David Cunningham
大卫·坎宁安
MD, FRCP
Consultant Medical Oncologist and Head, Department of Medicine, Royal Marsden Hospital; Professor, Institute of Cancer Research皇家马斯登医院顾问肿瘤内科医师兼医学部主任；癌症研究所教授
👥Biography 个人简介
David Cunningham, MD, FRCP is Consultant Medical Oncologist and Head of the Department of Medicine at the Royal Marsden Hospital, and Professor at the Institute of Cancer Research in London. He is one of the most distinguished gastrointestinal oncologists in the world, with a career spanning more than three decades of landmark contributions to colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, and upper gastrointestinal malignancies. Dr. Cunningham is most widely known as the principal investigator of the REAL2 trial establishing the non-inferiority of capecitabine (oral 5-FU) and oxaliplatin in advanced esophagogastric cancer, and as co-leader of the FLOT4 trial demonstrating that FLOT perioperative chemotherapy significantly improved OS versus ECF in resectable gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers. In colorectal cancer, he co-led the COIN, PICCOLO, and FOCUS family of trials investigating anti-EGFR therapy, irinotecan-based combinations, and treatment sequencing in UK cooperative groups, generating major practice-informing datasets. He has contributed to more than 500 peer-reviewed publications with an h-index exceeding 100, and has served as Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Cancer. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and has received multiple national honors for contributions to oncology.
🧪Research Fields 研究领域
🎓Key Contributions 主要贡献
COIN Trial — Cetuximab and FOLFOX in First-Line mCRC (UK Cooperative Group)
Co-led the UK MRC COIN phase III trial evaluating cetuximab addition to FOLFOX or CAPOX in first-line metastatic CRC, which contributed to the understanding that KRAS and RAS status are essential for anti-EGFR selection, and that tumor sidedness and sidedness-RAS interactions are important determinants of benefit — providing key UK population data informing ESMO and NICE guidelines.
PICCOLO Trial — Panitumumab in irinotecan-Refractory mCRC with KRAS Analysis
Served as co-principal investigator of the PICCOLO phase III trial demonstrating that panitumumab added to irinotecan improved progression-free survival in KRAS codon 12/13 wild-type irinotecan-refractory mCRC, and contributing detailed biomarker analyses including KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, and PIK3CA testing that refined understanding of anti-EGFR predictive biomarkers.
FOCUS and FOCUS4 Trials — Treatment Sequencing and Maintenance in UK mCRC
Co-designed the FOCUS series of randomized trials, which established optimal sequencing of oxaliplatin- and irinotecan-based regimens in first and subsequent lines of mCRC, and the FOCUS4 maintenance platform trial investigating targeted and immunotherapy maintenance strategies in molecularly defined mCRC subgroups — a model for adaptive platform trial design in GI oncology.
Perioperative Chemotherapy Trials and Resectable GI Cancer Management
Led the MAGIC trial and contributed to FLOT4, establishing perioperative chemotherapy as the standard of care for resectable gastric and gastroesophageal cancers globally; also has led investigations of perioperative strategies in resectable CRC liver metastases, bridging medical oncology and surgical oncology.
Representative Works 代表性著作
Capecitabine and oxaliplatin for advanced esophagogastric cancer (REAL2)
New England Journal of Medicine (2008)
REAL2 trial establishing capecitabine and oxaliplatin as effective non-inferior oral alternatives to 5-FU and cisplatin in advanced upper gastrointestinal cancers.
Perioperative chemotherapy with fluorouracil plus folinic acid, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel versus fluorouracil or capecitabine plus cisplatin and epirubicin for locally advanced, resectable gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (FLOT4)
The Lancet (2019)
FLOT4 trial establishing FLOT perioperative chemotherapy as the new standard for resectable gastric and GEJ adenocarcinoma with significantly improved OS over ECF/ECX.
Irinotecan combined with fluorouracil compared with fluorouracil alone as first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer: a multicentre randomised trial
The Lancet (1998)
Landmark trial establishing the superiority of irinotecan plus 5-FU over 5-FU alone in first-line metastatic CRC, founding the irinotecan-based (FOLFIRI) treatment era.
Chemotherapy plus targeted therapy in patients with KRAS wild-type advanced colorectal cancer: the COIN trial
The Lancet Oncology (2011)
COIN trial reporting cetuximab plus oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy in first-line KRAS wild-type mCRC, contributing to biomarker refinement for anti-EGFR patient selection.
🏆Awards & Recognition 奖项与荣誉
📄Data Sources 数据来源
Last updated: 2026-04-06 | All information from publicly available academic sources
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Carlos H. Barrios
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