Philip Salem, M.D.
Pivotal Contributor to
Cancer Research

Since 1991, Dr. Philip A. Salem has worked as an oncologist and the director of the Cancer Research Program at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. And since 1992, he has also worked as a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. Throughout his career, Salem has contributed to cancer research and treatment, providing some pioneering studies in the field. 
Born in Bterram, ElKoura, Lebanon in July of 1941, Salem later studied at the American University of Beirut and also graduated from its medical school as a doctor in June, 1965. After completing three years of residency in Internal Medicine there, Salem began his career in cancer medicine when he came to the United States for specialization in cancer medicine and joined Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York in June, 1968. Salem trained under Dr. David Karnovsky in medical oncology for two years before joining M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, to train for an additional year in medical oncology under Dr. Emil Frei. 
Salem returned to Lebanon in August, 1971, joining the faculty of the American University of Beirut, and establishing one of the first fellowship training programs in cancer treatment and research in the Middle East. During his time at the American University of Beirut, he established the cancer program and the first cancer registry in Lebanon.
One of Salem’s major contributions to the world of cancer research came in the 1970s with his pioneering study on Mediterranean lymphoma, a cancer that exists only in Mediterranean countries and in the Middle East.
Salem’s research revealed that the disease, if detected early enough, could be completely reversed by antibiotics before the condition progressed to malignancy. These findings were among the first studies to prove the possibility of using drugs to prevent cancer (chemoprevention) as opposed to treating cancer (chemotherapy). It also helped paved the way for a 1990s British report that showed antibiotics may cure at least one form of stomach cancer.
"There are several diseases which are of particular significance in the Arab world," said Salem. "Schistosomiasis in Egypt; hepatitis in Saudi Arabia, which is the most probable cause for the high incidence of primary liver cancer in that country; and Mediterranean abdominal lymphoma, a unique kind of lymphoma that exists in the Arab world and in some of the Mediterranean countries."
Another important contribution Salem made to cancer research while back in Lebanon was his research on Cisplatinum, one of the most commonly used drugs in the treatment of cancer. However, the drug was extremely toxic to the kidneys until Salem came up with a new method of delivering it. Cisplatinum was given as an acute intravenous bolus injection and Salem discovered that when the drug is fractionated and given over a period of five days, it becomes much less toxic and its therapeutic efficacy may even increase. It is because of his work that Cisplatinum is now a safe and extremely useful drug in the treatment of many forms of cancer.
After 16 years in Lebanon, Salem immigrated to the United States in 1986, again joining the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Four years, later he was promoted to full professorship at M.D. Anderson.
Here Salem performed research on soft tissue sarcomas, providing yet another legendary contribution. He was the first to discover that Interferon, a new biological agent, is effective in the treatment of not only soft tissue sarcomas but of bone sarcomas as well. Salem was also instrumental in changing the philosophy of therapy in sarcomas and he was one of the first to recommend systematic chemotherapy as an initial treatment for high-grade sarcomas, prior to the use of surgery or radiotherapy.

In September, 1991, he was appointed director of the Cancer Research Program at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, yet he still worked as an adjunct professor of medicine at M.D. Anderson until the year 2000. Across the street from M.D. Anderson, the St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital is part of the prestigious Texas Medical Center.
In addition to his position at St. Luke’s, Salem is also a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. 
He has also served as a leader of the Houston consortium of the Texas Community Oncology Network (TCON), which is one of 10 projects of the Texas Outreach Program, an initiative to expand and improve cancer screening and prevention services to all Texas residents. Through TCON, St. Luke’s cancer program has established a research link with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Under Salem’s direction, St. Luke’s currently offers three chemoprevention studies, including a national trial using tamoxifen, a proven cancer therapy, to prevent breast cancer, and others using cis-retinoic acid (a synthetic form of vitamin A) used in the prevention of lung, head and neck cancers.
Salem has also served on many national committees on health care, becoming a prominent national figure in the medical and health-care world.
Salem worked very closely with the George Bush Sr. Administration and was appointed to several advisory committees to the White House on health-care issues. 
In addition to his commitments to medicine, Salem has also been highly involved in the United States at the national level in Lebanese and Arab affairs. In May, 1994, Salem received the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom award from the United States Congress. This award is the highest honor that the Republican Senate members could bestow on any individual.
Yet, Salem continues his medical research, also often focusing on the Arab world.
"There is extensive research in the United States on diseases that have particular significance in the Arab world," he said. "This research is being done, not because these diseases are of particular significance in the Arab world, but because they are of significance to the whole world." 
A prominent figure in oncology, Salem has served on the editorial board of the prestigious journal, Anti-Cancer Drugs. He also served on the Annals of Oncology editorial board. The Annals of Oncology is the official research journal of the European Society of Oncology. Salem has also authored many publications relating to the political, moral, educational and cultural problems affecting the Arab world.
He was inducted on July 10, 1994 into the Hall of Fame of the American Biographical Institute for his contributions to cancer medicine and research. In addition, he received many distinguished awards from the European Association for cancer research and treatment for his work on lymphomas. 
In May, 1996, Salem was elected as the first president of the Arab American Cancer Foundation. In addition to the above, he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lebanese American University in Lebanon. In 1998, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his outstanding contributions to America. He has also served as president of the Arab American Medical Association and he also chaired the AAMA’s Scientific and Research Committee in the 1990s.
The goals of the Scientific and Research Committee, Salem said are "to promote and support young Arab investigators who are doing research in the United States or in the Arab world, to support research which is focused on specific diseases that plague the Arab world, and to promote exchange programs between the Arab world and medical universities in the United States." 
On June 4, 1998, the president of the Republic of Italy, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, bestowed upon Salem the honor in rank of Commander (Commandatore) of the Order to the Merit of the Italian Republic (OMRI). 
In February, 2001, he was selected as one of America’s top doctors. Less than one percent of American doctors were selected for this honor, showing Salem’s crowning achievement as one of the nation’s, if not the world’s, top oncologists.

How Can You Prevent Cancer?
Dr. Salem Offers Some Tips
1. Don’t Smoke. "Smoking is the major cause of lung cancer," said Salem, and "it can also cause cancers of the lip, tongue, mouth and larynx. The epidemic of lung cancer that we witness now is the direct result of the spread of tobacco smoking."
2. Limit Alcohol Use. Excessive intake of alcohol may not only cause mental and behavioral problems, but "it may cause cancer of the mouth and larynx specifically in people who are heavy smokers," said Salem.
3. Avoid Sun Exposure Over Long Periods of Time. "Exposure to the sun for prolonged periods may predispose the skin to cancer," Salem cautioned. The risk is becoming greater with the depletion of the Ozone layer which is why the incidence of skin cancer is rising each year, he added.
4. Women Over 30 Should Get An Annual PAP Smear. "This test is important to detect at a very early stage cancer of the uterus and the cervix," Salem said.
5. Women Over 40 Should Get An Annual Mammography. "This x-ray will detect breast cancer at a very early stage," Salem said, and, he added, "At such a stage, breast cancer is curable."
6. Consult a Competent Physician When You Have a Medical Problem. "It is extremely important to check with your physician when you have a medical problem and not to drag and delay the consultation," said Salem.
Following these tips by Salem may help to prevent cancer.

Dr. Salem’s Lecture on Arabs in America
In a lecture to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) entitled "Arabs in America: The Crisis and the Challenge," Salem said:
"Short of loss of life, I do not know of any loss which is as important as loss of identity. Those who forget who they are, and where they came from, have a vision which is permanently out of focus, and a life which is permanently marginal.
"To achieve and maintain it, we must perceive heritage. This is the challenge. Unfortunately, many Arabs in America believe their heritage is worthless and shameful and are very anxious to dismantle it and try what is ‘American.’
"One of the fatal mistakes historians make when they deal with heritage is to consider it sacred. I do not believe there is anything sacred about heritage, and unless it is carefully studied and dissected, it could become an opium. And indeed, in our homeland, heritage has become an opium and thus, it is a major obstacle to progress.
"It is wrong to believe everything you brought with you from the East is good, and it is equally wrong to believe everything you brought is bad.
"Arab-Americans should consider themselves fortunate they live in a land that provides them with freedom; the freedom of choice and the freedom of sorting out their heritage and their past. Since we have the freedom to do so, let us ask, what is it in our heritage that we should keep to ourselves and offer it to the West?
"In our heritage, friends are for life, and friendship is a life commitment. To Americans, friendship is a luxury item; to us, a necessity. Somehow in America, friendship is conceived as an additional social burden. To us, it is a social necessity that enriches our lives and deepens their meaning.
"Partly, because of the lack of real friendship and partly because of the lack of the extended family, the American is by far, a more lonely person than the Arab.
"Life somehow has a deeper meaning for us. It has a certain myth. We love to live it; we love to enjoy it.
"One of the most important tools to preserve heritage is to preserve language. If our children do not speak our language, they become foreign to us and the cultural gap between them and us will widen. Some people immigrate twice; first, when they physically immigrate and second, when their children culturally immigrate away from them.
"What can we learn from America? Respect for science; commitment to hard work and discipline which is religion in America and one of the reasons it has made so much progress in such a short time; commitment to promises. Americans usually try to deliver what they promise. We, on the other hand, use words with much less commitment; the art of listening and tolerance to opposing views; teamwork, without it, America wouldn’t have been first to put a man on the moon. One issue that can bring us together is a unified response against the attempt to link Arabs to terrorism.
"We have done a poor job in portraying the image of Arabs as moral, ethical, generous and hospitable people.
"It is needless to say we owe America for its contributions to science and technology, but America needs us desperately to salvage it from its own self-destruction.
"America cannot lead the world by pure scientific and technological superiority because the real enemy of America is from within and not from without.
"The real challenge for us is to change the vision and direction of America. We can do so by infusing it with the spiritual wealth we brought from the East. It is our responsibility to make America recognize this need."

A New Book About Dr. Philip Salem
For his outstanding medical contributions, a book recently was published about him. The book, "Philip Salem: The Man, Country and Science," was written by Butros Indary, publisher of An Nahar Australia. 
A book signing ceremony took place at the Press Club of Lebanon in Beirut. The event was covered by many Lebanese and Arab press, radio and television. The Arab-American Affairs magazine will be reviewing the book next edition.