Paul H. Sugarbaker

Paul H. Sugarbaker, MD is Director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Malignancies at the Washington Cancer Institute and is universally recognized as the founder of the combined cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) treatment strategy for peritoneal surface malignancies. Over more than four decades, he developed, refined, and globally disseminated this approach, transforming peritoneal carcinomatosis from a uniformly fatal condition to one where long-term survival — and in selected cases cure — became achievable. Dr. Sugarbaker developed the peritonectomy procedures and the Peritoneal Cancer Index (PCI), now the universally adopted staging and patient selection tool for CRS-HIPEC. His prospective studies in appendiceal neoplasms, particularly pseudomyxoma peritonei, demonstrated 10- and 20-year survival rates that fundamentally changed the nihilistic view of peritoneal dissemination. His subsequent work extended CRS-HIPEC to colorectal, gastric, and mesothelioma peritoneal metastases, supported by phase III trial evidence. Dr. Sugarbaker founded the Peritoneal Surface Oncology Group International (PSOGI), organized international training programs, and edited the definitive textbooks in the field. He has trained over 200 surgeons from more than 40 countries and his protocols are used in major CRS-HIPEC centers on every continent. He is among the most cited surgical oncologists in history, with landmark publications spanning the Annals of Surgery, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and the New England Journal of Medicine.