The Clinical Research Forum awarded one of its highest honors Tuesday to Yale Cancer Center’s
Dr. Anees Chagpar for a paper she co-authored on cavity shave margins in breast cancer surgery.
The Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award was awarded for a team-written paper published online last May in the New England Journal of Medicine. Chagpar was first author on the SHAVE paper that reported taking slightly more tissue from around the entire tumor cavity, known as cavity shave margin, reduced by half re-excision rates among patients undergoing partial mastectomy.
“With surgeons, oncologists, and pathologists working together on this study, it was a true team effort, and we are proud of this honor,” said Anees Chagpar, M.D., associate professor of surgery (oncology); and director, The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven. “Patients and surgeons don’t like returning to the operating room for a second procedure, and doing so is costly to the healthcare system as well. We were glad to see that our study can improve things for patients while helping control costs to healthcare institutions.”
With surgeons, oncologists, and pathologists working together on this study, it was a true team effort, and we are proud of this honor.
Dr. Anees Chagpar
The paper, one of three to receive distinguished recognition, was chosen from 40 projects submitted by 30 cancer research institutions. The Forum believes these papers represent the best and brightest work in the field, and lead to advancements in medicine that change lives and patient outcomes worldwide.
“These exemplars of clinical research demonstrate the development of insights into disease processes and their diagnosis, treatment, and prevention,” said Harry P. Selker, MD, MSPH, chairman of the Clinical Research Forum Board of Directors. “These awards showcase the innovative and productive research of teams across the country that have shown great promise for impact on health.”