Alastair Thompson, BScHons, MBChB, MD, FRCSEd, FACS
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Alastair Thompson, BScHons, MBChB, MD, FRCSEd, FACS
Professor and Chief, Section of Breast Surgery
Phone
Phone
Positions
- Professor and Chief, Section of Breast Surgery
-
Division of Surgical Oncology
Section of Breast Surgery
Baylor College of Medicine
- Co-Director, Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center
-
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Olga Keith Wiess Chair of Surgery
-
Baylor College of Medicine
- Breast Cancer Program Leader
-
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Addresses
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center (Clinic)
-
O’Quinn Medical Tower at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center’s McNair Campus
1919 Old Spanish Trail
Houston, TX 77054
United States
Phone: (832) 957-6500
Interactive Map
Education
- Residency at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
- Edinburgh
- General Surgery
- Research Fellowship at Imperial Cancer Research Fund
- Edinburgh
- MD from University of Edinburgh
- Edinburgh
- Molecular Biology
- MBChB from University of Edinburgh
- Edinburgh
- Medicine Distinction in Surgery
- BSc from University of Edinburgh
- Edinburgh
- Medical Science Anatomy
Honors & Awards
- James IV Association of Surgeons Travelling Fellowship
- James IV Association
- King James IV Professorship in Surgery
- Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
- Lister Prize for Surgery
- University of Edinburgh
- William Leslie Prize for Surgery
- University of Edinburgh
- Director's Service Award
- National Cancer Institute
- Sir Peter Freyer Medal
- University of Galway
- 2025 DeBakey Excellence in Research Award
- Baylor College of Medicine
Professional Interests
- Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS)
- Nipple and Skin Sparing Mastectomy
- Breast Conservation Surgery
- Breast Surgery
- Surgical Oncology
- Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
- Mastectomy
- Translational research
- Clinical trials
- Patient outcomes
Professional Statement
Over the last 35 years, Professor Thompson has trained and practiced as a clinician-scientist focused on multidisciplinary patient care alongside translational “bench to bedside” studies and innovative clinical trials in cancer. He initiated and lead a successful breast cancer laboratory program, provided leadership for a cancer center in the United Kingdom (UK), chaired the UK national breast cancer trials portfolio of 120 studies and engaged in a range of pivotal roles in key drug, radiation therapy and surgical trials involving the UK, Europe, the United States and Australia. Since moving to the US in 2014, he has specialized in improving treatment for breast cancer patients with innovative localization techniques for breast conservation and axillary node surgery and to minimize patient impact through to skin sparing and nipple sparing mastectomy with autologous reconstruction where required.Unusually for a surgeon, Professor Thompson has preclinical and practical experience in the design, implementation, monitoring and reporting of early through to late phase drug and medical device trials. Recent pharmaceutical experience includes active leadership of international trials such as the SOLE, MA32, MINDACT, and KRISTINE trials; He currently chairs several phase II and phase III data monitoring committees and trials steering groups. For radiotherapy, he co-authored the ASTRO ABPI consensus guidelines and has contributed to intraoperative and hypofractionation trials. Since transitioning to the US, national leadership roles include co-chairing the Comparison of Operative to Monitoring and Endocrine Therapy (COMET) Trial for low risk DCIS, co-chairing the NCI-BCSC proposed “no surgery” clinical trial planning committee and membership of the NCI BOLD taskforce and leadership positions within TBCRC (Loco-regional Subgroup co-Chair) and SWOG (Translational Medicine Breast Group Chair). Professor Thompson is an active member of ASCO, SSO, ASBrS and AACR.
With successful peer reviewed funding from US government and international charitable sources linking laboratory to clinical studies, successful supervision of 24 postgraduate students and some 350 peer reviewed publications in the highest impact factor clinical and scientific journals, improved care of those with cancer is his key mission. He is an editor of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. With successful peer reviewed funding from US government and international charitable sources linking laboratory to clinical studies, successful supervision of 26 postgraduate students and some 450 peer reviewed publications in the highest impact factor clinical and scientific journals, improved care of those with cancer is his key mission.
Websites
In the News:
YouTube Videos:
Videos
Selected Publications
- Maetens M, Brown D, Irrthum A, Aftimos P, Viale G, Loibl S, Laes JF, Campbell PJ, Thompson A, Cortes J, Seiler S, Vinnicombe S, Oliveira M, Rothé F, Bareche Y, Fumagalli D, Zardavas D, Desmedt C, Piccart M, Loi S, Sotiriou C "The AURORA pilot study for molecular screening of patients with advanced breast cancer-a study of the breast international group." NPJ Breast Cancer.;
- Maxwell AJ, Clements K, Hilton B, Dodwell DJ, Evans A, Kearins O, Pinder SE, Thomas J, Wallis MG, Thompson AM "Risk Factors for The Development of Invasive Cancer in Unresected Ductal Carcinoma In Situ." European Journal of Surgical Oncology.;
- Rosso KJ, Weiss A, Thompson AM "Are There Alternative Strategies for the Local Management of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ?." Surg Oncol Clin N Am.;
- Grimm LJ, Ryser MD, Partridge AH, Thompson AM, Thomas JS, Wesseling J, Hwang ES "Surgical Upstaging Rates for Vacuum Assisted Biopsy Proven DCIS: Implications for Active Surveillance Trials." Ann Surg Oncol.; Pubmed PMID: 28795370
- Hurvitz SA, Martin M, Symmans WF, Jung KH, Huang CS, Thompson AM, Harbeck N, Valero V, Stroyakovskiy D, Wildiers H, Campone M, Boileau JF, Beckmann MW, Afenjar K, Fresco R, Helms HJ, Xu J, Lin YG, Sparano J, Slamon D "Neoadjuvant trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and chemotherapy versus trastuzumab emtansine plus pertuzumab in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer (KRISTINE): a randomised, open-label, multicentre, phase 3 trial." Lancet Oncol.; Pubmed PMID: 29175149
- Henderson S, Purdie C, Michie C, Evans A, Lerski R, Johnston M, Vinnicombe S, Thompson AM "Interim heterogeneity changes measured using entropy texture features on T2-weighted MRI at 3.0 T are associated with pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in primary breast cancer." Eur Radiol.;
- Colleoni M, Luo W, Karlsson P, Chirgwin J, Aebi S, Jerusalem G, Neven P, Hitre E, Graas MP, Simoncini E, Kamby C, Thompson A, et al, SOLE Investigators "Extended adjuvant intermittent letrozole versus continuous letrozole in postmenopausal women with breast cancer (SOLE): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial." Lancet Oncol.; Pubmed PMID: 29158011
- Metcalfe LN, Zysk AM, Yemul KS, Jacobs LK, Oker EE, Underwood HR, Thompson AM "Beyond the Margins-Economic Costs and Complications Associated With Repeated Breast-Conserving Surgeries." JAMA Surg.; Pubmed PMID: 28768303
- Glodzik D, Morganella S, Davies H, Simpson PT, Li Y, Zou X, Diez-Perez J, Staaf J, Alexandrov LB, Smid M, Brinkman AB, Rye IH, Russnes H, Raine K, Purdie CA, Lakhani SR, Thompson AM, et al "Corrigendum: A somatic-mutational process recurrently duplicates germline susceptibility loci and tissue-specific super-enhancers in breast cancers." Nat Genet.; Pubmed PMID: 29074948
- Candelaria RP, Hansakul P, Thompson AM, Le-Petross H, Valero V, Bassett R, Huang ML, Santiago L, Adrada BE "Analysis of Stereotactic Biopsies Performed on Suspicious Calcifications Identified within 24 months after Completion of Breast Conserving Surgery and Radiation Therapy for Early Breast Cancer: Can Biopsy Be Obviated?." Am J Surg.; Pubmed PMID: 28712671
Memberships
- American Association of Cancer Research
- American College of Surgeons
- American Society of Breast Surgeons
- Association of Breast Surgery
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- British Association of Surgical Oncology
- British Breast Group
- Moynihan Chirurgical Club
- Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
- Society of Surgical Oncology
Intellectual Property
- Method Patent #PD2011A000201
- Del Sal G, Napoli M, Girardini BJE, Piazza S, Thompson A, Method for prognosis of tumours of the breast Pin1 in combination with mutation in the gene p53, Italy, Industrial Invention PD2011A000201
- Method Patent
- Hardie G, Thompson AM, Hadad S, Method for diagnosing cancer using pAMPK, United States, No 61, Filed
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