Interview: Data acquisition, tumor heterogeneity and precision medicine: Future challenges for oncologic comparative effectiveness research

Al B Benson 3rd, MD, FACP, is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago (IL, USA). He is also the Associate Director for Clinical Investigations for the Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. Benson earned his medical degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, following which he completed an Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals in Madison (WI, USA). He was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois and Co-Medical Director for the National Public Health Service in Champaign (IL, USA). He then served as a Clinical Oncology Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center. Benson is a recipient of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Statesman Award (Fellow of ASCO). He has been a member of the ASCO Task Force on Quality of Cancer Care, the Co-Chair of ASCO's Stage II Colon Cancer Guidelines Panel and the Guidelines Panel for use of Radiofrequency Ablation for Colorectal Cancer Hepatic Metastases. He also is the Chair of both the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Gastrointestinal and Data Monitoring Committees. In addition, he is a past President of the Illinois Medical Oncology Society, past President for the Association of Community Cancer Centers, and a member of the Executive Committee and immediate past-chair of the Board of Directors of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). He is a member of the Board of the NCCN Foundation and ECOG Research and Education Foundation. He is the past President of the International Society of GI Oncology. Benson is a member of the Scientific Board of Directors of the Patient Advocate Foundation, the National Patient Advocate Foundation, Fight Colorectal Cancer and Friends of Cancer Research. Benson's research is primarily in the areas of gastrointestinal cancer clinical trials and cancer guideline development. Benson is an associate editor of the Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research.