J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld is an oncologist.

Is primary care becoming a triage station?

Physician

December 19, 2025

Let’s discuss primary care. That’s primary care, as in P-R-I-M-A-R-Y C-A-R-E.

Why the emphasis?

Because I believe high-quality primary care is the bedrock of a well-functioning health care system.
Because I believe access to primary care is a marker of a healthy nation.
Because I believe quality primary care can save lives, extend lifespan and healthspan, and importantly:
Because I believe quality primary care can reduce health care costs.

Sadly, I don’t …

Why the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is essential to saving lives

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Policy

August 18, 2025

You may have noticed the Supreme Court announced several crucial rulings on controversial topics. Buried in most coverage was a note that the Court upheld the legality of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

Most folks have no clue what the USPSTF is or does. To people like me, it is crucial to advancing the early detection and prevention of cancer in the United States. For now, we can be …

Public health under fire: Vaccine battle hits federal court

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Physician

August 14, 2025

Well, that didn’t take long, did it?

Today’s “controversy du jour” is prevention in health care. More specifically, vaccines and their role in preventing disease, disability, and death while promoting health and lifespan.

Prevention is the mother’s milk of health care. It is core to reducing illness and disease. Sadly, the udders producing that milk are drying up quicker than you can shake a fist at what is happening before our very …

Why smartwatches won’t save American health care

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Physician

August 7, 2025

History has a habit of repeating itself.

Just prior to the 1929 crash, ads supporting the presidential candidacy of Herbert Hoover promoted a tag line promoting prosperity that has lived in infamy: “A chicken for every pot and a car in every garage.”

Now we have Robert Kennedy—our Secretary of Health and Human Services, the cheerleader for the “Make America Healthy Again” movement—promoting another grand idea to solve our nation’s …

Removing vaccine advisers could jeopardize lives

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Physician

June 11, 2025

“Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Didn’t take long, did it?

The quote in the title is from George Santayana. The movie is It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey along with Clarence Odbody, who played Clarence the angel. The scenes are from the moments when Clarence shows George what the world would have been without him and his value to his family, his friends, …

Why won’t unproven COVID treatments go away?

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

January 6, 2021

A recent conversation among a group of physicians gave me a fair amount of distress and discomfort.

The topic was an unproven treatment for COVID-19. The discomfort was the disinformation — in my opinion — being shared. The distress was that the discussion likely reflected what some doctors are actually doing for the treatment of patients infected with the coronavirus. Evidence was left at the doorstep.

As I reflected on the conversation, …

How can we improve the quality of medications?

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Meds

September 30, 2020

Do you know what it’s like to sit in a meeting and learn that something you hold close as a fundamental principle is probably not as fundamentally true as you thought?

That’s the way I felt earlier this week while attending a meeting on the quality of pharmaceuticals, sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration and Duke University’s Margolis Center for Health Policy.

The meeting—a Read more…

How can we improve the quality of medications?

Sunscreens: The balancing act between safety and cancer prevention

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

September 12, 2020

That’s the question that will be on the minds of many as the Food and Drug Administration releases a second study on the absorption of sunscreens. The reality is that answering the “safe” question is becoming more complicated—and more important as well, given the fact that so many of us use sunscreens as part of our own sun safety efforts, while others (me included) use sunscreen as part of our daily …

It’s time we get the technology working for the patients, and not make their lives more difficult

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Tech

September 17, 2019

In a world where, in a moment, I can order from thousands of items and have them delivered to my doorstep the same or next day at the press of a button without having to re-enter my name, address, and billing information each time, it would seem that filling out paper forms at the doctor’s office by hand to have someone else re-enter the information into a computer that doesn’t …

A hidden cancer success story: declining deaths from melanoma

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

July 15, 2019

Here is some news about cancer that isn’t widely known and is hiding in plain sight: Deaths from melanoma — a skin cancer that has lethal potential — have declined dramatically over the past several years. And while that fact alone is surprising, so is the reason behind the drop.

Let’s make something clear at the outset: too many people die from melanoma. It is not the …

How can data analytics to improve the care and outcomes of cancer patients?

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Tech

July 11, 2019

I want to share some thoughts about artificial intelligence, or as I prefer to call it “data analytics.” Fundamentally: How can we capture the capability of analytics to improve the care and outcomes of cancer patients? And more importantly: How can we harness this technology to help bring back the human touch in cancer care?

Admittedly that’s a large focus covering lots of opportunities. Speak to one expert, and you will …

Take a break from all the bad news, and praise hope

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Physician

July 6, 2019

Reading the headlines in the morning newspaper lately can downright depressing. It was with that feeling that I recalled three conversations I had recently with people who have various cancers. And I realized that despite all the chaos around us, maybe it’s time to say something in praise of hope.

Hope is very real, especially when you or a loved one or someone you know is diagnosed and treated for cancer. Hope …

What should a cure for cancer look like?

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

June 23, 2019

Words have meaning. And when it comes to cancer, especially advanced cancer, there aren’t many words that have more meaning than the word “cure.” It is that very word and concept that is top of mind for some of us these days.

We clinicians are guilty as charged when it comes to reluctance declaring those who have had a remarkable response to treatments for advanced cancer “cured.” Experience has taught us …

The carcinogen of excess weight

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

April 1, 2019

What if I told you our children were being exposed to a known carcinogen, and it was increasing with successively younger kids? If that carcinogen were a preservative in packaging or chemicals from industrial waste, there would be widespread outcry. But it’s neither of those things. It’s something far more dangerous, but that we’ve somehow accepted as no big deal. But the risk is very real. The carcinogen is excess …

Read more…

The carcinogen of excess weight

Alex Trebek diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. A new journey begins.

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

March 6, 2019

The news that Alex Trebek has advanced stage IV pancreatic cancer has been met with an outpouring of support and good wishes, as would be expected for someone who has been a part of our lives for so many years.

The fact is, pancreatic cancer is a difficult disease to treat effectively. That is due in no small part to the fact that — as the case with …

Behind the recent good news in cancer statistics

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

January 21, 2019

Good news is always welcome, especially when talking about something as serious as cancer. And there is plenty of welcome information in the American Cancer Society’s release of our annual report on “Cancer Statistics, 2019” and its accompanying consumer-oriented version of “Cancer Facts & Figures 2019.”

Among the good news in this report: A significant decline in death rates from cancer — especially among some of the most common cancers, significant …

A blood test to detect melanoma? Not so fast.

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

July 31, 2018

The headline scrolling across the bottom of an evening news show certainly grabbed my attention: a new blood test had the possibility of detecting early melanoma and saving thousands of lives. And then there were more reports elevating this early research report to a point that I became quite interested — and frankly concerned.

News flash: The research is far from being shown to have proven value in the early diagnosis of …

The evolving meaning of the body mass index

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

March 28, 2018

A recent news story in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reminds me that lots of things in our lives are changing these days, not the least of which is the shape of our bodies.

Oh, my. This aging thing isn’t so easy, and that is really the message behind Rita Rubin’s timely piece about shifting body mass and muscle as we age and its implications. Although focused …

The FDA approval of 23andMe’s BRCA test: What it means for you

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

March 18, 2018

The approval by the Food and Drug Administration of 23andMe’s BRCA test is bound to create a discussion about the merits and pitfalls of direct to consumer genetic testing for cancer risk.

It is also going to add fuel to a growing fire about how we as a nation assess genetic risks for cancer, and whether society is prepared for what is inevitably going to become a …

Is the future of cancer screening at your local shopping mall?

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

Conditions

June 10, 2017

That’s the question sticking in my mind after reading a recent report about a local radiology practice opening a large mammography center in an upscale shopping mall in Long Island, New York.

Let’s face it: Medical care is changing. And with changes come new ideas. Some will work, some won’t. The thought of getting a mammogram while on a shopping trip may just be what the doctor ordered …

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD

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