The team started administering two highly toxic drugs to young leukemia patients. Then three drugs. When Freireich added a fourth drug in a 1961 trial, the medical establishment spoke out, fearing the children would perish.
“Instead, 90% of them went into remission,” Freireich said. “It was magical.”
Today, the five-year survival rate for children with acute lymphocytic leukemia, the most common childhood leukemia, is about 90% overall, according to the American Cancer Society.
“Dr. Freireich’s creative passion and fierce determination to break medical barriers led to lifesaving treatments for his young leukemia patients,” said Jordan Gutterman, M.D., professor of Leukemia. “Most breakthrough ideas are considered crazy when initially presented to the scientific community. These “crazy” ideas are the ones that often evolve into revolutionary medical and scientific advances.”
In 1965, Freireich and Frei were recruited by MD Anderson to launch a chemotherapy program. The doctors formed the Department of Developmental Therapeutics and hired scientists to develop drug combinations that cured various cancers based on the same methods used to treat childhood leukemia. Freireich’s unbounded enthusiasm for clinical research to develop and evaluate anti-cancer agents helped recruit experienced physicians and scientists, galvanizing a new generation of hematologists and oncologists to improve chemotherapy and supportive treatments for multiple types of cancer.
Freireich helped pioneer the application of cytogenetics and molecular genetics to patient care and to the evaluation of the effects of therapy, including detection of minimal residual disease. He had a joint appointment as a professor of Laboratory Medicine, and for many years held the Ruth Harriet Ainsworth Research Chair in Developmental Therapeutics.
Over the course of his career, Freireich contributed to more than 600 scientific papers and more than 100 books. He was recognized with numerous honors for his role in developing modern clinical cancer research, including the Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, the Charles F. Kettering Prize from the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation, the first National Institutes of Health Distinguished Alumnus Award, the David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Robert Roesler de Villiers Award from the Leukemia Society of America and the Medicus Hippocraticus Award presented at the First International Medical Olympiad in Greece. Both the European Society of Haemapheresis and the World Apheresis Association gave Freireich major awards for developing blood component technology.
MD Anderson also created the Emil J Freireich Award for Excellence in Education in his honor, emphasizing his commitment to education and recognizing the excellence in educational contributions of the core teaching faculty.
“Dr. Freireich had a major influence on my personal and professional decisions. His advice always proved to be the very best,” said Zeev Estrov, M.D., professor of Leukemia. “He inspired and encouraged me to follow my instincts and my curiosity. I frequently approached him to hear his opinion; which he delivered with scalpel sharp logic and high intellect. No gloves. No sugar coating. The naked truth – Freireich’s way. I appreciated him for that.”
In 2005, Freireich was honored for his teaching contributions as a founding member of The University of Texas Academy of Health Science Education. He initiated an innovative core curriculum required by Graduate Medical Education (GME) governing bodies and granting agencies, and he chaired MD Anderson’s GME Committee for years. He also was the long-time leader of Institutional Grand Rounds held on Fridays for faculty members to share their research with colleagues and trainees.
Late in his career, Freireich inspired the formation of the Association for Patient-Oriented Research, which elected him president. In 2014, he was honored a fellow of AACR Academy, the American Association for Cancer Research. In 2019, he received presidential recognition during a Fourth of July celebration on the mall in Washington, D.C. That same year, the American Association for Cancer Research honored him with the AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research during its annual meeting.
Even after retiring in 2015, Freireich made regular visits to the MD Anderson campus in Houston to teach and consult.
“We mourn his passing, but his legacy will live forever,” Pisters said. “How fortunate are we to have had Dr. Freireich as part of our MD Anderson family for five decades. His wisdom, passion and exacting standards set a bar for all of us to emulate in our ongoing efforts to end cancer.”
Emil J Freireich, M.D., is survived by his wife, Haroldine, and his children Debra Ann Freireich-Bier (Ralph Bier); David Alan Freireich (Susan Morgan); Lindsay Gail Freireich; and Thomas Jon Freireich (Kelly Freireich). He will also be remembered by his grandchildren Emily, Ellen, Chris, T.J., Sam and Macy, and his great-grandchildren Wyatt, Lyla and Myles. Services will be held virtually; details are still being set. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donation to MD Anderson via http://mdacc.convio.net/goto/Freireich.