Professor Frank Sullivan MB MRCPI FFRRCSI MSc

Professor Frank Sullivan MB MRCPI FFRRCSI MSc

Ireland
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About

Frank Sullivan has forty years professional experience in cancer care, as both an…

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Experience

  • Whyze Health Graphic

    Whyze Health

    Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

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    College of Medicine Nursing and Health SCience

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    Galway, Ireland

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    School of medicine

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    Boston, Massachussetts, USA

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    Galway, Ireland

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    Galway, Ireland

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    NUI Galway

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    Washington D.C. Metro Area

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    Bethesda, Md, USA

Education

  • University of Galway Graphic

    National University of Ireland, Galway

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    Became a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists, on the basis of work done in Radiation Oncology.

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    Fellowship in Medical Oncology, at the Medical Oncology, at the Medicine Branch, NCI (1987-1990); and, Residency in Radiation Oncology at the Radiation Oncology Branch, NCI (1988-1991).

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    Activities and Societies: Rugby Club, Music Society

    Graduated in Medicine, MB BCh BAO (overall second honours degree) (1982)

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    Activities and Societies: Sport, rugby and tennis

    Primary and Secondary School Education (graduated 1976)

Licenses & Certifications

Volunteer Experience

  • Cancer Care West Graphic

    Board Member

    Cancer Care West

    - Present 18 years 7 months

    Health

    Cancer Care West is dedicated to providing support to anyone affected by a cancer diagnosis in a safe, nurturing and accessible environment.

    We aim to provide a holistic service that complements medical treatment through the provision of residential accommodation and support services. Patient support is the central focus of everything we do. Our priorities are to equip all those we meet with the practical and emotional support they need to maintain peace of mind and quality of life…

    Cancer Care West is dedicated to providing support to anyone affected by a cancer diagnosis in a safe, nurturing and accessible environment.

    We aim to provide a holistic service that complements medical treatment through the provision of residential accommodation and support services. Patient support is the central focus of everything we do. Our priorities are to equip all those we meet with the practical and emotional support they need to maintain peace of mind and quality of life. Staff at Cancer Care West apply the same principles of care, respect and support to each other as we do to the clients we have the privilege to serve.

  • Macnas - Spectacle Theatre Company Graphic

    Chairman

    Macnas - Spectacle Theatre Company

    - Present 7 years 1 month

    Arts and Culture

Publications

  • Orteronel plus prednisone in patients with chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (ELM-PC 4): a double-blind, multicentre, phase 3, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

    Lancet Oncol. 2015 Mar;16(3):338-48. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(15)70027-6. Epub 2015 Feb 18.

    Collaborator: PARTIAL LIST

    From:
    Troon S, Underhill C, Dittrich C, Krainer M, Kramer G, Loidl W, Pummer K, Belyakovskiy V, Polyakov S, Goeminne JC, Hoekx L, Luyten D, Van Poppel H, Werbrouck P, Azambuja A, Barrios C, Brust L, Cabral Filho S, Carcano F, Cruz F, Damião R, Delgado G, Diógenes Â, Dzik C, Faccio A, de Faria G, Faulhaber A, Fernandes H, Ferreira U, Filho R, Franke F, Girotto G, Koff W, Kussumoto C, Malzyner A, de Moraes A, Padílha S, de Pádua C, Pinto L, Portella M, Reiriz…

    Collaborator: PARTIAL LIST

    From:
    Troon S, Underhill C, Dittrich C, Krainer M, Kramer G, Loidl W, Pummer K, Belyakovskiy V, Polyakov S, Goeminne JC, Hoekx L, Luyten D, Van Poppel H, Werbrouck P, Azambuja A, Barrios C, Brust L, Cabral Filho S, Carcano F, Cruz F, Damião R, Delgado G, Diógenes Â, Dzik C, Faccio A, de Faria G, Faulhaber A, Fernandes H, Ferreira U, Filho R, Franke F, Girotto G, Koff W, Kussumoto C, Malzyner A, de Moraes A, Padílha S, de Pádua C, Pinto L, Portella M, Reiriz A, da Silva Teixeira V, Vieiralves L, Dimitrov B, Dudov A, Micheva R, Petrov P, Taskova V, Carmel M, Casey R, Chin J, Jacobson A, Jansz G, Kapoor A, Kinahan T, Love W, Martin AG, Saad F, Trachtenberg J, Webster T, Acevedo Gaete A, Arén Frontera O, Leyton Naranjo R, Miranda Benabarre A, Pastor Arroyo P, Neira Reyes L, Ramirez Pinto G, Restrepo Molina J, Grgic M, Babjuk M, Domes L, Jansa J, Lukes M, Pavlik I, Zachoval R, Kahu J, Tamm T, Marttila T, Tammela T, Vaarala M, Vitanen J, Bompas E, Colombel M, Delva R, Deplanque G, Fizazi K, Flechon A, Giroux J, Joly F, Lechevallier E, Mottet Auselo N, Priou F, Roubaud G, Roupret M, Spaeth D, De La Taille A, Tourani JM, Feyerabend S, De Geeter P, Geiges G, Gleißner J, Hammerer P, Klotz T, Kuczyk M, Marin J, Schrader A, Stenzl A, Steuber T, Wirth M, Efstathiou E, Georgoulias V, Hatzimouratidis K, Kalofonos H, Papandreou C, Thanos A, Leung KC, Ng C, Farkas L, Pintér J, McDermott R, Sullivan F, et al.

    Other authors

  • Defining a standard set of patient-centered outcomes for men with localized prostate cancer.

    Eur Urol. 2015 Mar;67(3):460-7. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2014.08.075. Epub 2014 Sep 16.

  • Factors driving inequality in prostate cancer survival: a population based study.

    PLoS One. 2014 Sep 9;9(9):e106456. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106456. eCollection 2014.

    Other authors
    See publication

  • Stress and self-efficacy predict psychological adjustment at diagnosis of prostate cancer.

    Sci Rep. 2014 Jul 4;4:5569. doi: 10.1038/srep05569.

    Other authors
    • Curtis, R
    • Groarke, AM

  • Human endogenous retrovirus K and cancer: Innocent bystander or tumorigenic accomplice?

    Int J Cancer. 2014 May 29. doi: 10.1002/ijc.29003. [Epub ahead of print]

    Harbored as relics of ancient germline infections, human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) now constitute up to 8% of our genome. A proportion of this sequence has been co-opted for molecular and cellular processes, beneficial to human physiology, such as the fusogenic activity of the envelope protein, a vital component of placentogenesis. However, the discovery of high levels of HERV-K mRNA and protein and even virions in a wide array of cancers, has revealed that HERV-K may be playing a more…

    Harbored as relics of ancient germline infections, human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) now constitute up to 8% of our genome. A proportion of this sequence has been co-opted for molecular and cellular processes, beneficial to human physiology, such as the fusogenic activity of the envelope protein, a vital component of placentogenesis. However, the discovery of high levels of HERV-K mRNA and protein and even virions in a wide array of cancers, has revealed that HERV-K may be playing a more sinister role - a role as an etiological agent in cancer itself. Whether the presence of this retroviral material is simply an epiphenomenon, or an actual causative factor, is a hotly debated topic. This review will summarize the current state of knowledge regarding HERV-K and cancer and attempt to outline the potential mechanisms by which HERV-K could be involved in the onset and promotion of carcinogenesis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
    Copyright © 2014 UICC.

    Other authors
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  • Elevated HERV-K mRNA expression in PBMC is associated with a prostate cancer diagnosis particularly in older men and smokers.

    Carcinogenesis, Published by Oxford University Press 2014.

    Aberrant expression of subgroup k human endogenous retroviruses (HERV-K) has been observed in prostate cancer. This subgroup is unique because it encodes sequences in the human genome containing open reading frames for near intact retroviruses. We hypothesized that HERV-K reactivation could serve as a non-invasive early disease detection marker for prostate cancer. We evaluated HERV-K gag mRNA expression in blood samples of African-American and European-American men using a case-control design…

    Aberrant expression of subgroup k human endogenous retroviruses (HERV-K) has been observed in prostate cancer. This subgroup is unique because it encodes sequences in the human genome containing open reading frames for near intact retroviruses. We hypothesized that HERV-K reactivation could serve as a non-invasive early disease detection marker for prostate cancer. We evaluated HERV-K gag mRNA expression in blood samples of African-American and European-American men using a case-control design via qRT-PCR. Additionally we examined HERV-K envelope protein expression in prostate tumors by immunohistochemistry. HERV-K envelope protein was commonly up-regulated in prostate tumors, but more so in tumors of African-American than European-American patients (61% versus 40%, P < 0.01). Examining HERV-K gag expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 294 cases and 135 healthy men, we found that the abundance of HERV-K gag message was significantly higher in cases than controls, and was associated with increased plasma IFNγ. Men with gag expression in the highest quartile had a greater than 12-fold increased odds [odds ratio = 12.87 (95% CI 6.3-26.25)] of being diagnosed with prostate cancer than those in the lowest quartile. Moreover, our results showed that HERV-K expression may perform better as a disease biomarker in older than younger men (whereas the sensitivity of PSA testing decreases with age), and in men with a smoking history compared with never smokers. Combining non-invasive HERV-K testing with PSA testing may improve the efficacy of prostate cancer detection specifically among older men and smokers who tend to develop a more aggressive disease.
    Published by Oxford University Press 2014.

    Other authors
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  • Further preclinical assessment of compound EL102 in the treatment of prostate cancer. | 2014

    ASCO Annual Meeting Abstracts

    Further preclinical assessment of compound EL102 in the treatment of prostate cancer. | 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting Abstracts
    ... (s ): Aidan P. Toner, Francis J. Giles, Frank Sullivan, Emma Harte, Laura A. Carleton, Adrienne M. Gorman, ...
    Terms matched: 1 - URL: http://abstracts.asco.org/144/AbstView_144_127915.html

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  • The potential of peripheral blood HERV-K expression as a biomarker for diagnosis with prostate cancer in older men. | 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting Abstracts

    2014 ASCO Annual Meeting Abstracts

    12. The potential of peripheral blood HERV-K expression as a biomarker for diagnosis with prostate cancer in older men. | 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting Abstracts
    ... Ronan Downey, Caleb Seufert, Aaron Schetter, Francis J. Giles, Frank Sullivan, Tiffany Dorsey, Radoslav Goldman, Peisha Yan, Feng Wang-Johanning, Stefan ...
    Terms matched: 1 - URL: http://abstracts.asco.org/144/AbstView_144_127425.html

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  • The novel toluidine sulphonamide EL102 shows pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo activity against prostate cancer and circumvents MDR1 resistance

    British Journal of Cancer (2013) 109, 2131–2141. doi:10.1038/bjc.2013.537

    background: Taxanes are routinely used for the treatment of prostate cancer, however the majority of patients eventually develop resistance. We investigated the potential efficacy of EL102, a novel toluidine sulphonamide, in pre-clinical models of prostate cancer.
    methods: The effect of EL102 and/or docetaxel on PC-3, DU145, 22Rv1 and CWR22 prostate cancer cells was assessed using cell viability, cell cycle analysis and PARP cleavage assays. Tubulin polymerisation and immunofluorescence…

    background: Taxanes are routinely used for the treatment of prostate cancer, however the majority of patients eventually develop resistance. We investigated the potential efficacy of EL102, a novel toluidine sulphonamide, in pre-clinical models of prostate cancer.
    methods: The effect of EL102 and/or docetaxel on PC-3, DU145, 22Rv1 and CWR22 prostate cancer cells was assessed using cell viability, cell cycle analysis and PARP cleavage assays. Tubulin polymerisation and immunofluorescence assays were used to assess tubulin dynamics. CWR22 xenograft murine model was used to assess effects on tumour proliferation. Multidrug-resistant lung cancer DLKPA was used to assess EL102 in a MDR1-mediated drug resistance background.
    results: EL102 has in vitro activity against prostate cancer, characterised by accumulation in G2/M, induction of apoptosis, inhibition of Hif1α, and inhibition of tubulin polymerisation and decreased microtubule stability. In vivo, a combination of EL102 and docetaxel exhibits superior tumour inhibition. The DLKP cell line and multidrug-resistant DLKPA variant (which exhibits 205 to 691-fold greater resistance to docetaxel, paclitaxel, vincristine and doxorubicin) are equally sensitive to EL102.
    conclusion: EL102 shows potential as both a single agent and within combination regimens for the treatment of prostate cancer, particularly in the chemoresistance setting.
    Keywords: prostate cancer; chemotherapeutic; toluidine sulphonamide; taxane; MDR1 drug resistance; Hif1

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  • Development and Progress of Ireland's Biobank Network: Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI), Standardized Documentation, Sample and Data Release, and International Perspective.

    Biopreserv Biobank. 2013 Feb;11(1):3-11. doi: 10.1089/bio.2012.0028.

    Biobank Ireland Trust (BIT) was established in 2004 to promote and develop an Irish biobank network to benefit patients, researchers, industry, and the economy. The network commenced in 2008 with two hospital biobanks and currently consists of biobanks in the four main cancer hospitals in Ireland. The St. James's Hospital (SJH) Biobank coordinates the network. Procedures, based on ISBER and NCI guidelines, are standardized across the network. Policies and documents-Patient Consent Policy…

    Biobank Ireland Trust (BIT) was established in 2004 to promote and develop an Irish biobank network to benefit patients, researchers, industry, and the economy. The network commenced in 2008 with two hospital biobanks and currently consists of biobanks in the four main cancer hospitals in Ireland. The St. James's Hospital (SJH) Biobank coordinates the network. Procedures, based on ISBER and NCI guidelines, are standardized across the network. Policies and documents-Patient Consent Policy, Patient Information Sheet, Biobank Consent Form, Sample and Data Access Policy (SAP), and Sample Application Form have been agreed upon (after robust discussion) for use in each hospital. An optimum sequence for document preparation and submission for review is outlined. Once consensus is reached among the participating biobanks, the SJH biobank liaises with the Research and Ethics Committees, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, The National Cancer Registry (NCR), patient advocate groups, researchers, and other stakeholders. The NCR provides de-identified data from its database for researchers via unique biobank codes. ELSI issues discussed include the introduction of prospective consent across the network and the return of significant research results to patients. Only 4 of 363 patients opted to be re-contacted and re-consented on each occasion that their samples are included in a new project. It was decided, after multidisciplinary discussion, that results will not be returned to patients. The SAP is modeled on those of several international networks. Biobank Ireland is affiliated with international biobanking groups-Marble Arch International Working Group, ISBER, and ESBB. The Irish government continues to deliberate on how to fund and implement biobanking nationally. Meanwhile BIT uses every opportunity to promote awareness of the benefits of biobanking in events and in the media.

    Other authors
    • Mee B1, Gaffney E, Glynn SA, Donatello S, Carroll P, Connolly E, Garrigle SM, Boyle T, Flannery D, Sullivan FJ
    See publication

  • The Yin and Yang of Nitric Oxide in Cancer Progression

    Carcinogenesis

    Abstract
    Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived, pleiotropic molecule that affects numerous critical functions in the body. Presently, there are markedly conflicting findings in the literature regarding NO and its role in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. NO has been shown to have dichotomous effects on cellular proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and many other important processes in cancer biology. It has been shown to be both pro- and antitumorigenic, depending on…

    Abstract
    Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived, pleiotropic molecule that affects numerous critical functions in the body. Presently, there are markedly conflicting findings in the literature regarding NO and its role in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. NO has been shown to have dichotomous effects on cellular proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and many other important processes in cancer biology. It has been shown to be both pro- and antitumorigenic, depending on the concentration and the tumor microenvironment in question. NO is generated by three isoforms of NO synthase (NOS) that are widely expressed and sometimes upregulated in human tumors. Due to its vast array of physiological functions, it presents a huge challenge to researchers to discover its true potential in cancer biology and consequently, its use in anticancer therapies. In this study, we review the current knowledge in this area, with an emphasis placed on NO modulation as an anticancer therapy, focusing on NO-donating drugs and NOS inhibitors.
    PMID: 23354310 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

    Other authors
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  • Gastrointestinal radiation injury: prevention and treatment. Review.

    2013 Jan 14;19(2):199-208.doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i2.199. PMID: 23345942 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

    Other authors
    • Shadad AK, Sullivan FJ, Martin JD, Egan LJ.
    See publication

  • Gastrointestinal radiation injury: symptoms, risk factors and mechanisms.

    World J Gastroenterol. 2013 Jan 14;19(2):185-98. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i2.185. Review.

    Review of radiation injury to the GI tract.

    Other authors
    • Shadad AK, Sullivan FJ, Martin JD, Egan LJ.
    See publication

  • Quality assurance practice guidelines for transperineal LDR permanent seed brachytherapy of prostate cancer

    The Royal Co llege of Radiologists. Quality assurance practice guidelines for transperineal LDR permanent seed brachytherapy of prostate cancer . London: The Royal College of Radiologists, 2012

    A set of guidelines for LDR Prostate Brachytherapy published by the Faculty, Royal College of Radiology, UK, on behalf of the UK & Ireland. Listed authors were the faculty committee.

    Other authors
    • Robert Laing,
    • Sarah Aldridge
    • James Wylie
    • Peter Bownes
    • Henry Taylor
    See publication

  • Isolated cutaneous metastasis of uterine leiomyosarcoma: case report and review of literature.

    Diagn Pathol. 2012 Jul 18;7:85. doi: 10.1186/1746-1596-7-85. Review.

    Case report and literature review.

    See publication

  • Malignant phyllodes tumour with liposarcomatous differentiation, invasive tubular carcinoma, and ductal and lobular carcinoma in situ: case report and review of the literature.

    Patholog Res Int. 2010 Jul 5;2010:501274. doi: 10.4061/2010/501274.

    Other authors
    • Abdul Aziz M
    • Kerin, M
    • Callagy, G

  • Combining a recombinant cancer vaccine with standard definitive radiotherapy in patients with localized prostate cancer.

    Clin Cancer Res. 2005 May 1;11(9):3353-62.

    Other authors
    • Gulley JL
    • Arlen, PM
    • Bastian, A
    • Morin, S
    • Marte, J
    • Beetham, P
    • Tsang, KY
    • Yokokawa, J
    • Hodge, JW
    • Et al

  • Research list of publications

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Courses

  • Diploma in Leadership and Quality Improvement (in progress)

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  • Diploma in Leadership and Quality Improvement (in progress)

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  • Primary Medical Degree

    MB BCh BAO

Languages

  • English

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Organizations

  • Prostate Cancer Results Study Group

    Member

    - Present

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