Dr. Tina Yen Wins $100,000 Clinical Investigator Award

Tina Yen, MD, MS, a surgical oncologist and associate professor of surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), was presented with a James Ewing Foundation / Society of Surgical Oncology Clinical Investigator Award at the Society’s Annual Cancer Symposium. The two-year award promotes patient-oriented research conducted by surgical oncologists in clinical and translational science.

Dr. Yen was awarded the grant for her research, “A population-based study of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) adoption among breast cancer patients: Does efficacy translate to effectiveness?” The study will examine the comparative effectiveness of SLNB (removal of only a few lymph nodes) in a large-population based cohort of breast cancer survivors, determining to what extent women treated in the community are benefiting from SLNB by appropriately avoiding axillary lymph node dissection (removal of most lymph nodes), which can lead to lymphedema. If significant differences in outcomes, based on the number of breast cancer operations a surgeon performs, are detected, this study will have both clinical and policy implications. The grant for this award is provided by Genentech.

Dr. Yen’s clinical practice focuses on breast cancer and endocrine surgery. She sees patients at the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center. She is a health services researcher who is affiliated with MCW’s Center for Patient Care and Outcomes Research.

Dr. Yen received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed her general surgery residency at the University of Washington. She completed a surgical oncology fellowship at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She joined the MCW faculty in 2004 and earned a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology at MCW in 2006.