently run at about 40% - one of the highest in the world - not because we are in the business of throwing trials at people, but much more because we believe the best treatment for many cancers continues to improve and clinical trials are the means to get our patients access to these potential breakthroughs years before they will become more widely available.

Publications

ASCO 2006
British Medical Journal
Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology
Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology
British Medical Journal

Specialty Information

Specialties

Medical Oncology (2005)

Conditions & Treatments

Cancers - Lung Cancer
Cancers

Clinical Interests
I have been the Director of the Thoracic Oncology Clinical and Clinical Research Programs at CU since 2007. Thoracic Oncology encompasses predominantly lung cancer (both small cell and non-small cell), mesothelioma and thymic cancers. The standard treatment for many of these cancers have undergone a revolution in the last few years, particularly in relation to the use of personalized medicine – doing a series of specific tests to look for what is ‘driving’ the cancer and then trying to tailor drug treatments to each cancer’s specific genetic ‘Achilles heel’. With multiple successes to our name, the CU program has really established itself as one of the premier sites for leading this approach. In addition, every physician in the Thoracic Oncology Program works as part of a highly functional multidisciplinary team, working very closely with all our colleagues in other relevant specialties – including thoracic surgery, radiation oncology and pulmonology – to deliver personalized medicine in a different way – developing a personal treatment plan for each patient. This approach allows us to make the optimal use of every possible modality, often pushing the envelope in terms of new developments, to maximize the chances of prolonging control or curing each person’s cancer. Beyond the medicine, I, and all members of our team, also believe we should look after every patient, and their friends and family, as we would want our own friends and family to be looked after - From the personal touch of our highly informed and highly skilled schedulers and navigators, through to the honesty and expertise of our clinic nurses and faculty. Cancer is a tough diagnosis for everyone involved – so part of our job is to make the day to day business of caring for it as positive an experience as possible.

Knowledgeable and professional, he is truly a dedicated expert.

Albert L.

Cancer Patient