James Ewing

James Stephen Ewing ( ; December 25, 1866 in Pittsburgh – May 16, 1943 in New York City) was an American pathologist. He was the first professor of pathology at Cornell University and discovered a form of bone cancer that was later named after him, Ewing sarcoma.

Early life and education James Ewing, was born in 1866 to a prominent family of Pittsburgh. When he was 14 he was diagnosed with osteomyelitis and was bedridden for two years. He first completed his B.A. in 1888 at Amherst College and then studied medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, from 1888 to 1891.

Career He returned to the College of Physicians and Surgeons as instructor in histology (1893-1897), and clinical pathology (1897-1898). After a brief stint as a surgeon with the US Army, Ewing was appointed in 1899 the first professor of clinical pathology at the newly formed Medical College of Cornell University in New York, where he was the only full-time professor. In 1902, Ewing helped to establish one of the first funds for cancer research, endowed by Mrs. Collis P. Huntington. In 1906 Ewing, working with S.P. Beebe and collaborators, showed the first proof that a cancer (canine transmissible venereal tumor in dogs) could be transmissible.

In 1910, Ewing had approached New York Hospital about establishing a clinical research facility; when this fell through, he established a collaboration with Memorial Hospital (which would become Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) with the help of industrialist and philanthropist James Douglas, who gave $100,000 to endow twenty beds for clinical research, equipment for working with radium, and a clinical laboratory to Memorial for that purpose. The book, which took 10 years to write and is translated into numerous languages, became a cornerstone of modern oncology by establishing a systematic and comprehensive basis for diagnosing human cancer. The tumor soon became known as Ewing sarcoma and, by 1927, the term “Ewing's sarcoma” was being used in the medical literature.

The decade from 1920 to 1930 was largely devoted to expanding the various activities of Memorial Hospital and strengthening its affiliation with Cornell University Medical College. the accompanying article described his role as one of the most important cancer doctors of his era. In 1942, he was presented with the prestigious gold-headed cane award of the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists.

Under his leadership, Memorial became a model for other cancer centers in the United States, combining patient care with clinical and laboratory research, and it was said of him that "The relationship of Ewing to the Memorial Hospital can best be expressed in the words of Emerson, 'Every institution is but the lengthening shadow of some man.' Dr. Ewing is the Memorial Hospital".

In 1951, The James Ewing Hospital, a 12-story building on First Avenue between 67th and 68th Streets, opened; it was intended to treat cancer among New York City's poor.

Selected publications A collection of his correspondence is held at the National Library of Medicine.

Ewing, J: Clinical pathology of Blood: A Treatise on the General Principles and Special Applications of Hematology. Philadelphia and New York, 1901. Ewing, J: Neoplastic Diseases: A Textbook on Tumors. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders, and London, 1919. Fourth edition 1940. Ewing, J: Causation, Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer. Baltimore, 1931. Ewing, J: Blood. Philadelphia. 1910.