Dr. Walter Kocha
London Health Sciences Centre
London Regional Cancer Program
790 Commissioners Road East
PO Box 5165
London, ON N6A 4L6
Tel: 519-685-8640
Fax: 519-685-8624
Dr Walter Kocha graduated with a B.Sc.Hons in Biochemistry
from the University of Western Ontario in 1970, and
an M.D. from the same University in 1974.
He interned and was a resident in Hematology and Oncology
at Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Quebec from 1974-76.
Since 1982, Dr Kocha has been a Medical Staff Physician,
Ontario Cancer Foundation, London Regional Cancer Centre
and Victoria Hospital, Associate Professor, Departments
of Oncology and Medicine, University of Western Ontario,
and Consultant, Sarnia General & St. Joseph's Hospitals,
Sarnia, Ontario Grey Bruce Health Centre, Owen Sound,
Ontario.
Dr Kocha was Director, Haematology Laboratory, London
Regional Cancer Centre, from 1983-2001, and Director,
Medical Oncology Training Program from 1985-2001.
From 1996, Dr Kocha has been engaged in work on combined
modality radioisotope targeted therapy and chemotherapy.
Much of Dr. Kocha’s career has been spent being
a pulmonary and GI oncologist, but in the last ten years
has found himself more involved in neuroendocrine carcinomas,
which has grown to comprise approx 95% of his practice.
He is probably the only medical oncologist in Canada
who has this amount of specialization in this tumor
group.
Dr Kocha has been involved in many research projects
involving different aspects of cancer with an increasing
focus on neuroendocrine tumours and cancers.
Some Neuroendocrine projects include:
- Neuroendocrine lung cancer: Responsiveness, survival
non-small neuroendocrine cancer.
- Neuroendocrine malignancies: Innovative program
of treatment with combined modality treatment: Radioisotope
targeted therapy with In-111-Octreotide and/or MI-131-BG
administered concurrently with chemotherapy. Currently
funded by MOHLTC as an Ontario referral centre for
neuroendocrine malignancies,
- Therapy with hepatic arterial combined radioisotope chemoembolization for neuroendocrine and hepatocellular carcinomas developed at London Regional Cancer Centre/ London Health Sciences Centre.