Cancer Research Doctor Had Orthodox Jewish Upbringing

Dr. Steven Rosenberg, head of the research team at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., credited with a major breakthrough in the treatment of malignant tumors, had an Orthodox Jewish upbringing in The Bronx and is a member, with his wife Alice, of Beth-El Synagogue, a Conservative congregation in Bethesda where the oldest of his three daughters, Beth, was Bat-Mitzvah last year.

Rosenberg’s parents, Abraham and Harriet Rosenberg, have been residents of Israel for the last 12 years. They are 86 and 80 years of age, respectively, and see their son on his frequent visits to Israel, at least once a year. These trips have kept the familial bond intact despite the distance separating parents and son, Rosenberg told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a telephone interview.

He came to media prominence last summer as spokesman for the medical team that operated on President Reagan for cancer of the colon. He broke into the news again last week when the Institute announced dramatic results achieved by using genetically engineered protein to kill cancer cells.

The process, which is complex and still in the experimental stage, is based on enhancing the body’s immune system so that it produces “killer cells” which attack some forms of cancer.

The Institute announced December 4 that Rosenberg’s technique had achieved a remarkable rate of success, reducing by over 50 percent the size of tumors in II of 25 patients with terminal cancer. The patients were too far gone to respond to radiation, chemotherapy or surgery. In the case of one, all traces of cancer were eliminated.

But the treatment appears to have severe side effects for some, which are still under study. The American Cancer Society said the protein treatment success rate was higher than any other to date.