Fields of Interest: cancer growth, early and late detection of cancer, electron optics

Michael Retsky has had two overlapping careers, one in cancer research and the other in electron optics. He received his PhD in Physics from the University of Chicago (1974) specializing in electron optics and electron microscopy. As part of his thesis, he built a 100 kV scanning transmission electron microscope that could resolve single atoms. See Retsky, Optik, 1974. One of his micrographs showing single silver atoms on a thin carbon film won an international award from the Royal Microscopical Society.

Michael began his professional career working at Zenith Electronics in Chicago from 1964 to 1978 holding various positions including Manager of Electron Gun Engineering. From there he moved to Hewlett-Packard in Colorado Springs from 1978 to 1986. He received 3 US patents in one year (1981). While at HP, Michael became interested in cancer research and gradually changed careers - eventually taking a position as Professor of Biology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. For a time he was Visiting Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology at the University of Texas Health Science Center - San Antonio. He helped develop and market a prognostic report for individual breast cancer patients. The product was marketed by Dianon Systems, Inc. of Stratford, CT.

He is Lecturer in Surgery in the late Judah Folkman's group at Harvard Medical School studying breast cancer growth and the impact of surgery on angiogenesis. A specialty is the study of early and delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. He and colleagues explained the breast cancer mammography screening controversy for women age 40-49 (Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2003) and why adjuvant chemotherapy works best for premenopausal node-positive patients (Breast Cancer Research May 2004). His research suggests breast cancer growth includes periods of dormancy and also that sometimes surgery to remove a primary tumor kicks-off growth of dormant distant micrometastases accelerating relapse.

A patent application was submitted and a paper was published (Retsky et al 2009) describing a primary antiangiogenic therapy for early stage breast cancer.

Michael was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 1994. He designed his own chemotherapy protocol - consisting of daily low-dose 5-fluorouracil used for 2.5 years rather than 6 months of twice-a-month intensive therapy. Similar protocols termed metronomic therapy are now in clinical trials. See “Dr. Folkman's War”, by Robert Cooke, Random House, 2000. Michael is active as a patient-advocate on the Board of Directors of the Colon Cancer Alliance (www.ccalliance.org).

Michael is owner and founder of Electron Optics Development Co., LLC, a small business startup that received 5 research grants since 2001. EODC is working on electron beam devices for medical, commercial, and military applications. A patent was awarded in 2007 for a Star Wars type of anti-missile device. Other patents cover an improvement in electron beam computed tomography and a method to deactiveate buried explosive devices.

Michael is an active bicycle rider, runner and kayaker. He occasionally kayaks around Manhattan - a distance of 30 miles. He is married and has two grown daughters.

Demicheli R, Bonadonna G, Hrushesky WJ, Retsky MW, Valagussa P
Menopausal status dependence of early mortality reduction due to diagnosis of smaller breast cancers (T1 v T2-T3): relevance to screening.
J Clin Oncol. 2004 Jan 1;22(1):102-7.
Abstract

Retsky M, Demicheli R, Hrushesky W
Breast cancer screening: controversies and future directions.
Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2003 Feb;15(1):1-8.
Abstract

Retsky M, Demicheli R, Hrushesky W
Breast cancer screening for women aged 40-49 years: screening may not be the benign process usually thought.
J Natl Cancer Inst. 2001 Oct 17;93(20):1572.


Retsky M, Demicheli R, Hrushesky W
Premenopausal status accelerates relapse in node positive breast cancer: hypothesis links angiogenesis, screening controversy.
Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2001 Feb;65(3):217-24.
Abstract

Retsky M, Demicheli R, Hrushesky W
Wounding from biopsy and breast-cancer progression.
Lancet. 2001 Mar 31;357(9261):1048.


Demicheli R, Retsky MW, Swartzendruber DE, Bonadonna G
Proposal for a new model of breast cancer metastatic development.
Ann Oncol. 1997 Nov;8(11):1075-80.
Abstract

Retsky MW, Demicheli R, Swartzendruber DE, Bame PD, Wardwell RH, Bonadonna G, Speer JF, Valagussa P
Computer simulation of a breast cancer metastasis model.
Breast Cancer Res Treat. 1997 Sep;45(2):193-202.
Abstract

Retsky MW, Demicheli R, Hrushesky WJ
Screening and breast cancer.
N Engl J Med. 2006 Feb 16;354(7):767-9; author reply 767-9.


Retsky MW, Hrushesky WJ, Gukas ID
Hypothesis: primary antiangiogenic method proposed to treat early stage breast cancer.
BMC Cancer. 2009 Jan 8;9:7.
Abstract

Retsky MW, Swartzendruber DE, Bame PD, Wardwell RH
A new paradigm for breast cancer.
Recent Results Cancer Res. 1993;127:13-22.


Retsky MW, Demicheli R, Gukas ID, Hrushesky WJ
Enhanced surgery-induced angiogenesis among premenopausal women might partially explain excess breast cancer mortality of blacks compared to whites: an hypothesis.
Int J Surg. 2007 Oct;5(5):300-4. Epub 2007 Jan 8.
Abstract

Demicheli R, Retsky MW, Hrushesky WJ, Baum M
Tumor dormancy and surgery-driven interruption of dormancy in breast cancer: learning from failures.
Nat Clin Pract Oncol. 2007 Dec;4(12):699-710.
Abstract

Retsky M
Universal law of tumor growth.
J Theor Biol. 2004 Aug 7;229(3):289.


Retsky M, Bonadonna G, Demicheli R, Folkman J, Hrushesky W, Valagussa P
Hypothesis: Induced angiogenesis after surgery in premenopausal node-positive breast cancer patients is a major underlying reason why adjuvant chemotherapy works particularly well for those patients.
Breast Cancer Res. 2004;6(4):R372-4. Epub 2004 May 14.
Abstract

Retsky MW, Demicheli R, Hrushesky WJ, Baum M, Gukas ID
Dormancy and surgery-driven escape from dormancy help explain some clinical features of breast cancer.
APMIS. 2008 Jul-Aug;116(7-8):730-41.
Abstract

Demicheli R, Miceli R, Moliterni A, Zambetti M, Hrushesky WJ, Retsky MW, Valagussa P, Bonadonna G
Breast cancer recurrence dynamics following adjuvant CMF is consistent with tumor dormancy and mastectomy-driven acceleration of the metastatic process.
Ann Oncol. 2005 Sep;16(9):1449-57. Epub 2005 Jun 14.
Abstract

Baum M, Demicheli R, Hrushesky W, Retsky M
Does surgery unfavourably perturb the "natural history" of early breast cancer by accelerating the appearance of distant metastases?
Eur J Cancer. 2005 Mar;41(4):508-15. Epub 2005 Jan 18.
Abstract

Retsky M, Demicheli R, Hrushesky W, Speer J, Swartzendruber D, Wardwell R
Recent translational research: computational studies of breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Res. 2005;7(1):37-40. Epub 2004 Dec 17.
Abstract

Retsky MW, Hrushesky W, Baum M
Sociodemographic determinants of cancer treatment health literacy.
Cancer. 2006 Feb 1;106(3):726-7; author reply 727.