The pediatric research community has lost a shining light.
Dr. Teresa Vietti, pediatrician, oncologist, and scientific investigator, whose leadership ushered in the era of cooperative clinical trials in childhood cancer, died this January at the age of 82. Dr. Vietti’s collaborative approach to research inspired the founding of the Children’s Discovery Institute.
As Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Vietti was a world-renowned pioneer in childhood cancer for 50 years. Her basic-science research on anticancer agents paved the way for the remarkable increase in survival in childhood cancer—from below 15% to about 80% over the last four decades.
Dr. Vietti conducted over 200 clinical investigations, including her landmark 1960 study of cyclophosphamide in childhood leukemia. Her wide-ranging research interests also included soft tissue and bone sarcoma, Wilm’s tumor, brain tumor, and neuroblastoma.
As a child in Forth Worth, Texas, Dr. Vietti saved 5 cents a month to buy her first microscope at age 9. She attended Baylor Medical School, then interned at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where she became chief resident. After her first faculty position at the University of Texas Southwestern, Dr. Vietti returned to St. Louis in 1961. She served as Chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine from 1970 to 1986.
A generation ago, when pediatric medicine could offer compassion but not cure to children with cancer, Teresa Vietti championed basic studies, translational research, and clinical trials. Dr. Vietti was truly the mother of multi-modality cancer treatment in children. Survivors of childhood cancer owe their lives to her work.
by Alan L. Schwartz, MD
Alan L. Schwartz, MD, PhD is the Executive Director and Interim Scientific Director of the Children’s Discovery Institute. He is Harriet B. Spoehrer Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics; Professor of Developmental Biology; and Pediatrician-in- Chief, St. Louis Children’s Hospital.