# Andrew Pecora

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**Andrew Louis Pecora** (born 1957) is an American [hematologist](/source/Hematology) and [oncologist](/source/Oncology) involved in research on the use of stem cells and [oncolytic viruses](/source/Oncolytic_viruses) to treat diseases, including [cancer](/source/Cancer).[1] He is the CEO of Outcomes Matter Innovations. As of 2020, he is on the Board of Directors Celularity, Inc. (since 2017) and founder and Executive Chairman, COTA, Inc. (since 2012).[2][3] Previously, he was [chief innovations officer](/source/Chief_innovation_officer), professor and vice president of cancer services at the [John Theurer Cancer Center](/source/John_Theurer_Cancer_Center), part of the [Hackensack University Medical Center](/source/Hackensack_University_Medical_Center). He is a professor of medicine and oncology at [Georgetown University](/source/Georgetown_University_School_of_Medicine).[4]

## Early life and education

Pecora was born in 1957 in [Newark](/source/Newark,_New_Jersey), [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey). He was raised in [Nutley](/source/Nutley,_New_Jersey) and graduated [Nutley High School](/source/Nutley_High_School).[5] Pecora attended [Seton Hall University](/source/Seton_Hall_University), graduating in 1979 with [Bachelor of Science](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) in Biology. He then attended the [University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey](/source/University_of_Medicine_and_Dentistry_of_New_Jersey) (UMDNJ), graduating with a medical degree in 1983. He is a diplomate of the [American Board of Internal Medicine](/source/American_Board_of_Internal_Medicine)'s sub-specialties of [hematology](/source/Hematology) and [oncology](/source/Oncology).[6]

## Medical career

Pecora interned at [New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center](/source/New_York_Hospital-Cornell_Medical_Center) from 1983 to 1984 and was a resident in internal medicine from 1984 to 1986.[6]

From 1986 to 1989, he began a fellowship at [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center](/source/Memorial_Sloan_Kettering_Cancer_Center). He then moved to [Hackensack University Medical Center](/source/Hackensack_University_Medical_Center) (HUMC) to become assistant director of [stem cell and bone marrow transplantation](/source/Hematopoietic_stem_cell_transplantation) from 1990 to 1993. He became the program's chief director of [stem cell](/source/Stem_cell) collection and storage services.[6][7][8] Pecora later created the John Theurer Cancer Center's and served as chairman, chief innovations officer, and vice president.[9][10][4]

He is listed as an inventor on seven granted patents.[11] His distinctions include he ASCO Cancer Foundation Research Award,[12] BioNJ Dr. Sol J. Barer Award for vision, innovation and leadership,[13] and the Gallo Award for outstanding cancer research.

### Research and grants

Between 1992 and 2005, Pecora was Principal Investigator on more than 40 studies and trials. In 1998, he started a version of the [problem-based learning](/source/Problem-based_learning) program at [UMDNJ](/source/University_of_Medicine_and_Dentistry_of_New_Jersey). This was an adaptation of earlier programs that allows medical students to fulfill their early basic science course requirements by examining the actual case studies.[14]

That same year, Pecora was the lead author on the study of CD34+CD33− cells as it relates to chemotherapy treatment and bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of [non-Hodgkin's lymphoma](/source/Non-Hodgkin_lymphoma) (NHL).[15] Pecora et al. discovered that patients who had received more than two cycles of [chemotherapy](/source/Chemotherapy) and were shown to have "chemotherapy-resistant NHL mobilized a significantly lower percentage of CD34+CD33− cells than did chemotherapy-sensitive NHL patients." They also found the reverse that those who had received less significant levels of chemotherapy treatment had higher levels of CD34+CD33− cells.[1]

In 2002, Pecora was an investigator in a study of PV701, a [virus](/source/Virus) that selectively attacks [cancer cells](/source/Cancer_cell).[16][17] In the [phase 1](/source/Phases_of_clinical_research) clinical trial, they found that intravenous administration of the [oncolytic viruses](/source/Oncolytic_virus) led to inflammation of the tumor site that made it difficult to immediately determine effectiveness of the treatment. This false appearance of increase in cancer cells was confirmed by a later trial of the same oncolytic virus, and also in Onyx 015, an [oncolytic adenovirus](/source/Oncolytic_adenovirus).[17][18] In describing the report authored by Pecora, Emily Bergsland and [Alan Venook](/source/Alan_Venook) editorialized that

This report of 79 patients is lengthy and complicated, but by necessity rather than by choice. Whether or not this agent proves effective against cancer, this phase I trial merits careful study, because viral therapies for cancer are emerging, and their optimal development is a major challenge.[19]

The study concludes that PV701 could be tested relatively safely and offers dosing guidelines to mitigate side effects.[20][21] However, the study raised more questions, moving "the field forward, even if very slowly."[22]

In 1995, HUMC participated in a clinical study sponsored by [National Cancer Institute](/source/National_Cancer_Institute) that focused on the use of bone marrow transplantation to treat women with advanced [breast cancer](/source/Breast_cancer). Pecora expressed his misgivings about only offering the procedure as part of the study, as there was a chance the patients would be chosen aspart of the [control group](/source/Treatment_and_control_groups). He instead offered direct access to the popular new procedure as an alternative to participation in the trial, allowing the patients to choose. The procedure was later proven ineffective.[7][23]

In 1998, Pecora started a version of the [problem-based learning](/source/Problem-based_learning) program at [UMDNJ](/source/University_of_Medicine_and_Dentistry_of_New_Jersey). This was an adaptation of earlier programs that allows medical students to fulfill their early basic science course requirements by examining the actual case studies.[14]

In 2009, [*The Record*](/source/The_Record_(Bergen_County)) named Pecora among Hackensack's administration members with conflicts of interest, as they had ownership interests in companies with business dealings with the hospital.[24]

In 2011, Pecora founded Cota Healthcare, a company to develop a classification system based on patient's "gender, age, family history, type and stage of disease, and treatments."[25][26]

## Notable publications

As of July 2021, Research Gate lists 136 peer-reviewed articles and 3,070 citations.[27]

- Pecora, Andrew et al. (1998). "CD34+CD33- cells influence days to engraftment and transfusion requirements in autologous blood stem-cell recipients". *Journal of Clinical Oncology*. **16** (6): 2093–2104. [doi:10.1200/jco.1998.16.6.2093](https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.1998.16.6.2093). [PMID 9626209](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9626209)
- Pecora, Andrew et al. (2000-04-01). "Prompt and durable engraftment in two older adult patients with high risk chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) using ex vivo expanded and unmanipulated unrelated umbilical cord blood". *Bone Marrow Transplantation*. **25** (7): 797–799. [doi:10.1038/sj.bmt.1702222](https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1702222). [PMID 10745268](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10745268)
- Goldberg, Stuart & Pecora, Andrew et al. (2002-02-01). "Unusual viral infections (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and cytomegalovirus disease) after high-dose chemotherapy with autologous blood stem cell rescue and peritransplantation rituximab.". *Blood*. **99** (4): 1486–1488. [doi:10.1182/blood.V99.4.1486](https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.V99.4.1486). [PMID 11830505](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11830505). [S2CID 7028301](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:7028301)
- Pecora, Andrew et al. (2002-05-01). "Phase I Trial of Intravenous Administration of PV701, an Oncolytic Virus, in Patients With Advanced Solid Cancers". *Journal of Clinical Oncology*. **20** (9): 2251–2266. [doi:10.1200/jco.2002.08.042](https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2002.08.042). [PMID 11980996](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11980996)
- van Besien, Koen & Pecora, Andrew et al. (2003-11-15). "Comparison of autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for follicular lymphoma". *Blood*. **102** (10): 3521–3529. [doi:10.1182/blood-2003-04-1205](https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2003-04-1205). [PMID 12893748](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12893748). [S2CID 9234114](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:9234114)
- Lorence, Robert & Pecora, Andrew et al. (2003-12-01). "Overview of phase I studies of intravenous administration of PV701, an oncolytic virus". *Current Opinion in Molecular Therapeutics*. **5** (6): 618–624. [PMID 14755888](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14755888)

## References

1. (Siena et al. 2000, p. 1369)

1. ["Leadership"](https://celularity.com/company/leadership/). *Celularity*. Retrieved 2021-07-25.

1. ["COTA"](https://www.bostonmillenniapartners.com/portfolio/cota/). *Boston Millennia Partners*. Retrieved 2021-07-25.

1. ["Andrew Pecora, MD"](https://vaticanconference2021.org/dignitaries-and-speakers/andrew-pecora-md/). *Vatican Conference 2021*. Retrieved 2021-07-03.

1. [2005 Hall of Fame Inductee, Andrew L. Pecora](http://nutleyhalloffame.nutleypubliclibrary.org/2005-pecora/), Nutley Hall of Fame. Accessed November 9, 2019. "Born and raised in Nutley, Dr. Pecora, a Nutley High School graduate, earned a bachelor's degree in biology and was graduated Magna Cum Laude from Seton Hall University in 1979."

1. [*Who's Who in America*](https://archive.org/details/whoswhoiname200502marq). Marquis Who's Who, LLC. October 1, 2004. ISBN 9780837969824.

1. Kolata, Gina (February 15, 1995). ["Women Resist Trials to Test Marrow Transplants"](https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/15/us/women-resist-trials-to-test-marrow-transplants.html). *The New York Times*. Retrieved March 28, 2017.

1. Alvarez, Manny (January 1, 2011). ["Can Stem Cells Help Dick Cheney?"](https://www.foxnews.com/health/can-stem-cells-help-dick-cheney/). *Fox News*. Retrieved March 28, 2017.

1. Washburn, Lindy (October 25, 2010). ["New ally for war on cancer"](http://archive.northjersey.com/news/new-ally-for-war-on-cancer-1.510912). *The Record*. Retrieved March 28, 2017. – via NorthJersey.com.

1. Williams, Barbara (June 12, 2011). ["Cancer center offers spiritual oasis"](http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/cancer-center-offers-spiritual-oasis/). *The Seattle Times*. Retrieved March 28, 2017.

1. ["Google Patents"](https://patents.google.com/?inventor=Andrew+L.+Pecora). *patents.google.com*. Retrieved 2021-07-25.

1. "Community Oncology Research Award Winners Use Awards to Enhance Quality of Their Practices". *Journal of Oncology Practice*. **5** (1): 27–28. 2009-01-01. [doi:10.1200/JOP.0914602](https://doi.org/10.1200/JOP.0914602). [ISSN 1554-7477](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1554-7477). [PMC 2790634](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2790634). [PMID 20856712](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20856712)

1. ["2018 Dr. Sol J. Barer Award Honoree Dr. Andrew Pecora »"](https://bionj.org/2018-dr-sol-j-barer-award-honoree-dr-andrew-pecora). Retrieved 2021-07-03.

1. Racine, Marty (September 10, 2002). ["Teens making the grade in medical school"](http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Teens-making-the-grade-in-medical-school-2096836.php). *Houston Chronicle*. Retrieved March 28, 2017.

1. (Pecora et al. 1998)

1. (Pecora et al. 2002)

1. (Lorence & Pecora et al. 2003)

1. (Bell et al. 2003)

1. (Bergsland & Venook 2002, p. 2220)

1. (Ahmad & Kratzke 2016, p. 6)

1. (Aghi & Martuza 2005, p. 7808)

1. (Bergsland & Venook 2002, p. 2221)

1. Rettig, Richard A. et al. (January 25, 2007). [*False Hope: Bone Marrow Transplantation for Breast Cancer*](https://books.google.com/books?id=bbcTZLRRVmoC). Oxford University Press. pp. 222–223. ISBN 9780199748242.

1. Layton, Mary Jo & Washburn, Lindy (November 20, 2009). ["Hackensack University Medical Center's board adopts policies designed to clean up conflicts of interest"](http://archive.northjersey.com/news/hospital-tightens-its-ethics-rules-1.228490?page=all). *The Record*. Retrieved March 28, 2017. – via NorthJersey.com.

1. ["About Us"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170216082447/https://www.cotahealthcare.com/company/about-us). *Cota Healthcare*. Archived from [the original](https://www.cotahealthcare.com/company/about-us) on February 16, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.

1. Layton, Mary Jo (July 1, 2016). ["Programs aim to improve cancer treatment at a lower cost"](http://archive.northjersey.com/news/programs-aim-to-improve-cancer-treatment-at-a-lower-cost-1.1625204). *The Record*. Retrieved March 31, 2017. – via NorthJersey.com.[dead link]

1. ["Andrew Pecora"](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Pecora). *Research Gate*. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

## Sources

- Siena, Salvatore et al. (March 2000). "Therapeutic Relevance of CD34 Cell Dose in Blood Cell Transplantation for Cancer Therapy". *Journal of Clinical Oncology*. **18** (6): 1360–1377. [doi:10.1200/jco.2000.18.6.1360](https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2000.18.6.1360). [PMID 10715309](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10715309)
- Bell, John et al. (July 2003). "Getting oncolytic virus therapies off the ground". *Cancer Cell*. **4** (1): 7–11. [doi:10.1016/s1535-6108(03)00170-3](https://doi.org/10.1016/s1535-6108(03)00170-3). [PMID 12892708](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12892708)
- Bergsland, Emily & Venook, Alan (May 2002). "Shedding Old Paradigms: Developing Viruses to Treat Cancer". *Journal of Clinical Oncology*. **20** (9): 2220–2222. [doi:10.1200/jco.2002.20.9.2220](https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2002.20.9.2220). [PMID 11980991](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11980991)
- Aghi, Manish & Martuza, Robert (21 November 2005). "Oncolytic viral therapies – the clinical experience". *Oncogene*. **24** (52): 7802–7816. [doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1209037](https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1209037). [PMID 16299539](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16299539)
- Ahmad, Zeeshan & Kratzke, Robert (December 21, 2016). "Novel oncolytic viral therapies in patients with thoracic malignancies". *Oncolytic Virotherapy*. **6**: 1–9. [doi:10.2147/ov.s116012](https://doi.org/10.2147/ov.s116012). [PMC 5189707](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5189707). [PMID 28053943](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28053943)

## External links

- [Biography](http://www.jtcancercenter.org/physician/andrew-l-pecora/) at John Theurer Cancer Center
- [Testimony](https://www.c-span.org/video/?181836-1/cancer-clinical-trial-participation) to the [Congressional Government Reform Committee](/source/United_States_House_Committee_on_Oversight_and_Government_Reform) on [C-SPAN](/source/C-SPAN)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Andrew Pecora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Pecora) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Pecora?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.