Dr. Armando Giuliano and Dr. Carlos Arteaga Honored for Work to Improve Treatments, Quality of Life for Breast Cancer Survivors
DALLAS – September 28, 2011 – Two prominent physician-scientists whose work has led to less invasive and more personalized treatments for breast cancer are being honored as this year’s winners of the prestigious Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Brinker Awards for Scientific Distinction in basic science and clinical research, the highest awards of merit given by the world’s leading breast cancer organization.
This year’s awards will be presented Dec.7 to Armando E. Giuliano, M.D., executive vice chair of Surgery for Surgical Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D., professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Dr. Giuliano is receiving the Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in Clinical Research for research that has led to less invasive surgical treatments for breast cancer, specifically the removal of fewer lymph nodes in certain women with early stage breast cancer. Giuliano demonstrated that surgeons can often remove sentinel nodes, or the first lymph nodes that cancer reaches, rather than performing complete lymph node removal, thus reducing potential complications and debilitating side effects from the latter procedure. Giuliano also was instrumental in developing less invasive surgical techniques such as needle biopsies rather than surgical biopsies for many breast cancer patients, and other breast-conserving techniques.
Dr. Arteaga is receiving the Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in Basic Science for his work explaining the role of several key proteins and growth factor receptors in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. His translational research helped provide the rationale for many of our new targeted therapies. Arteaga has the rare ability to conduct cutting-edge laboratory work and innovative clinical trials, and his work will continue to move the field forward and lead to the next generation of “smart drugs”.
“The pioneering work of these two scientists has had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on the quality of treatment and quality of life for breast cancer survivors,” said Dr. Eric Winer, Komen’s chief scientific advisor and chair of Komen’s Scientific Advisory Board. “We’re moving ever closer to an era of more personalized and less invasive treatments for this disease, thanks in large part to the foundation that these two scientists have built in translational science and clinical practice.”
Komen has invested $685 million to breast cancer research since opening its doors in 1982 and is the largest private funder of breast cancer research, this year investing $66 million to new research and programs to advance understanding, prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Currently, Komen is funding 572 research projects totaling more than $300 million worldwide.
Giuliano and Arteaga will deliver keynote lectures Dec.7 at the 34th annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, a major international gathering of breast cancer researchers, clinicians and patient advocacy organizations being held Dec. 6-10 in San Antonio, Texas. Their institutions will also receive a $25,000 award to further their activities in breast cancer research.
The Brinker Awards for Scientific Distinction were established in 1992 to recognize the efforts of pioneers in two critically important areas of the fight to end breast cancer: clinical research and basic science. The roster of Komen Brinker Award laureates has grown to include names of researchers who have made the most significant advances in breast cancer research and medicine.
