Surgical Oncologist Dr. Laurie Kirstein Is New CoC Chair

During the recent Clinical Congress 2024, surgical oncologist Laurie J. Kirstein, MD, FACS, was announced as Chair of the ACS Commission on Cancer (CoC), succeeding Timothy W. Mullett, MD, MBA, FACS, who had served as chair since 2020.

Over her 2-year term, Dr. Kirstein said she will work toward enhancing the relationship between the CoC and its accredited programs, as well as expanding the number of accredited programs.

“Many of these programs lie in rural America but are also in traditionally underserved urban centers. Helping these programs establish standards for cancer patients will improve outcomes for their communities,” Dr. Kirstein said. “Likewise, we can also help our current CoC-accredited programs with overcoming barriers for their patients to obtain treatment and to ensure access to high-quality care.”

A Fellow of the ACS since 2010, Dr. Kirstein has held several leadership roles within the CoC, including Chair of the Education Committee and Chair of the Education Core for the ACS Cancer Programs, where she worked to identify and overcome gaps in cancer care for accredited programs. Most recently, she served as Vice-Chair of the CoC Executive Committee and Program Chair of the ACS Cancer Conference, She also has led Breaking Barriers, a national quality improvement project for the CoC and the ACS National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers to identify and overcome reasons for missed radiation treatment appointments.

As a surgeon-researcher, Dr. Kirstein leads clinical trials examining nonopioid pathways to reduce acute and chronic pain after mastectomy and co-leads a study to assist cancer patients with smoking cessation. In addition, she received funding from the National Cancer Institute to create a web-based decision aid to educate patients with breast cancer about surgical options.