Professor Guy Blaudin De Thé - Pioneer Researcher on Virus-related Cancers

Sadly, Professor Guy Blaudin de Thé passed away on 7th August 2014. Professor de Thé was one of the founders and the first

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President of the Alliance Mondiale Contre le Cancer (AMCC - INCTR's Franch Branch) en 2002. Prior to this, Professor Guy de Thé had supported the creation of INCTR in 1998. Despite his many responsibilities, Prof de Thé played an active role in the work undertaken by AMCC and was a strong supporter of its promotion of the fight against cancer, particularly in women and children in sub-Saharan Africa. At that time, he had already become well known for his work in East Africa, conducted while working at the International Agency for Research in Cancer and directed towards determining whether the Epstein-Barr virus, discovered in 1964 in a cell line derived from a tumor in an African child, was a causal agent of Burkitt's lymphoma, the disease from which the child was suffering. He also studied nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a tumour common in Southern China and also associated with EBV, and made several important observations on the immune reaction to EBV in this disease, as well as the apparent association with weaning children on salted fish. Later, while at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, he carried out important geographical studies on RNA sequence variation in another virus associated with human cancer, the Human T cell Leukemia/Lymphoma virus, which is prevalent in southern Japan and the Caribbean. For his outstanding contributions to research on the mechanism whereby viruses may cause cancer, Professor De Thé was invited to become a member of the French Academy of Medicine and Correspondent of the Academy of Sciences. In 2002 he was elected founding co-chair of the InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP), an international network of medical academies and medical sections of scientific academies that during his tenure expanded to 70 Academies. His attention to detail, not only in his scientific work, but as an administrator, ensured that the AMCC was handed over to his successor, Professor Pierre Beu, in excellent order. AMCC and the entire INCTR Consortium offer their sincere condolences to surviving family members.

The picture shows Prof. de Thé speaking at the INCTR Meeting in 2004.

Nous apprenons la triste nouvelle du décès du professeur Guy de Thé, survenu le 7 août 2014, président fondateur de l'AMCC en 2002 après avoir soutenu la création de l'INCTR en 2001. En dépit de ses multiples activités, Guy de Thé était très attaché et très attentif à l'action de l'AMCC pour promouvoir le soutien à la lutte contre les cancers, particulièrement des enfants et des femmes, en Afrique sub-saharienne francophone. Son engagement a été déterminant et lui a permis de passer le flambeau en 2010 dans d'excellentes conditions. Nous lui sommes très reconnaissant et assurons sa famille, de notre profonde sympathie.

La photo montre le Prof de Thé en train de donner une conférence lors de la réunion INCTR en 2004.

Pr Martine Raphael

Pr Pierre Bey

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