Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology
Master Clinician
Director, Surgical Research
| Surgery |
I joined the surgical oncology department at Fox Chase Cancer Center in 1992 as director of surgical research.
My specialty is surgical treatment of patients with colorectal and breast cancer. At Fox Chase, we have been improving techniques by performing laparoscopy to remove colorectal cancer, which allows patients an earlier return home and less pain. Our colorectal cancer patients are managed by a multidisciplinary team of physicians. Our advanced surgical techniques minimize the need for permanent colostomies for patients with rectal cancer and offer nerve preservation. This results in improved quality of life after surgery for those with rectal cancer.
Fox Chase is dedicated to providing multispecialty management of patients with colorectal and breast cancer. I enjoy being part of this team because what we do in surgery benefits our patients for the rest of their lives.
I am an active member of the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. At Fox Chase, I also serve as the co-director of the fellowship program, which provides expert training to new surgical oncologists.
Follow on Twitter: @FCCCSurgOnc
I am 78 years old and have owned horses for 68 of those years. I am a cowboy through and through. My father gave me my first pony when I was just five years old and my first horse when I was 10. I have had hundreds of horses since.
I remember the day I was diagnosed so clearly. December 16, 2009.
In 2011 at the age of 28, Tracy Gatto learned she had breast cancer after she discovered a lump in her breast. She sought a second opinion from a specialist at Fox Chase Cancer Center and immediately felt that was where she wanted to seek treatment. Tracy underwent chemotherapy, followed by surgery and reconstruction. Because of the BRCA1 genetic mutuation she most likely inherited from her father, Tracy had increased risk of ovarian cancer. She worked with the Risk Assessment Program, where she was referred to a surgical gynecologist to discuss the possibility of undergoing a prophylactic oophorectomy to remove her ovaries. Today, Tracy is doing well and even took part in Paws for the Cause, an annual dog walk and fundraiser hosted by Fox Chase, to give back. "It really takes a special person to work at Fox Chase. Everyone I met had a smile on their face and was incredibly positive," she said. "As a receptionist, I knew it can be a struggle to stay positive all day long. It’s hard to make cancer a positive experience, but I never left feeling discouraged."
Esposito AC, Crawford J, Sigurdson ER, Handorf EA, Hayes SB, Boraas M, Bleicher RJ. Omission of radiotherapy after breast conservation surgery in the postneoadjuvant setting. Journal of Surgical Research, 221:49-57, 2018. PMC5729922
Nardello SM, Kulkarni N, Aggon A, Boraas M, Sigurdson ER, Bleicher RJ. Invasive Mucinous Carcinoma Arising in Ectopic Axillary Breast Tissue. A Case Report and Review of the Literature, Am J Case Rep 2015: 16:153-159 DOI 10.12659/AJCR.892650
Silverman D, Ruth K, Sigurdson ER, Egleston BL, Goldstein LJ, Wong YN, Boraas M, Bleicher RJ. Skin Involvement and Breast Cancer: Are T4b Lesions of All Sizes Created Equal? J Am Coll Surg. 2014 Apr 20, pil:S1072-515(14)00340-8. doi: 10.1016/j_jamcollsurg.2014.04.003 PMID:25026875
Loveland-Jones CE, Ruth K, Sigurdson ER, Egleston BL, Boraas M, Bleicher RJ. Patterns of nodal staging during breast conservation surgery in the Medicare patient: Will the ACOSOG Z0011 trial change the pattern of care? Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2014 Feb;143(3):571-7 PMID:24442687
Thomay AA, Nagorney DM, Cohen SJ, Sigurdson ER, Truty MJ, Burtness B, Hall MJ, Chun YS. Modern Chemotherapy Mitigates Adverse Prognostic Effect of Regional Nodal Metastases in Stage IV Colorectal Cancer. 2014 Jan;18(1):69-74Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery PMID:24002765
Nitkorski J, Willis A, Farma J, Zhu F, Nick D, Sigurdson E, Association of Race and Socioeconomic Status and Outcomes with Patients with Rectal Cancer, Ann Surg Oncol. -2013 Apr;20(4):1142-7, PMID:23334252
Landry JC, Feng Y, Cohen SJ, Staley CA 3rd, Whittington R, Sigurdson ER, Nimeriri, H, Verma U, Prabhu RS, Benson AB. Phase II Study of Preoperative Radiation with Concurrent Capecitabine, Oxaliplatin, and Bevacizumab Followed by Surgery and Postoperative 5-Fluorouracil, Leucovorin, Oxaliplatin (FOLFOX), and Bevacizumab in Patients with Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer; ECOG 3204. Cancer, 2013 Apr 15;119(8):1521-7 PMID:23288663
Bleicher, Richard J, Ruth, Karen J, Sigurdson, Elin R, Beck, J. Robert, Ross, Eric, Wong, Yu-Ning, Patel, Sameer A, Boraas, Marcia, Chang, Eric, Topham, Neal S. Egleston, Brian. Time to Surgery and Breast Cancer Survival in the United States: JAMA Oncology. In pres
Benson III A B, Chakravarthy A Bapsi, Hamilton S, Sigurdson ER; Cancers of the Colon and Rectum; A Multidisciplinary Approach to Diagnosis and Management, Chapter 9: Pages 161-163 (demosMedical 2013)
Sigurdson, Elin; Young Oncologist Essay Awards (Moderator), American Radium Society 95th Annual Meeting, Scottsdale, AZ, April 29, 2013
Bleicher RJ, Sigurdson ER. Breast Cancer. Conclusions. Curr Probl Cancer. 2012 Sep-Oct;36(5):325. doi: 10.1016/j.currproblcancer.2012.06.007. Epub 2012 Aug 9. No abstract available. PMID:22884727
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