Interview with Dr. David G. Mutch, the co-editor of the Clinical Gynecologic Oncology 9th edition

Editor’s note

The Clinical Gynecologic Oncology, 9^th edition released in 2017 is regarded as a must-have, readable and most comprehensive reference for diagnosis and treatment of gynecologic cancers. As far as we know, the 6^th edition and 8^th edition of this book have been translated into Chinese, which have aroused tremendous attention in the field of gynecologic oncology in China. To benefit the physicians and patients in China and to further the communication in the field, we launched a project to dig the stories and ideas behind the book, and to share the recognized leaders’ stories and insights of the filed.

During this project, we were honoured to conduct an interview with Dr. David Mutch, the Judith and Ira Gall Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Director of Gynecologic Oncology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, who shared his insights of hot issues in the field of medicine, stories of the book as the co-editor and advices to readers.

Expert’s introduction

Dr. Mutch (Figure 1) is the Judith and Ira Gall Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Director of Gynecologic Oncology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a member of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and serves as a reviewer for multiple medical journals related to women’s health and cancers of the female reproductive tract.

Figure 1 David G. Mutch, MD.

Dr. Mutch attended the Washington University School of Medicine, and did his residency training there as well. He underwent fellowship training at Duke University Medical Center before returning to Washington University in 1988. He is a recipient of the Washington University School of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award and is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA).

Dr. Mutch has been the recipient of multiple research grants for studies from the American Cancer Society and the National Institutes of Health, among others. He is the Principal Investigator for NRG Oncology at Washington University. Dr. Mutch has authored or co-authored over 280 peer-reviewed publications as well as numerous book chapters on the treatment of cancers of the female reproductive tract. He is currently the PI of an endometrial SPORE (Special Project of Research Excellence) grant and serves as the clinical PI on project 3 which addresses the most efficient and cost-effective way to evaluate individuals for inherited disease. He is the PI of the Integrated Translational Genoproteomics Center at Washington University under a U10 grant.

Dr. Mutch is a past president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and serves as a member of the FIGO gynecologic oncologic committee and is the co-Chair for the AJCC committee for gynecologic oncology. Dr Mutch has been on both the NCI Uterine Steering committee and the NCI Gynecologic Steering committee and has reviewed projects for both committees.

Interview

About the journey of Clinical Gynecologic Oncology

GPM: Having been dedicated to the Clinical Gynecologic Oncology for more than 30 years, could you tell us what motivated you to pursue the study of gynecologic cancer in the beginning and along the way?

Dr. Mutch: I really like the patients, the research opportunity, and I feel like I really make a difference with these patients.

GPM: Among the teaching, research and patient care, which one you like the most? Why?

Dr. Mutch: This is the tripartite mission of a professional. It is the three-legged stool without one the stool falls over. It is not possible to say which one is the most important or which one I like the most.

GPM: Could you share with us your experience on how to handle conflicts with patients?

Dr. Mutch: I always try to see the patients’ point of view and remember who is sick.

GPM: Would you introduce us to your project about detecting DNA mismatch repair in endometrial cancers?

Dr. Mutch: We are a universal test site for inherited disease. We are now working on the cascade testing of relatives. Our colleague Andrea Hagemann is taking this on.

GPM: What are some of the key people that have been critical to your success? What do you think are the most important qualities of being an academic physician?

Dr. Mutch: I have been really lucky in my career. Dr. Willian Creasman has been a great mentor, colleague and friend. Dr. Larry Copeland and Dr. David Gershenson have been great mentors as well. Then there are the fellows and residents who have taught me as well.

GPM: What are some latest advances in the treatment of cancers of the female reproductive tract in the recent decade? What do you think are the critical issues facing the field right now?

Dr. Mutch: The latest and most important advances are genetics and targeted therapies.

About the book Clinical Gynecologic Oncology

GPM: Where is the ideas of book Clinical Gynecologic Oncology come from?

Dr. Mutch: Drs. Creasman and Disaia saw the need for a book that targeted students, ancillary staff, residents and general OB/Gyns.

GPM: Could you introduce us to your role as the co-editor in Clinical Gynecologic Oncology 9th edition?

Dr. Mutch: Not sure what you mean other than my role is to choose some of the authors and edit their work.

GPM: What major challenges have you met during the book preparation?

Dr. Mutch: Deciding on pertinent topics and getting the chapter authors to get their work done.

GPM: Comparing the old editions, what are the features of the 9th edition? Which chapter you would speak highly of?

Dr. Mutch: More genetics and reflection of the new staging and molecular treatments of each disease.

GPM: Any advice that you would like to give to the readers of the book?

Dr. Mutch: This book is an overview of treatment state of the art of gyn oncology

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Dr. David G. Mutch for sharing his stories, insights and opinions with us.

Funding: None.

Footnote

Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Gynecology and Pelvic Medicine. The article did not undergo external peer review.

Conflicts of Interest: Both authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://gpm.amegroups.org/article/view/10.21037/gpm.2019.01.02/coif). SZ and GL report that they are full-time employees of AME Publishing Company (publisher of the journal). The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

(Science Editors: Silvia Zhou, Grace Li, GPM, gpm@amegroups.com)