Pioneer cancer researcher Folkman dies

Boston -- Dr. Judah Folkman, the Boston researcher who discovered that the growth of tumors could be halted by cutting off their blood supply, has died at the age of 74.

Folkman, director of the vascular research program at Children's Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School, suffered an apparent heart attack Monday night, The Boston Globe reported.

While scientists took a long time to accept Folkman's work, his research has now led to a new generation of anti-cancer drugs, the report said. Pharmaceutical companies are testing angiogenesis inhibitors that have been proved to extend the lives of patients with advanced cancers.

Folkman was known for his modesty and was reluctant to claim credit for a cancer "cure."

"We never use the word 'cure' because it is far away," Folkman said not long before his death. "It may be that patients will have little tiny cancers that lie dormant for a long time."

A native of Cleveland, Folkman graduated from Ohio State University and Harvard Medical School. He spent most of his professional life in Boston.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.