Research Faculty

Lewis Silverman, MD

Department Hematology/Oncology
Hospital Title

Director, Pediatric Hematologic
Malignancy Service
Medical Director, Inpatient Oncology Service
Academic Title Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Phone 617-632-6191
Fax 617-632-4811
Email Lewis Silverman
Location Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
450 Brookline Avenue
Boston MA 02215

Research Overview

Dr. Silverman's major research focus is in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). He is protocol principal investigator for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) ALL Consortium, which has been conducting clinical trials in childhood ALL for over 30 years. The DFCI ALL Consortium consists of several institutions in the United States and Canada who collaborate on treatment protocols for children ALL, with the goal of improving survival while minimizing toxicity. Dr. Silverman designs and oversees these studies, which have yielded the best event-free survival rates published for children with ALL.

A major focus of Dr. Silverman's research in the DFCI ALL Consortium has been to improve the survival rates for children with newly diagnosed and relapsed ALL.  They have pioneered the use of a very sensitive test to detect sub-microscopic levels of disease (“minimal residual disease” or MRD) and have shown that levels of MRD at the end of the first month of treatment strongly predict subsequent risk of relapse.  They are now testing a novel, intensified treatment for children and adolescents in order to improve their outcome.  Dr. Silverman also leads several clinical trials of new agents, either alone or in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs, in children and adolescents with relapsed ALL. 

Dr. Silverman’s research also focuses on reducing short- and long-term effects of treatment in pediatric ALL patients.  The DFCI ALL Consortium is a recognized leader in the study of asparaginase, an important chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of childhood ALL. The group has conducted a series of randomized trials comparing different asparaginase preparations and dosing in order to reduce dose-related toxicities without compromising efficacy. Dr. Silverman and colleagues have also studied the effect of doxorubicin, another chemotherapeutic agent, on cardiac function in children with ALL. In a randomized trial, they demonstrated that dexrazoxane, a potential cardioprotectant agent, prevented doxorubicin-associated cardiac dysfunction without adversely impacting event-free survival.

About Lewis Silverman

Dr. Silverman received his MD from Harvard Medical School. He completed an internship and residency at Children's Hospital Boston and a fellowship at Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. He is currently Director of the Pediatric Hematologic Malignancy Service and Medical Director of the Inpatient Oncology Service

Key Publications

  • Zhou J, Goldwasser MA, Li A, Dahlberg SE, Neuberg D, Wang H, Dalton V, McBride KD, Sallan SE, Silverman LB, Gribben JG. Quantitative analysis of minimal residual disease predicts relapse in children with B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia in DFCI ALL Consortium Protocol 95-01.  Blood. 2007;110:1607-11.

  • Waber DP, Turek J, Catania L, Stevenson K, Robaey P, Romero I, Adams H, Alyman C, Jandet-Brunet C, Neuberg DS, Sallan SE, Silverman LB.  Neuropsychological outcomes from a randomized trial of triple intrathecal chemotherapy compared with 18 Gy cranial radiation as CNS treatment in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: findings from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium Protocol 95-01.  J Clin Oncol. 2007; 25:4914-21.

  •  Silverman LB, Stevenson KE, O'Brien JE, Asselin BL, Barr RD, Clavell L, Cole PD, Kelly KM, Laverdiere C, Michon B, Schorin MA, Schwartz CL, O'Holleran EW, Neuberg DS, Cohen HJ, Sallan SE.  Long-term results of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium protocols for children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (1985-2000). Leukemia. 2010;24(2):320-34.

  • Silverman LB, Supko JG, Stevenson KE, Woodward C, Vrooman LM, Neuberg DS, Asselin BL, Athale UH, Clavell L, Cole PD, Kelly KM, Laverdière C, Michon B, Schorin M, Schwartz CL, O'Brien JE, Cohen HJ, Sallan SE.  Intravenous PEG-asparaginase during remission induction in children and adolescents with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood. 2010;115(7):1351-3.

  • Lipshultz SE, Scully RE, Lipsitz SR, Sallan SE, Silverman LB, Miller TL, Barry EV, Asselin BL, Athale U, Clavell LA, Larsen E, Moghrabi A, Samson Y, Michon B, Schorin MA, Cohen HJ, Neuberg DS, Orav EJ, Colan SD.  Assessment of dexrazoxane as a cardioprotectant in doxorubicin-treated children with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: long-term follow-up of a prospective, randomised, multicentre trial.  Lancet Oncol. 2010; 11: 950-61.

  • Grace RF, Dahlberg SE, Neuberg D, Sallan SE, Connors JM, Neufeld EJ, Deangelo DJ, Silverman LB.  The frequency and management of asparaginase-related thrombosis in paediatric and adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treated on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute consortium protocols. Br J Haematol. 2011;152:452-9.