André Robidoux, MD
Dr. André Robidoux is currently Professor of Surgery (tenure) and Scotia Chair in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer at the University of Montreal. Dr. Robidoux is a graduate of the University of Montreal where he received both the Baccalaureate of Arts and doctor of Medicine degrees. He completed his post-graduate training in Surgery in Montreal and in the Department of Developmental Therapeutics at MD Anderson Cancer Centre, University of Texas in Houston. Dr. Robidoux subsequently joined the Faculty of Medicine at University of Montreal. He was appointed Professor of Surgery there in 1992 and Scotia Chair in diagnosis and treatment at the University of Montreal in breast cancer in 2000. He was a Fellow of the Medical Research Council of Canada from 1978-1980. From 1997-2000 he was the first Head of the Department of Surgery at the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal after the merger of the Hôtel-Dieu, Notre Dame and St-Luc Hospitals. In 2000, he was nominated Scotia Chair of Breast Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis and was responsible for the creation of the Eli Lilly Breast Cancer Research Fund at the University of Montreal. In 2001, he contributed to the creation of the CIBC Chair in Basic Research in Breast Cancer at the University of Montreal. In 2002, he received the University of Montreal rector award for his exceptional contribution to the development of the Faculty of Medicine. In 2008, he was appointed personality of the week by the Journal La Presse for his exceptional contribution to the field of breast cancer. Dr. Robidoux is Director of the Breast Cancer Research Centre, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (Director of the Groupe de recherche en cancer du sein of the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal). In addition, he is an elected member of the Board of Directors of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast Project (NSABP). He served on the Board of the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance Research Advisory Committee and on Council of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. He also served on the steering committees of the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial and the STAR trial. Dr. Robidoux has also served on numerous NSABP committees including the executive committee and the quality assurance committee. His research activities have been supported by continuous competitive renewal grants from the National Health Insitutes and the National Cancer Institute for the last 28 years. He also received grant support from CBCRA and CIHR.
In 2010, Dr. Robidoux received two awards. The first one was the British Journal of Surgery Lecture Award by the Association of Breast Surgery at BASO, Royal College of Surgeons of England in the United Kingdom. The second award has been attributed by the NSABP. He was chosen to receive the Distinguished Investigator Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his extraordinary commitment to the NSABP and oncology research. Also, he has been appointed the NSABP Principal Liaison Officer for Canada. Dr. Robidoux was also recently appointed on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.
Research Biosketch
Since 1980, Dr. Robidoux began to conduct randomized clinical trials in breast cancer. For the following 30 years, he carried out more than 40 such trials to test the concept of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in palpable operable breast cancer and evaluate the work of different therapeutic strategies. He was the co-author of the results on two important clinical trials that they conducted witht the NSABP during the 1980s. NSABP protocols B-18 and B-27, in which both studies provided data to indicate that pathological complete response was an important marker of patient outcome that leads to the development of two important NSABP trials, B-40 and B-41 where Dr. Robidoux acts as Protocol Chair of this important international study. He also conducted research in adjuvant therapy that leads to the demonstration of the important role of tamoxifen in hormonal therapy of breast cancer both in treatment and prevention on the role of adjuvant therapy in node negative breast cancer and he has developed a comprehensive breast cancer research program at the University of Montreal Research Centre in advanced disease including Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies. Dr. Robidoux’s most important contribution is the establishment of a scientific approach to the breast cancer problem underlying the importance of clinical trials in daily breast cancer management of patients with breast cancer. He is the author of 74 peer-reviewed publications, 59 abstracts, and has been invited speaker to 289 conferences.
