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For Immediate Release
December 20, 2006

American Society of Breast Disease Endorses Enrollment in Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation Clinical Trials

The Consensus Committee of the American Society of Breast Disease periodically authors statements on emerging areas of interest to breast specialists and their patients with the goal of clarifying issues particularly related to interdisciplinary breast healthcare.

Partial breast irradiation is defined as radiation therapy delivered to a small portion of the breast around a margin-negative excision of a breast cancer. As a limited amount of normal tissue is in the radiotherapy field, treatment is generally accelerated.  Conventional breast irradiation is delivered daily in 5 to 7 weeks. Partial breast irradiation has been delivered from a single treatment to daily treatment over 41⁄2 weeks. The most common treatment plan in the United States is twice-per-day treatment in 1 week.

The most common approaches to partial breast irradiation in the United States include:

1. Brachytherapy, using multiple parallel catheters or a single balloon catheter placed within or around the surgical cavity into which high-dose radioactive sources are placed.

2. Multiple small fields delivered with external beam radiation.

In some centers in Europe, a single fraction of intraoperative radiation is delivered.  Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages in regard to coverage of the target volume, dose to normal tissue, ease of treatment, and acute and long-term toxicity.  Each technique requires a skilled surgeon, radiation oncologist, and radiation physicist in placement of the treatment device, treatment planning, and treatment delivery.

The optimal patient for partial breast radiation has a breast tumor whose risk of recurrence is limited to the surgical bed after a margin-negative excision. The brachytherapy feasibility trials allowed only node-negative patients with tumors <3 cm and without negative prognostic features, such as young age, extensive intraductal component, lobular histology, extensive lymphovascular invasion, or multifocality. Physical and anatomic requirements for balloon catheter include adequate skin (soft tissue overlying the balloon) thickness and a surgical cavity conforming to the balloon catheter. Toxicity and poor cosmetic outcome from brachytherapy treatment is technique dependent.

Although several thousand women have been treated with partial breast irradiation, follow up is <10 years. The largest series reports its results at 7 years and includes only 199 highly selected patients. An ongoing U.S.  trial is randomizing patients to conventional versus partial breast irradiation. Outside of clinical trials, caution should be used in patient selection and treatment. There is no test of equivalence for these different approaches.

Partial breast irradiation may cost more than conventional radiation and may not be covered by all insurance plans. The ASBD strongly encourages the participation of patients in the national study RTOG-412/NSABP B-39.

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For Immediate Release
September 12, 2005

American Society of Breast Disease Announces 2006 Pathfinder Honorees

American Society of Breast Disease Society President Benjamin O. Anderson, MD, announced the names of seven internationally distinguished breast cancer leaders who will receive the Society's Pathfinder Awards at its 30th anniversary symposium on April 27, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada. In announcing the awards, Dr. Anderson noted "that the Society established this prestigious award to recognize the innovators who have combined research and clinical practice with an interdisciplinary understanding to advance the fight against breast disease and breast cancer."

Dr. Anderson stressed that "this award reflects the spirit and commitment of the Society as the only clinically based organization to advocate a multidisciplinary team approach to managing breast disease and cancer prevention, risk assessment, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and research."

The 2006 recipients are:

For Breast Cancer Advocacy
The Honorable Nancy Brinker, Founder, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Dallas, Texas

For Breast Imaging
László Tabár, MD, Professor, Department of Mammography, Falun Central Hospital, Falun, Sweden

For Breast Medical Oncology
Gabriel Hortobagyi, MD, Professor of Medicine, Chair, Department of Breast Medical Oncology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston

For Breast Pathology
David L. Page, MD, Professor of Pathology and Preventive Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

For Breast Radiation Oncology
Jay Harris, MD, Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, Professor of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

For Breast Surgery
Umberto Veronesi, MD, Chair, Scientific Committee, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

For Quality of Life and Psychosocial Treatment
Patricia Ganz, MD, Professor of Health Services and Medicine, UCLA School of Public Health. Department of Health Services, Los Angeles, California

Each of the 2006 honorees will address a special award session of the American Society of Breast Disease on April 27, 2006, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2005

American Society of Breast Disease Establishes Pathfinder Award Program

In celebration of its 30th anniversary symposium in 2006 and to inaugurate this special program, the Board of Directors of the American Society of Breast Disease has established the Pathfinder Award to recognize outstanding achievement in the spectrum of specialties that reflect the Society's diverse membership: Advocacy; Breast Imaging: Breast Medical Oncology; Breast Pathology; Breast Radiation Oncology; Breast Surgery; and Quality of Life & Psychosocial Treatment.

In announcing the program, Society President Benjamin O. Anderson, MD, noted that "through its Pathfinder Award, the American Society of Breast Disease will recognize the innovators who have combined research and clinical practice with an interdisciplinary understanding to advance the fight against breast disease and breast cancer." He stressed that "this award reflects the spirit and commitment of the Society as the only clinically based organization to advocate a multidisciplinary team approach to managing breast disease and cancer prevention, risk assessment, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and research."

Each of the 2006 honorees will be speak at a special award session on April 27, 2006, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas.

In subsequent years, the Society's Board of Directors will honor one or two individuals with this special award.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2005

American Society of Breast Disease Launches Clearinghouse on Breast Disease
Easy-to-Use, Up-to-Date, Comprehensive Information on Consensus Statements and Practice Guidelines in Breast Cancer and Healthcare
Online at www.asbd.org.

Each listing includes a direct link to the organization that produced the statement. Organizations listed in CBD Version 1.0 include:

• American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
• American Cancer Society
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• American College of Radiology
• American Society of Breast Surgeons
• American Society of Clinical Oncology
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons
• Canadian Medical Association Journal
• Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care
• Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care
• Cancer Care Ontario Practice Guidelines
• Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement
• Kaiser-Permanente Southern California
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Oncology Nursing Society
• Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners
• Society for Surgical Oncology
• Society of Nuclear Medicine
• United States Preventive Services Task Force

Each CBD entry will includes an expert summary that explains what patients and their families should know and provides details on multidisciplinary implications, scientific basis, and clinical relevance.

An easy-to-use online search engine quickly provides summary information on each statement listed. On an on-going basis, expert working groups develop, review, and approve all content in the CBD's five information areas:

1. Prevention and Risk Assessment
2. Screening and Early Detection
3. Diagnosis
4. Treatment
5. Psychosocial Issues and Rehabilitation

The distinguished members of the CBD Steering Committee serve as chairs of the expert working groups charged with overseeing CBD content development:

• Julio A. Ibarra, MD, Chair, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, Fountain Valley, California
• Blake Cady, MD, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island
• Amy Early, MD, Buffalo Medical Group, Inc., Williamsville, New York
• Funmi Olopade, MD, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
• Diana Rowden, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Dallas, Texas
• Gordon Schwartz, MD, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Victor Vogel, MD, Magee-Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Clearinghouse was developed with the support of a generous grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2005

Policy Statement on Routine Orientation of Excised Breast Specimens

Advances in minimally invasive image-guided biopsy methods continue to optimize surgical planning. A common circumstance confronting breast surgeons whose patients have excisions performed by other surgeons and without specimen orientation prompted the Consensus Committee of the American Society for Breast Disease to establish an expert working group to develop a statement on orientation of partial breast excisions (lumpectomy and excisional specimens.)

We conclude that:

Specimen orientation should be performed in all patients that undergo partial breast excisions for a lesion that is suspicious or known to be malignant.

Routine orientation of breast specimens allows for targeted re-excision of close or involved margins with less volume removed, better cosmetics and clearer margins.

Specimen orientation is unnecessary when excision is performed for known benign breast disease such as fibroadenomas, lipomas or cysts.

Each hospital should establish acceptable technique(s) for specimen orientation for breast specimens.

Background

The expert working group recognizes that an interdisciplinary team including surgeons, pathologists, radiologists, and operating room nurses all work to ensure that breast conservation is an achievable goal for the majority of patients with breast cancer. Minimally invasive image-guided biopsy methods optimize surgical planning. Excellent surgical technique helps achieve the goals of complete excision with good cosmesis.

We are constantly changing the techniques of specimen processing, based on treatment needs and outcomes. Not too long ago, it was the norm to submit breast biopsies to the laboratory without inking the margins of resection. With the increasing acceptance of breast conservation, it became a basic need to know the status of the excision margins and therefore pathologists started inking the edges of the specimens. We now have gone one step further. Surgeons are re-excising specific margins to make sure the entire tumor has been removed before recommending radiation therapy.

A frequent problem occurs when patients have excisions performed without specimen orientation. If malignancy is diagnosed with involved or close undesignated margins, re-excision of the entire excisional biopsy cavity is required. This greatly increases the overall volume of breast tissue removed and significantly worsens the aesthetic results. Occasionally, this circumstance even precludes breast conservation (postop hematoma or extensive tunneling).

In order to adequately orient a specimen, we must start with the premise that a breast excision should be obtained in one piece by the surgeon. Piecemeal specimens for the purpose of excision of a lesion are not acceptable in today's environment. The use of specimen x-ray (via faxitron or regular mammography) is the standard for the evaluation of image-identified breast lesions that are removed under the guidance of the radiological techniques.

Margin status is the key factor for local control. Under the best scenario, the surgeon goes into the operating room with a firm diagnosis by the radiologist and the pathologist. The lesion should be removed in its entirety, in one piece, x-rayed if radiologically discovered, and oriented by the surgeon in the OR suite. The radiologist, pathologist, and surgeon (or at least 2 of these) should participate in the evaluation of the specimen intra-operatively to determine if the amount of tissue removed is adequate or a re-excision is needed before the patient leaves the operating room. The pathologist should process the specimen in a format that allows reconstruction of the tissue for evaluation of specific margins among other things (i.e., size, multifocality, etc.). When margins are close, re-excision provides better local control (Eur J Surg Oncol. 23:123-127, 1997; Fowble, B. The Breast J 4:126-131, 1998).

A number of techniques for routine orientation of excisional specimens exist, including sutures, clips or safety pins (see Chart 1). The goal of specimen orientation is to help provide a three-dimensional description of the area(s) of malignancy within a specimen. This enables the pathologist to describe as accurately as possible the margin status. The person in the best position to mark the orientation of the specimen is clearly the surgeon who should place the markers during the operation, preferably before the entire tissue is removed from the patient.

Inking of the specimen is best and most accurate when the surgeon in the operating room performs it. However, the pathologist can perform it, as long as the specimen is oriented in 2 planes plus laterality (i.e., Left, Superior, Lateral) or 3 planes (i.e., Medial, Anterior, Superior).

When the pathologist receives the specimen (with specimen x-rays for image-guided biopsies), he or she has to make sure the orientation is maintained throughout the process. The orientation scheme and the sectioning technique must be included in the pathology report. The use of diagrams can prove beneficial when attempting to reconstruct specimens after the initial sections have been reviewed. The pathologist must exercise care to assure that ink is not running onto the cut surfaces. This can be accomplished by several means, such as the use of a mordant (i.e., Bouin's solution for a couple of seconds), air drying at room temperature for a few minutes, or active drying (i.e., use of a fan-like instrument).

Inking can be done with four or six colors. If the specimen is sequentially processed, there is no absolute need for six ink colors.

We restate our conclusions, therefore, that:

• Specimen orientation should be performed in all patients that undergo partial breast excisions for a lesion that is suspicious or known to be malignant.
  
  
• Routine orientation of breast specimens allows for targeted re-excision of close or involved margins with less volume removed, better cosmetics and clearer margins.
  
  
• Specimen orientation is unnecessary when excision is performed for known benign breast disease such as fibroadenomas, lipomas or cysts.
  
  
• Each hospital should establish acceptable technique(s) for specimen orientation for breast specimens.
  
  

Chart 1: Specimen-Orientation Techniques
Approaches to Specimen Orientation
Suture Technique	designate as desired
Metallic Clips	designate as desired
Safety Pins	designate as desired
Color-Coded Inking	designate colors as desired
Combo suture/clip	designate as desired, clips attached to base of suture

Suggested patterns for sutures/clips/combo:

1) Sutures:

a) Superior = Short
b) Lateral = Long
c) Designate Right or Left side

2) Metal clips:

a) Medial = One clip
b) Anterior = Two clips
c) Superior = Three clips or designate Right or left

This technique has the potential for the clips to fall off during handling and it is much harder for the pathologist to find the clips than sutures, even if they stay in place.

3) Combination sutures and clips:

a) Medial = 2 long sutures and one metal clip at the base of the suture
b) Anterior = 2 short sutures and 2 metal clips at the base of the suture
c) Superior = 1 long and one short sutures and 3 metal clips at the base of the suture

This technique allows the radiologist to see the orientation using the metal clips; while the pathologist uses the sutures. Whether the specimen is inked by the surgeon or the pathologist, the radiologist needs the clips or radio-opaque sutures.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON BREAST SPECIMEN ORIENTATION

Sheldon Feldman, MD, Chair, Chief, Division of Breast Surgery, Department of Surgery, Louis B. Venet, M.D., Comprehensive Breast Center, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, New York

Julio Ibarra, MD, Medical Director, MemorialCare Breast Center, Pathology Department of Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Pathology, University of California, Irvine, California

Ira Bleiweiss, MD, Professor of Pathology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, Director, Division of Breast Pathology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York

Jane Kakkis, MD, Director of Surgery, Breastlink Medical Group, Surgical Director, MemorialCare Breast Center at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, California

Krystyna Kiel, MD, Assistant Professor of Radiology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois

Marilyn Leitch, MD, Professor, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Kalliopi (Popi) Siziopikou, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology, Rush University, Chicago, Illinois

The above Committee convened in fall 2004. It presented its draft statement to the ASBD Consensus Committee and then to the full ASBD membership for comment. Following incorporation of comments, the Committee reviewed and resubmitted the statement for final approval by the ASBD's Consensus Committee.

About the American Society of Breast Disease

The American Society of Breast Disease is the only clinically based medical society in the United States to bring together physicians and allied professionals committed to and advocating an interdisciplinary team approach to breast disease management, prevention, early detection, treatment, and research.

Founded in 1976, the Society sponsors education symposia and advocates for improvements in breast health management in the United States.

The ASBD is committed to strict adherence to guidelines of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) for all ASBD education programming and policy statements. Fair balance and candid exchange are central to ASBD programs and communications.

For more information about the Society, visit us on the web at www.asbd.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 18, 2005

Benjamin O. Anderson, MD, becomes 14th President of the American Society of Breast Disease

During the 29th annual symposium of the American Society of Breast Disease, held in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 14-16, 2005, Benjamin O. Anderson, MD, Professor of Surgery and Director, Breast Health Center, at the University of Washington in Seattle was installed at president of the Society. Dr. Anderson, a breast surgeon, was introduced by outgoing president Barbara Rabinowitz, PhD, Director, Oncology Services, Meridian Health, New Jersey.

Other new officers of the Society include President-Elect Julio A. Ibarra, MD, Medical Director at the Memorial Care Breast Center and Pathology Department of Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center and Associate Clinical Professor for the Department of Pathology at University of California at Irvine, and Gail Lebovic, MD, an oncoplastic surgeon, Plano, Texas.

Chair of the Nominating Committee, Debu Tripathy, MD, announced the election of Ira Bleiweiss, MD, Aman Buzdar, MD, Blake Cady, MD, and Clifford Hudis, MD, to three-year terms on the Society's 17 member Board of Directors.

About the Incoming Officers

President Benjamin O. Anderson, MD, is Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. A native Californian, he obtained a bachelors degree in mathematics at Pomona College and attended medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. His general surgical training at the University of Colorado included a two-year basic science research fellowship. Following residency, Dr. Anderson became a surgical oncologist as an American Cancer Society Clinical Oncology Fellow at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York. He was recruited to join the University of Washington Breast Care and Cancer Research Program in 1994 and served as the program's Clinical Medical Director from 1998 to 2003. As Director of the University of Washington's Breast Health Center, Dr. Anderson has devoted his clinical practice to the care of patients with breast cancer and breast health issues.

Dr. Anderson received the American Cancer Society Career Development Award for breast cancer research in 1995. He received a joint faculty appointment at the Fred Hutchinson and from 1998 through 2001 served as Associate Program Head for the Hutchinson's Breast Cancer Research Program. His clinical interests include oncoplastic surgery of the breast, the purpose of which is to improve cosmetic and oncologic outcome with complex breast lumpectomies. Dr. Anderson created and chairs the Breast Health Global Initiative, an international project to define guidelines for breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment in countries with limited health care resources. Dr. Anderson has served on the boards of three academic national and international breast cancer societies, and was elected by his peers for inclusion in "Best Doctors in America" from 2001 to 2004, an honor awarded to approximately 4% of physicians across the country.

President-Elect Julio A. Ibarra, MD, a native of Mexico, earned his medical degree from the National University of Mexico. He completed additional research and training at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). He is currently Medical Director at the Memorial Care Breast Center and Pathology Department of Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center and Associate Clinical Professor for the Department of Pathology at UCI. Dr. Ibarra is board certified in anatomic and clinical pathology as well as cytopathology. In 1998, 2002, 2004 and 2005 Dr. Ibarra was named by fellow physicians as one of the Best Doctors in Orange County in the field of Pathology.

Dr. Ibarra works to establish the highest standards throughout the five Memorial Care Medical Centers. He takes pride in meeting with newly diagnosed women to review their slides so they can actually see their cells. "This way," he notes, "patients have a visual image of what they are fighting-of what is causing so much disturbance and anxiety in their lives." Dr. Ibarra, who is completing a term as Secretary of the ASBD, also chairs its Consensus Committee. He has co-authored a number of articles for medical journals and enjoys sharing his expert knowledge of breast disease as a speaker in numerous forums.

Secretary-Treasurer Gail Lebovic, MA, MD, is the lead surgeon at Baylor Breast Care Specialists of North Texas. She is a breast surgeon and medical inventor in the field of women's health. As inventor of the MammoPad breast cushion used at more than 2,000 centers, she pioneered an innovative form of pain control that makes mammography more comfortable and is designed to increase women's use of this lifesaving procedure.

Dr. Lebovic's received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and a medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C. She completed her surgical training at Stanford University Medical Center. Dr. Lebovic completed a fellowship in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the breast, a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, and has authored numerous scientific publications. Prior to her relocation to Dallas, Dr. Lebovic spent over 10 years as an attending surgeon at Stanford University Medical Center, and served a short tenure as associate director of the Lee Breast Center, at the University of Southern California/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

A pioneer in the field of oncoplastic surgery, Dr. Lebovic is a passionate patient advocate and serves as a breast-health expert in various broadcast media. She provides online breast health content for Yahoo® Health. An American College of Surgeons Fellow, ASBD Board member and Communications Committee chair, Dr. Lebovic served on the board of the Northern California Chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Active in numerous organizations, including the National Consortium of Breast Centers, American Society of Breast Surgeons, and American Women's Medical Association, she serves as director or advisory board member of numerous companies and has co-founded four medical-device companies.

About the Incoming Directors at Large

Ira J. Bleiweiss, MD, is a Professor of Pathology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, and an attending pathologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he also directs the Division of Breast Pathology. Dr. Bleiweiss is a surgical pathologist specializing in breast pathology. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and St. George's University School of Medicine, he performed his residency in Pathology at Mount Sinai Medical Center followed by fellowships in surgical and anatomic pathology at Mount Sinai and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is an active participant in national clinical breast cancer trials as he has led the Breast Pathology Cadre of Cancer and Leukemia Group B.

Dr. Bleiweiss has published numerous articles and book chapters, serves as a reviewer and editorial board member for several peer-reviewed journals, is a member of the ASBD Education Committee, an active member of many pathology and other multidisciplinary breast cancer focused societies, including the New York Metropolitan Breast Cancer Group, for whom he chaired the Program Committee for the past two years. His current research interests include the correlation of radiologic and pathologic findings, especially in core biopsies, and the pathology of sentinel lymph node procedures. He maintains an active speaking schedule and teaches a course in radiologic-pathologic correlation in core biopsies for the US/Canadian Academy of Pathology.

Aman U. Buzdar, MD, is a Professor of Medicine for the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he also serves as Deputy Department Chairman. Dr Buzdar received his medical degree from Nishtar Medical College in Multan, Pakistan following completion of his college degree. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at various locations in the United States. Dr Buzdar then completed two years of fellowship, his first year in hematology-oncology at Norwalk Hospital in affiliation with the Yale School of Medicine, and his second in medical oncology, concluding at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Buzdar is board-certified as a diplomate in both internal medicine and medical oncology. His research interests include therapy of early and advanced breast cancer. Dr Buzdar has been an author on 273 published papers, 96 invited articles, 13 editorials, and numerous book chapters. He currently serves on several editorial boards and is also an Associate Editor for Clinical Cancer Research. Dr Buzdar has presented at numerous symposia both in the United States and internationally and has also held lectureships and visiting professorships for more than 20 years.

Blake Cady, MD, received his undergraduate education at Amherst College and his medical education at Cornell University Medical College. He was trained in surgery at Boston City Hospital and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in surgical oncology. For 14 years, he was on the surgical staff of the Lahey Clinic Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts, after which he spent 15 years on the academic faculty at Harvard Medical School rising to the rank of Professor of Surgery. He is now emeritus professor. Currently Dr. Cady is Professor of Surgery at Brown University School of Medicine. He was director of the Breast Health Center in the Women's Oncology Program at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, for six years. This multidisciplinary center is considered a model of contemporary coordinated cancer management. He is currently Interim Director at the Comprehensive Breast Program at Rhode Island Hospital.

Dr. Cady's major academic interests have been in the biological behavior of cancer and coordination of multidisciplinary cancer treatments so that radical treatments are utilized in advanced cancers and simplified treatments in early and low risk cancers. He has written extensively on cancers of the breast, thyroid, stomach, liver and colon and on lymph node metastases and distant metastatic disease. His bibliography amounts to well over three hundred articles, book chapters, editorials, commentaries and letters.

Dr. Cady has been President of the New England Cancer Society, New England Surgical Society, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the American Association of Endocrine Surgery, the Boston Surgical Society and the Massachusetts Division of the American Cancer Society. He received the annual Distinguished Award of the American Cancer Society and the Lemuel Shattuck Medal of the Massachusetts Public Health Association on two occasions for activities in Tobacco Control. He has been a longstanding opponent of the tobacco industry and chaired the Massachusetts Coalition for a Healthy Future that promoted and passed referendum Question #1 that developed and funded the Massachusetts Tobacco Coalition Program. That Program became a world recognized, successful coordinated effort to control tobacco consumption.

Clifford Hudis, MD, is Chief of the Breast Cancer Medicine Service and Associate Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, where he is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He is co-leader of the Breast Disease Management Team at MSKCC, co-Chair of the Breast Committee of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), immediate past-Chair of the Internet Services Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and vice-President of the New York Metropolitan Breast Cancer Group.

Dr. Hudis received his B.A. from Lehigh University and his M.D. from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1983 following the completion of a six-year combined B.A. and M.D. program. From 1983 through 1987 he trained in internal medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania and served as Chief Medical Resident. His hematology/oncology training was completed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 1991 and since then he has been a member of the Breast Cancer Medicine Service at Memorial where he has conducted a large number of clinical trials. His research interests include chemotherapy development, hormone therapy, novel targeted therapeutics, and supportive care. A particular focus has been the integration of newer agents into the treatment plan for patients with early stage disease.

In addition to his practice and clinical research, Dr. Hudis has served as a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, and Cancer Investigation. He is a member of the Breast Committees of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 25, 2005

Controversies in Targeted Therapies for Breast Cancer to be Focus of American Society of Breast Disease Debate

Debu Tripathy, MD, Director, Komen/UT Southwestern Breast Cancer Research Program, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Mark Pegram, MD, Associate Professor Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Edith Perez, MD, Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida will join in a one-hour debate of controversies in targeted therapy for breast cancer. The ASBD and Postgraduate Institute for Medicine are co-sponsoring the event to be held on February 25, 2005, in conjunction with the 2005 Miami Breast Cancer Conference.

Using a debate format, the panelists will explore targeted therapy in both early-stage and advanced breast cancer. Among the topics to be considered are the rationale for chemotherapy and biological combinations and options for treatment beyond progression on targeted therapy. The ASBD is grateful to Genentech BioOncology for an unrestricted education grant in support of this CME program. For more information, visit www.m2usa.com/ASBD.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2004

New Clearinghouse on Breast Disease Offers Comprehensive Resource

President of the American Society of Breast Disease Barbara Rabinowitz, PhD, Meridian Health Systems, announced the launch this fall of a comprehensive, reliable, online, searchable resource for contemporary information on benign and malignant breast disease. The American Society of Breast Disease Clearinghouse on Breast Disease (CBD) will serve the information needs for thousands of clinicians, allied health professionals, and researchers whose efforts focus on breast disease.

The CBD will be developed under the direction of the ASBD's Consensus Committee chaired by Julio Ibarra, MD, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Ibarra stated that the decision to create the CBD recognized that "while multiple information sources exist on consensus statements, practice guidelines, and policy statements, these sources are not coordinated, are often duplicative, and at times, contradictory. Our Clearinghouse will offer free and evaluated information for use by clinicians and health care professionals interested in benign and malignant forms of breast disease."

Five Expert Working Groups will develop the content for the specific information areas to be covered by the CBD. Dr. Ibarra reported that a core of distinguished breast specialists had agreed to lead these Expert Working Groups:

• Screening and Early Detection will be chaired by Amy P. Early, MD, Buffalo Medical Group
• Prevention and Risk will be co-chaired by Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, University of Chicago Medical Center and Victor Vogel, MD, Magee-Womens Hospital
• Diagnosis will be chaired by Blake Cady, MD, Rhode Island Hospital
• Treatment will be chaired by Gordon Schwartz, MD, Jefferson Medical College
• Rehabilitation and Psychosocial Management will be chaired by Diana Rowden, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

The CBD Working Groups plan to review, post, and update statements from more than 20 source organizations on a continuing basis starting in late 2004.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2004

American Society of Breast Disease Issues Policy Statement on MRI Use for Screening of Women at High Risk of Breast Cancer

NOTE: This statement has been replaced by a statement issued by the Society on April 18, 2008.

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• Benjamin O. Anderson, MD, Chair, University of Washington, Seattle
• Alison Estabrook, MD, St. Luke's & Roosevelt Hospitals, New York
• Lori J. Pierce, MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Jennifer Bellon, MD, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston
• Richard Clarfeld, MD, Overlake Hospital Medical Center, Bellevue, Washington
• Elefterios (Terry) Mamounas, MD, Cancer Center - Aultman Hospital, Canton, Ohio
• Andrew D. Seidman, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York
• Stephen A. Feig, MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York
• Thomas J. Kearney, MD, The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick
• Gwen Darien, former publisher, MAMM magazine, and cancer advocate, New York
• Julie R. Gralow, MD, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Washington
• Ann D. Thor, MD, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City
  

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American Society of Breast Disease Elects New Board Members

Barbara Rabinowitz, PhD, president of the American Society of Breast Disease, announced the election of three new members of the Board of Directors of the 28-year-old professional society of nearly 1,000 clinicians, researchers, administrators, and advocates. All three took office on April 24 in conjunction with the Society’s Annual Symposium in Boston, Massachusetts.

The nationally known breast cancer specialists –- Stephen A. Feig, MD, Elefterios (Terry) Mamounas, MD, and Ann D. Thor, MD -- were each elected to serve three-year terms as Directors at Large on the Society’s 17-member Board of Directors:

About the New Board Members

Stephen A. Feig, MD, Professor of Radiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Director, Breast Imaging, the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY

Stephen A. Feig, MD, is a member of the Breast Imaging Committee of the American College of Radiology (ACR), and is past Chairman of the ACR Committee on Mammography Accreditation. A past President of the Society of Breast Imaging, he is also a member of the Society’s Executive Committee. He serves on the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. Dr. Feig is currently Editor-in-Chief of Seminars in Breast Disease. He has also been on the editorial board of RADIOLOGY.

Dr. Feig is author or co-author of over 270 papers and 57 chapters, and is co-author or author of 18 books or monographs. His scientific papers have concerned virtually all areas of breast imaging, including radiation risks, benefit/risk of screening, screening guidelines, image quality, and digital mammography. Dr. Feig serves on the ASBD’s Education Program Committee and the Program Committee for the Society’s 2004 Symposium in Boston.

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Elefterios P. Mamounas, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, and Medical Director, Aultman Cancer Center, Canton, Ohio

Terry P. Mamounas, MD, is chairman of the Breast Committee of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dr. Mamounas received his medical degree from the University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece, and a Masters of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh. He completed his surgical residency at Mckeesport Hospital in Mckeesport, Pennsylvania, an oncology research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, and a surgical oncology fellowship at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York.

Dr. Mamounas has authored or co-authored nearly 100 abstracts, manuscripts, and book chapters, and he has given numerous presentations on breast and colorectal cancer at various regional, national, and international symposia. He is a member of several professional societies and committees, including the American College of Surgeons, the Society of Surgical Oncology, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Mamounas serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Clinical Oncology and Annals of Surgical Oncology. He also serves on the ASBD’s Program Advisory Committee on Neoadjuvant Therapy in Breast Cancer for which he has also served on the faculty.

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Ann D. Thor, MD, Lloyd E. Rader Professor and Chair, Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Ann D. Thor, MD, received a BS degree with highest honors from the University of California at Berkeley and an MD from Vanderbilt. She was a pathology resident at Vanderbilt University and a fellow at the NIH/NCI (tumor biology and immunology, University of California at San Francisco (cytopathology/surgical pathology), the Karolinska Institute (cytopathology), the Ludwig Institute (tumor biology), and Harvard University/Massachusetts General Hospital (gynecologic pathology). She was on the faculty of Harvard University, the University of Vermont, and Northwestern University prior to her appointment as the Lloyd E. Rader Professor and Chair of Pathology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Thor’s laboratory has focused on translational and mechanistic studies of gynecologic and breast cancer, with an emphasis on prognostic and predictive markers of breast carcinogenesis. Interactions with erbB-2 and doxorubicin response were first identified through her studies with the cooperative oncology group, CALGB. More recently, her efforts have focused on transgenic models of mammary tumorigenesis to explore interactions between estrogen (derived from hormonal or dietary exposure) and the receptor tyrosine kinase gene family.

A longstanding faculty member of the AACR/NCI Keystone course, Pathobiology of Neoplasia, Dr, Thor has been a member of the Pathology B Study Section, chaired the Pathogenesis Committee of the California Breast Cancer Program, and has actively participated in numerous research committees and programs of the NCI, CAP, US-CAP, and other groups. She has received an American Cancer Career Development Award, the Benjamin Castleman Award, the Stowell-Orbison Award, the Arthur Purdy Stout Society Young Investigator, and the ECOG Young Investigator Awards in recognition of her scientific endeavors. She has also served on the ASBD’s 2003 Annual Symposium faculty.

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