Date of birth: 27/11/1925

Date of death: 07/11/2016

Wikipedia

BIOGRAPHY

Umberto Veronesi was an Italian breast surgeon who became one of the most well-known figures in Italian and international oncology. His achievements are scientific and organisational, and include major advances in the treatment of breast cancer; founding institutes that continue to lead in cancer education, research, treatment and patient advocacy; political leadership, including a spell as Italy's minister of health; and philanthropy and the promotion of science for peace and health.

Throughout his career Veronesi's principle was to do the minimum treatment necessary (whether surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy) to achieve the best results for his patients with minimum side-effects. His goal was to preserve the dignity of his patients.

Veronesi qualified in medicine from the University of Milan in 1952, first specialising in pathology but later switching to surgical oncology where his focus was breast cancer and breast-conserving surgery and other treatments.

He demonstrated that surgery with quadrantectomy (removal of about a quarter of the breast) was as effective as radical mastectomy, the then standard of care. He pioneered the use of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) with Giovanni Paganelli to avoid axillary dissection in clinically negative lymph node breast cancer. He also developed intraoperative radiotherapy with electrons (ELIOT) to deliver treatment in a single dose during the surgical procedure.

In breast cancer, Veronesi also undertook surgical studies sparring the nipple and explored therapeutic prevention with fenretinide (a derivative of vitamin A) and later tamoxifen.

From 1976 to 1994, Veronesi was scientific director of the National Tumour Institute (Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori) in Milan where he demonstrated skills as an enabler, supporting his head of medical oncology, Gianni Bonadonna, to establish a clinical trials office and carry out the first trials of adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. This work paved the way for chemotherapy to be a standard of care in primary breast cancer.

Melanoma was also another major interest: he founded an international melanoma group under the World Health Organisation, and led treatment trials again with a focus on conservative approaches. It was from melanoma research in the US that the interest in applying SLNB to breast cancer came about.

A hallmark of his research ethos was a commitment to well-designed randomised controlled trials powered to give answers after many years of follow-up.

In 1982 he founded the European School of Oncology (ESO) to provide education to Europe's cancer doctors. In 1987 he set up the European Institute of Oncology (Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, IEO) as a comprehensive cancer centre, and in 2003 he established La Fondazione Umberto Veronesi to promote cancer research and advocacy and appreciation of ethical values intrinsic to science.

From April 2000 to June 2001 Veronesi was Italy's minister of health – the first physician–scientist to take up a top political post in an Italian government – and passed law for doctors to prescribe opioids and laid the groundwork for a ban on smoking in public.

Veronesi also founded the European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (EUSOMA), which was Europe's first organ-based professional oncology society, and Europa Donna, the pan-European cancer patient advocacy group which has among many initiatives led efforts to establish multidisciplinary breast units, and which has been a model for other patient groups.

He had founding and leadership roles in the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO), the Federation of European Cancer Societies (now the European Cancer Organisation) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

His other interests included legalisation of euthanasia and cannabis, and highlighting how genetically modified organisms could eradicate hunger.

Tributes to Umberto Veronesi and summaries of his work include articles by Franco Muggia, Janet Fricker, Ketti Mazzocco and colleagues, Cancer World, See also this YouTube tribute by Gordon McVie, who was editor of ecancer, another Veronesi initiative.