Dennis J. Slamon

Dennis Slamon is the pioneer who discovered ERBB2 (HER2) amplification in breast cancer and drove the development of trastuzumab (Herceptin) as the first molecularly targeted therapy for a solid tumor based on a specific oncogene amplification. His discovery that approximately 25% of breast cancers harbor HER2 gene amplification and that this drives aggressive biology was made in 1987, and his persistent advocacy over a decade of skepticism led to clinical trials that proved trastuzumab dramatically improved survival in HER2-positive breast cancer. This work is rightly considered among the most important contributions in oncology history, establishing the proof of concept that molecularly targeted therapy based on oncogene dependence can transform cancer outcomes.