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Thursday, May 14, 2020
Renowned Cancer Researcher and Surgeon David L. Bartlett, MD, Assumes Leadership of AHN Cancer Institute, Opens Erie Practice
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (May 14, 2020) – David L. Bartlett, MD, a renowned cancer researcher and a pioneer in the use of highly advanced surgical therapies for abdominal cancers, has officially assumed his new role as Chair of the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Cancer Institute, and has opened his surgical practice at AHN’s Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie.
Dr. Bartlett came to AHN from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he held several leadership positions, including vice chair for surgical oncology and gastrointestinal surgery services, director of the David C. Koch Regional Perfusion Cancer Therapy Center, chief of surgery for Shadyside Hospital, and the Bernard Fisher Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
His appointment to the chairmanship of AHN Cancer Institute was effective May 1.
“It has been a pleasure to meet the people behind the AHN Cancer Institute, and to see up-close their talent, compassion, and commitment to outstanding patient care,” Dr. Bartlett said. “With the support of Highmark Health, the AHN Cancer Institute has made tremendous progress over the past few years in expanding access to community-based care, state-of-the-art technologies and innovative clinical trials, including through a unique collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center . I look forward to beginning the process of leading the AHN Cancer Institute to greater heights of excellence alongside the program’s many exceptional caregivers.”
At his clinic in Erie, Dr. Bartlett will see adult patients for the surgical treatment of abdominal cancers, including gastric, pancreatic, colorectal and appendix cancers, as well as care for sarcoma, neuroendocrine and liver tumors, and peritoneal metastases. His Pittsburgh-based clinical practice will open in May 2021.
AHN Cancer Institute is currently in the midst of a significant growth strategy that will culminate this summer with the opening of the $80 million AHN Cancer Institute – Allegheny General, a patient-friendly, state-of-the-art cancer treatment center that will also serve as a hub for research and innovation. AHN is also opening a state-of-the-art cancer genomics lab on the North Side that will support the development and use of leading-edge biologic therapies.
The network’s investment in the cancer program also included the construction of five regional comprehensive cancer centers – in Monroeville, Butler County, Beaver County, Erie, and Hempfield Township. The expansion, supported by Highmark Health’s $300 million commitment to the program, greatly enhanced and expanded AHN’s leading cancer-treatment capabilities across western Pennsylvania.
As chair, Dr. Bartlett oversees a multidisciplinary team of more than 200 physicians and 500 advanced-practice oncology professionals. Clinicians within the Institute annually deliver more than 150,000 cancer treatments to more than 11,000 patients at clinical sites across western Pennsylvania.
In addition, AHN’s unique collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center has greatly enhanced and streamlined patient access to new therapies being explored in cancer clinical trials as well as to consultations and second opinions from Johns Hopkins team of leading cancer specialists.
Dr. Bartlett helped to develop and refine new regional perfusion techniques, including the modern version of the hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC) therapy, in which chemotherapeutic drugs are heated and delivered directly into the abdominal cavity in an effort to eradicate cancer cells.
A graduate of the University of Texas School of Medicine, Dr. Bartlett completed a residency in general surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, and a fellowship in surgical oncology at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He also performed clinical research at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He is immediate past president of the Society of Surgical Oncology, a leading professional organization whose mission is to improve patient care by advancing the science, education, and practice of cancer surgery worldwide.Dr. Bartlett’s office is located within the Department of Urology at Saint Vincent Hospital, located at 311 W. 24th St., Erie PA 16502. To make an appointment, call 814-452-7134.
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About Allegheny Health Network – and the AHN Cancer Institute
Allegheny Health Network, a Highmark Health Company, is a western Pennsylvania-based integrated healthcare system that serves patients from across a five-state region that includes western Pennsylvania and the adjacent regions of Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. The Network’s Cancer Institute employs more than 200 physicians and 500 oncology professionals who provide a complete spectrum of oncology care at 24 affiliated oncology clinics, including access to state-of-the-art technologies and new therapies being explored in hundreds of clinical cancer trials. The Cancer Institute has the only cancer program in the Pittsburgh region accredited as an Integrated Network Cancer Program by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and its radiation oncology program is the largest in the country accredited by the American Society for Radiation Oncology. AHN Cancer Institute is a Quality Oncology Practice Initiative certified practice, and is accredited by the Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapy and National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. AHN also has a formal affiliation with the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at, one of the nation’s 41 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, for research, medical education and clinical services.