Denis Parsons Burkitt CMG, MD, DSc, FRS, FRCS, FTCD (1911–93) Irish by birth, Trinity by the grace of God

Abstract

Denis Parsons Burkitt, surgeon and research scientist, is a household name in the medical profession. Denis received his BA in 1933 and graduated as a physician in 1935 from Trinity College, Dublin. After serving as a surgeon in the Royal Army Medicine Corps during World War II, he worked as a surgeon and lecturer in Africa. It was in Africa that he developed exceptional observational and analytical skills, which led him to identify and formally develop a successful treatment for a childhood cancer that is now called Burkitt Lymphoma. The influence of Christianity in his life was huge. Throughout his life he remained extremely modest, attributing much of what he had achieved to the work of others. Denis's contributions to haemato-oncology remain salient today, and his discoveries continue to generate new research. Throughout his career he received some of the highest scientific honours from many different countries across the globe.

Viral Causes of Lymphoma: The History of Epstein-Barr Virus and Human T-Lymphotropic Virus 1

“…36 Fascinated by BL, Epstein asked Burkitt for tumor samples to be sent to him and changed his research focus to isolating the viral cause of BL. 37 The publication of the presence of viral particles, later named Epstein-Barr virus, 38 in lymphoblasts cultured from a patient with BL would soon follow. 39 But the presence of the newly discovered viral particle alone was not enough to conclude that it was involved in the pathogenesis of BL: years of further study were needed before EBV could be called oncogenic.…”

Denis Burkitt: A legacy of global health

“…2 Following the lecture, Epstein asked for samples from tumour biopsies to be sent to him and decided to change his research focus to investigating a possible viral cause of BL. 15 In 1964, Epstein, Barr and Achong would publish the discovery of a virus (eventually named the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)) seen in lymphoblasts isolated from a BL patient. 16 The discovery of EBV as the first human cancer virus, 10,17,18 would pave the way for investigations into the cancer-causing potential of human herpes virus type 8, human papilloma virus, hepatitis C virus, and others.…”

“…Since surgery and radiotherapy were not possible treatments, Burkitt convinced drug manufacturers that the use of free chemotherapy on BL patients would allow for the drug’s effects to be studied independently of surgical or radiotherapeutic factors. 15…”