Surgical Cancer Care Experts Available to Discuss News Presented at Society of Surgical Oncology Conference March 22-25

LOS ANGELES (March 21, 2023) —

EXPERTS AVAILABLE:

Cedars-Sinai Cancer experts in the fields of pancreatic, gastrointestinal, skin and breast surgical oncology are available to share research findings and comment on the latest news coming out of the Society of Surgical Oncology 2023 International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care March 22-25 in Boston.

KEY TOPICS:

Treating high-risk bile duct cancer—Cristina R. Ferrone, MD, chair of the Department of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai and member of the Society of Surgical Oncology Executive Council, will be one of two participants in the “HPB Great Debate: Neoadjuvant Therapy Should Be Routinely Given for High-Risk Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.” She will debate the merits of neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy for cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile ducts. Ferrone is known for directing clinical trials and developing novel immunotherapeutic strategies in cholangiocarcinoma and pancreatic cancer.

Offering surgery despite metastasis—Alexandra Gangi, MD, director of the Gastrointestinal Tumor Program at Cedars-Sinai Cancer and associate professor of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai, can discuss findings that suggest removing the primary tumor in select patients with metastatic small bowel or pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors may reduce spread of disease and improve patient survival. Currently, there is no consensus on whether the primary tumor should be removed in patients with metastatic disease.

Lymph node biopsies in older women—Surgical oncologist Alice Chung, MD, can discuss research supporting national guidelines that recommend against sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer patients 65 and older due to low rates of recurrence and low mortality in these patients.

Surveillance imaging for breast cancer patients—Farin Amersi, MD, division clinical chief of Surgical Oncology in Cedars-Sinai Cancer, can discuss findings that annual follow-up mammography is sufficient for patients with invasive breast cancer who have received chemotherapy followed by breast-conserving tumor removal. The practice of twice-yearly follow-up mammograms resulted in unnecessary benign biopsies, higher patient healthcare costs, and increased patient distress with limited detection of cancer recurrence.

More conservative assessment of melanoma—Mark Faries, MD, surgical director of the Melanoma Program in Cedars-Sinai Cancer, can discuss a more conservative way of assessing whether patients with melanoma, a cancer of the skin’s pigment-producing cells, should receive therapy to shrink their lesion prior to its removal. This method could classify a greater number of patients as low-risk, allowing them to avoid pre-surgical therapy.

CONTACT:

Christina Elston can help schedule your interview: [email protected] | 626-298-0702.