Sarah Vinnicombe

Dr Sarah Vinnicombe is currently the Lead Breast Radiologist and Deputy Director of Screening in the Thirlestaine Breast Centre, Gloucestershire NHS Foundation Trust. Prior to that, she was a clinical Senior Lecturer in Breast Imaging and consultant radiologist at the University of Dundee and NHS Tayside from 2011-2018, and she was lead Breast Radiologist and Director of Breast Screening at Barts and the London NHS Trust until 2011.

She leads on breast imaging research at Thirlestaine Breast Centre and is PI, co-investigator and CI on multiple national and local studies. Her main research interests are in breast density, risk adapted screening, imaging of response to neoadjuvant therapy with MRI and novel breast imaging techniques. She has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, has authored 16 book chapters and jointly edited the 5^th edition of Husband and Reznek’s Imaging in Oncology. 

She is past President of the British Society of Breast Radiology and an elected fellow of the International Cancer Imaging Society, a Trustee of Symposium Mammographicum and current Chair of the Conference Organising Committee.  She serves on multiple committees for the UK NHS BSP and RSNA and was invited to join the Lancet International Commission on breast cancer.

Throughout her career she has been passionate about teaching and is a regular faculty member for ECR, ESOR and RSNA. She sits on the advisory board of the UK National Breast Imaging Academy and is editor of the e-learning breast MRI modules.

Lancet Breast Cancer Commission: an overview

This commission was a comprehensive review of existing evidence, aimed at tackling a global health, gender, and equity challenge. There were six themes in the commission: (1) breast cancer prevention, (2) personalising breast cancer treatment; (3) optimal inclusive management of metastatic breast cancer, (4) tackling breast cancer gaps and inequities through global collaboration, (5) identifying the hidden costs of breast cancer, and (6) communication and empowerment in breast cancer. The sections covering each theme are completed by a table summarising the measurable indicators of change which can inform not only clinical care guidelines and but also policy changes from regulatory agencies and governments. We have attempted to provide a commission which not only informs, detailing an essential reading list for all those involved in breast cancer care, but also provides practical advice as to how to bring about meaningful change.