Armando E. Giuliano, M.D., internationally known for his research and clinical expertise in breast cancer, is joining Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as executive vice chair of surgery for surgical oncology.

Giuliano will also serve in leadership roles at Cedars-Sinai’s Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute: Along with pioneering surgeon Edward H. Phillips, M.D., Giuliano will be co-director of the Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center – a Project of the Women’s Guild; he will also serve as the institute’s associate director for surgical oncology.

“Dr. Giuliano’s leadership in clinical and research advances for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer will be a great asset to Cedars-Sinai’s outstanding physicians,” said Bruce Gewertz, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery, vice president for interventional services, and the H & S Nichols Chair in Surgery at Cedars Sinai.

“The combination of Dr. Giuliano and Dr. Phillips as co-directors of our Breast Center provides our patients with two of the nation’s top surgeons to lead our team, and also significantly adds to our breast cancer research programs,” Gewertz said.

Giuliano’s most recent research on breast cancer treatment made international headlines earlier this year and is already changing breast cancer treatment around the nation His work has shown that some of the conventional wisdom in treating breast cancer was not effective. Giuliano found that the practice of surgically removing additional lymph nodes in certain breast cancer patients who had cancer cells in one or two “sentinel” lymph nodes did not improve survival rates, contrary to conventional wisdom for breast cancer treatment. As a result of Giuliano’s new research, many leading medical centers are beginning to change their standard practices in treating certain breast cancer patients, primarily those with early-stage cancer who undergo lumpectomies followed by radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Giuliano, who received his medical degree from the University of Chicago, has served on the editorial boards of prestigious peer-reviewed journals, including the Annals of Surgical Oncology, Journal of the American College of Surgeons and Breast Cancer Online. A prolific researcher, he is the author of more than 400 scientific papers and book chapters.

Giuliano is currently chief of science and medicine at the John Wayne Cancer Institute at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., where he also directs the institute’s Margie Petersen Breast Center. Cedars-Sinai and the John Wayne Cancer Institute at St. John’s have had a longstanding collaboration for jointly training surgical oncology fellows.

“Dr. Giuliano and I look forward to continuing our collaborations with St. John’s in surgical oncology training, and are exploring other possible initiatives with them,” Gewertz said.

Cedars-Sinai’s Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute is known for combining the highest quality patient care and the latest advances in cancer research. Their physicians, scientists and other staff are focused on bringing patients the widest range of options to treat cancer – including many not widely available elsewhere.

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Source: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center