From NSABP-B06 to Robotics in Mastectomy… What are the biggest advancements in breast surgery over the last 50 years?

If you could look back on your career from the moment you first stepped into the OR, what would you note as those sliding doors moments that changed breast cancer treatment forever?

Across the table, we asked four of the world’s most pre-eminent breast surgeons - Beth DuPree MD, Judy Boughey MD, Pat Whitworth MD and Patrick Borgen MD - to reflect on their vast surgical experience and share those key moments that shaped their distinguished careers.

Who has challenged their ways of thinking? What separates the breast physician community from other medical specialties? And what does the future hold for surgical (or non-surgical) treatment?

In part one of this fireside chat, they discuss:

Starting their careers, and the profound impact trials such as NSABP-B06 had in driving them to challenge the status quo.
The evolution of sentinel lymph node surgery and the internal struggles faced to demonstrate the de-escalation benefits to the hospital.
Challenging orthodoxies and the value of being early adopters.
The opportunities available to continuously learn and develop new skills, such as imaging practices and patient-centred surgical techniques.
Which technologies have the potential to revolutionize breast cancer surgery.

This conversation was filmed at the Transatlantic Breast Cancer Collaborative (TBCC) meeting.

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