Dr. James C. Cusack

Get to Know Dr. James C. Cusack

Dr. James Cusack is a retired doctor with advanced experience on the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma cancer through his surgical skills, groundbreaking research at the Cusack Laboratory and in his role as a former associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

He produced impressive results with the combination of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, known as HIPEC, which he had used since 2011 and helped pioneer for various abdominal malignancies.

Cusak’s clinical interests include colorectal, gastrointestinal, liver and peritoneal cancers. Cusack is still involved in clinical studies. For example, he was listed among the authors of a 2024 HIPEC study.

He was director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Global Surgery Initiative and co-chair of the MGH Cancer Center Global Health Committee, allowing him to assist those in developing countries with acute health care needs.

The Cusack Laboratory, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society, focused on molecular mechanisms used in finding new targets for therapeutic intervention.

Cusack’s goals were to increase the effectiveness of anti-cancer treatment and improving patient survival rates.

Specialties of Dr. James C. Cusack

• HIPEC
• Cytoreductive surgery
• Research
• Peritoneal mesothelioma
• Liver cancer
• Melanoma
• Colorectal cancer
• Merkel cell carcinoma

Dr. James C. Cusack’s Experience and Medical Education

• Massachusetts General Hospital
• Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Fellowship)
• University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Fellowship)
• Tufts Medical Center (Residency)
• Emory University School of Medicine (M.D.)

Awards and Certifications

• Patients’ Choice Award
• America’s Top Surgeons
• America’s Top Doctors
• MGH One Hundred
• Boston’s Super Doctors
• Board certified in surgery

Mesothelioma Clinical Trials Under James C. Cusack, M.D.

• A single-site clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of the LUM Imaging System for in-vivo imaging of metastases to the peritoneum with various cancers, including peritoneal mesothelioma.

Publications of Dr. James C. Cusack

• Qwaider, Y.Z. et al. (2020, October 26). Infiltrating Tumor Border Configuration is a Poor Prognostic Factor in Stage II and III Colon Adenocarcinoma. Annals of Surgical Oncology.
• Sell, N.M. et al. (2020, October 6). Ten-year survival after pathologic complete response in rectal adenocarcinoma. Journal of Surgical Oncology.
• Panda, N. et al. (2020, February 1). Using Smartphones to Capture Novel Recovery Metrics After Cancer Surgery. JAMA Surgery.
• Raoof, S., Deng, F. & Cusack, J. (2019, December 7). Abdomen distended by 31 L of cerebrospinal fluid: a peritoneal pseudocyst around a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. The Lancet.