About Robert O. Dillman, M.D.

Robert O. Dillman, M.D. is the Grace E. Hoag Endowed Chair of Oncology, and Executive Medical and Scientific Director of Hoag Cancer Center in Newport Beach, CA. He is also a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California Irvine.

Dr. Dillman earned a B.A. from Stanford, an M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, and did internal medicine residency training and chief residency at Baylor College of Medicine, and hematology and oncology fellowship at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). He is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hematology.

Dr. Dillman was Assistant Director of the UCSD Cancer Center and Chief of Hematology/Oncology at the San Diego VA Medical Center, and then the Director of Experimental Clinical Oncology and Associate Director of the Ida M. Green Cancer Center of Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California. He has been at Hoag since 1989.

He served as Chairman of the Cancer Biotherapy Research Group (1990-1999), President of Orange County American Cancer Society (1991-1993), President of the Inter-American Society for Chemotherapy (1997-1999), and President of the International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (2000-2002).

Dr. Dillman has authored or co-authored more than 300 scientific articles, reviews, book chapters, and monographs. He is recognized internationally for his work in lung cancer, lymphoma, CLL, melanoma and renal cell cancer. He was a pioneer in cancer biotherapy, including monoclonal antibodies, interleukin-2, adoptive cellular therapy and autologous cancer cell vaccines. He is a highly regarded medical educator, having delivered more than 700 invited lectures throughout the US and in 10 foreign countries. From 1986-1994 he co-chaired the annual International Conference on Monoclonal Antibody Immunoconjugates for Cancer in San Diego. In 2004, Dr. Dillman delivered the Plenary Address at the 11th International Conference on Human Antibodies and Hybridomas held in Dublin, Ireland, and in 2008 was a keynote speaker at the 19th Annual Antibody Engineering and 6th Annual Antibody Therapeutics Conference, San Diego, CA. In 2009 Dr. Dillman presented Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in San Francisco. He has chaired or co-chaired 15 national or international educational symposia.

In 1992, Dr. Dillman became the first hematologist or oncologist in Orange County, California to be selected by national peers for as one of the Best Doctors in America, and has been so named in every edition from 1992-2008. In addition, he has been named as a “Top Doctor,” “Top Physician,” “Best Doctor,” and “Physician of Excellence” in Orange County. In 2006 he was named “Orange County Physician of the Year” by the Orange County Medical Association. In 2008, Dr. Dillman was named the Grace E. Hoag Endowed Chair of Oncology at Hoag. During his tenure as Medical Director of the Hoag Cancer Center, the 5-year relative survival rate for Hoag patients with invasive cancer has improved from 58 percent to 77 percent, and improved much more rapidly than has occurred nationally. In 2008, the program was designated as an “outstanding” comprehensive community cancer program by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, and Dr. Dillman was the recipient of a Commission on Cancer Liaison Physician Outstanding Performance Award. In that year he was also named Executive Medical Director for the Cancer Center of Excellence. In October 2009 Dr. Dillman will be the honoree of the Beckstrand Cancer Foundation.