Professor Alastair Thompson

Alastair Thompson graduated in 1984 from the University of Edinburgh and trained as a surgeon and clinician scientist in Scotland before joining the University of Dundee in 1996 as Senior Lecturer, Reader and, since 2002, Professor of Surgical Oncology. He is committed to linking advances in laboratory science to improvements in clinical care and to auditing the performance of surgical teams and cancer services. His principal clinical practice is in helping women with breast cancer and he is also committed to high quality undergraduate and postgraduate training, translational research, clinical trials and service development. Non medical interests include music, horticulture and mountain sports.

Medical Qualifications:

• University of Edinburgh BSc(Hons) Anatomy 1982
• University of Edinburgh MBChB, with Distinction in Surgery 1984
• University of Edinburgh MD 1990
• Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh FRCSEd 1991
• Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh FRCSEd(Gen) Intercollegiate examination 1995
• General Medical Council Specialist Register 1996

Selected past appointments:

• House Surgeon, Sir Patrick Forrest, Longmore Hospital, Edinburgh 1985
• Jean V Baxter Fellowship, MRC Human Genetics Unit, Edinburgh 1988-1990
• Lecturer, University of Edinburgh, Sir David Carter 1991-1996

Academic Awards

• 1985 to 2000: E B Jamieson Prize in Anatomy, Keith Memorial Prize in Systematic Surgery, Monro Prize for Anatomical Research, Lister Prize for Surgery, William Leslie Prize for Surgery, Cheine Medal for Surgical Research; all from the University of Edinburgh.
• 2001 King James IV Professorship in Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
• 2002 The Richard Asher Prize, the Society of Authors/the Royal Society of Medicine
• 2002 First Prize, Surgery and Anaesthesia, BMA Medical Book Competition
• 2005 James IV Traveling Fellowship, James IV Association of Surgeons

Memberships

• British Breast Group (elected 2000)
• Moynihan Chirugical Club (elected 2006)
• Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland
• American Society of Clinical Oncology
• British Association of Surgical Oncology
• British Association for Cancer Research
• British Oncological Association

Alastair Thompson leads established research programmes which employ a range of scientific, technical, nursing and medical staff in:

Translational Cancer Research

• The p53 network in breast cancer and oesophageal cancer
• Research into radiotherapy and radiation effects on cancer and normal tissues
• Xenograft programme
• Tayside Tissue Bank

Clinical Trials

• Phase 1, 2. 3 and 4 trials in breast cancer

Patient Safety

• Developing the use of regional and national audit in surgery and oncology

His research teams supported within these laboratory and patient safety programmes currently include 8 PhD students, 4 MD students, 3 Research Nurses, 2 Postdoctoral Scientists and 4 Research Associates.

Other details

Breast Cancer:

Chair, Tissue Bank Board, Breast Cancer Campaign (London) (2006-present)
Lead Cancer Clinician, Tayside (2005-present)
Cancer Portfolio Advisory Group, Chief Scientist Office (2003-present)
Director of Breast Cancer Research, University of Dundee (1997-present)
Chief Investigator (UK) MINDACT Trial (2006-present)
Chief Investigator BRITS Trial (2006-2009)
Trials Management Groups include: International Breast Intervention Study II (IBIS II); Prospective Study of Outcomes of sporadic versus hereditary breast cancer (POSH); Adjuvant Breast Cancer (ABC) Trial Biological Markers group; Intensity Modulated and Partial Organ Radiotherapy (IMPORT) breast cancer trial.

Patient Safety

Deputy Chair and Academic Lead for the Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality (SASM)
Scottish Royal Colleges Representative on COnfidential REporting System in Surgery (CORESS)
Member of the Kings Fund (O'Neill) Inquiry into the Safety of Maternity Services in England (2007-2008)

Training

Postgraduate examiner England, Scotland and Eire for PhD, MD, MSc
National Advisor for General Surgery appointments (2002-present)

Invited lectures

Invited seminars and lectures on breast cancer, cancer audit and surgical mortality audit at national and international meetings throughout the UK, USA, Australia, France and Hong Kong.

Since 2001, Professor Thompson has attracted over £9.1 million research funding in collaboration with laboratory and clinical colleagues: £7.8 million for laboratory research (currently £3.1 million as principal investigator); more than £1.2 million for fully funded clinical trials and clinical research (£0.5 million as principal investigator) and over £391,000 for active industrial awards.
The research programmes have been substantially supported by Breast Cancer Campaign, Breast Cancer Research Scotland, Cancer Research UK, Chief Scientists Office, Medical Research Council, Melville Trust, Rotary, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Scottish Hospitals Endowments Research Trust, Soroptomists, Tenovus, the University of Dundee and many generous individual donors.

Examples of currently funded projects include:

• From mutations to metastases: multiscale mathematical modelling of cancer growth and spread. European Research Council £1,680,975. Chaplain MAJ, Weijer CJ, Downes CP Thompson AM.
• A community based longitudinal study of adherence to endocrine therapy and cancer outcome. Breast Cancer Campaign.
  McCowan C, Donan P, Dewar JA, Thompson AM.
• Characterisation of p53 isoform expression in breast cancer.
  Breast Cancer Campaign. Bourdon JC, Thompson AM.
• Computerised analysis of breast tissue microarrays. Breast Cancer Research Trust. McKenna S, Robertson KE, Thompson AM, Ricketts I.
• Tamoxifen late relapse study. CRUK/TRICC. ABC Biological Studies Group (jointly with University of Oxford, University of Wales and University of London).
• Prospective cohort study to identify risk factors for the development of chronic pain after breast cancer surgery
  Cancer Research UK. Bruce J, Heys SD, Chambers WA, Johnston M, Thompson AM, Scott N (jointly with University of Aberdeen).

Laboratory Research Publications

Tumour 18F-FDG incorporation is enhanced by attenuation of p53 function in breast cancer cells in vitro. Smith TAD, Sharma, RI, Thompson AM, Paulin FEM. J Nucl Med (2006) 4,: 1525-1530.

Selective induction of apoptosis by leptomycin B in keratinocytes expressing HPV oncogenes. Gray LJ, Bjelogrlic P, Appleyard VCL, Thompson AM, Jolly CE, Lain S, Herrington CS. International Journal of Cancer (2007) 120, 2317-2324.

Thermographic assessment of Tumour Growth in mouse xenografts. Song C, Appleyard V, Murray K, Frank T, Sibbert W, Cuschieri A, Thompson A. Int J Cancer (2007) 121, 1055-8.

Discovery, in vivo activity and mechanisms of action of a small-molecule p53 activator. Lain S, Hollick JJ, Campbell J, Staples OD, Higgins M, Aoubala M, McCarthy A, Appleyard V, Murray KE, Baker L, Thompson A, Mathers J, Holland SJ, Stark MJR, Pass G, Woods J, Lane DP, Westwood NJ. Cancer Cell (2008) 13, 454-463.

MDM2 SNP309 is associated with high grade node positive breast tumours and is in linkage disequilibrium with a novel MDM2 intron 1 polymorphism. Paulin FEM, O’Neill M, McGregor G, Cassidy A, Ashfiled A, Ali CW, Munro AJ, Baker L, Purdie CA, Lane DP, Thompson AM BMC Cancer (2008) 8: 281.

Characterization, chemical optimization and anti-tumour activity of a tubulin poison identified by a p53-based phenotypic screen.
Staples OD, Hollick JJ, Campbell J, Higgins M, McCarthy AR, Appleyard V, Murray KE, Baker L, Thompson A, Ronseaux S, Slawin AM, Lane DP, Westwood NJ, Lain S. Cell Cycle (2008) 7; 3417-27.

A candidate signature associated with tamoxifen failure in primary breast cancer. Vendrell J, Robertson KE, Ravel P, Bray SE, Bajard A, Purdie CA, Nguyen C, Hadad SM, Bieche I, Chabaud S, Bachelot T, Thompson AM, Cohen PA. Breast Cancer Research (2008) 10: R88.

Seliciclib (CYC202, R-Roscovitine) enhances the antitumor effect of Doxorubicin In Vivo in a Breast Cancer Xenograft Model.
Appleyard MVCL, O’Neill MA, Murray KE, Paulin FE, Bray S, Levison DA, Lane DP, Thompson AM. Int J Cancer (2009) 124, 465-472.

Selected clinical practice publications

Immediate versus delayed free TRAM breast reconstruction: an analysis of perioperative factors and complications. DeBono R, Stevenson JH, Thompson AM. British Journal of Plastic Surgery (2002) 55, 111-116.

Endoscopic palliative treatment for oesophageal and gastric cancer: techniques, complications and survival in a population based cohort of 948 patients. Thompson AM. Rapson T, Gilbert FJ, Park KGM. Surgical Endoscopy (2004) 18, 1257-1262.

Patient, carer and health service outcomes of nurse-led early discharge after breast cancer surgery: a randomised controlled trial. Wells M, Harrow A, Donnan P, Davey P, Devereux S, Little G, McKenna E, Wood R, Chen R, Thompson A. British Journal of Cancer (2004) 91, 651-658.

Endoscopic palliative treatment for oesophageal and gastric cancer: techniques, complications and survival in a population based cohort of 948 patients. Thompson AM. Rapson T, Gilbert FJ, Park KGM. Surgical Endoscopy (2004) 18, 1257-1262.

Building a framework for trust: critical event analysis of deaths in surgical care. Thompson AM, Stonebridge PA. British Medical Journal (2005) 330, 1139-1142.

Could sequential individual peer reviewed mortality audit be used in appraisal? Thompson AM, Ritchie W, Stonebridge PA
Surgeon (2005) 3, 288-292.

Mapping changes in surgical mortality over nine years by peer review audit. Thompson AM, Ashraf Z, Burton H, Stonebridge PA. British Journal of Surgery (2005) 92:1449-52.

Morbidity and mortality rates following gastric cancer surgery and contiguous organ removal, a population based study.
Nanthakumaran S, Fernandes E, Thompson AM, Rapson T, Gilbert FJ, Park KG. Eur J Surg Oncol. (2005) 31: 1141-1144.

A mathematical model for the effect of a false-negative sentinel node biopsy on breast cancer mortality: a tool for everyday use.
Vaidya JS, Dewar JA, Brown DC, Thompson AM. Breast Cancer Research (2005) 7: 225-227.

Age threshold for endoscopy and risk of missing upper gastrointestinal malignancy--data from the Scottish audit of gastric and oesophageal cancer. Phull PS, Salmon CA, Park KG, Rapson T, Thompson AM, Gilbert FJ. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2006; 23: 229-33.

The Challenge of evaluating annual mammography screening for young women with a family history of breast cancer. The FH01 Management Committee. J Med Screen (2006) 13: 177-182.

Targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT) yields very low recurrence rates when given as a boost. Vaidya JS, Baum M, Tobias JS, 14 others, Thompson A, Joseph D. Int J Radiation Oncology Biol.Phys. (2006); 66: 1335-1338.

Delay from symptom onset increases the conversion rate in laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis. Hadad S, Vaidya J, Baker L, Hoey K, Heron T, Thompson A. World Journal of Surgery (2007); 31: 1300-1303.

On the practicalities of translational radiobiology: lessons from IORT (intraoperative radiotherapy). Gardner J, Ackland CY, Thompson AM, Vaidya JS, Dewar JA, Adamson DJ, Armougum K, Mackay CD, Munro AJ. Clinical Oncology (2007); 19: S29.

Hospital volume does not influence long-term survival of patients undergoing surgery for oesophageal or gastric cancer. Thompson AM, Rapson T, Gilbert FJ, Park KGM. British Journal of Surgery (2007) 94: 578-584.

Meta-analysis of sentinel node biopsy in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast. Ansari B, Ogston SA, Purdie CA, Adamson DJ, Brown DC, Thompson AM. British Journal of Surgery (2008) 95, 547-554.

Cohort study examining tamoxifen adherence and its relationship to mortality in women with breast cancer. McCowan C, Shearer J, Donnan PT,Dewar JA, Crilly M, Thompson AM, Fahey TP. British Journal of Cancer (2008) 99, 1763-1768.

Undergraduate Textbooks

Finals in Surgery: a guide to success in clinical surgery. Thompson AM, Park KGM. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh 1997; second edition 2001;third edition 2008.

General Surgical Anatomy and Clinical Examination. Thompson AM. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh 2001.

A Short Textbook of Surgery. Stonebridge PA, Smith D, Duncan L, Thompson AM. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2006.

Postgraduate Textbooks

Non-metastatic breast cancer. Editors: A Rodger J Sibbering, AM Thompson (since 2004). Evidence Based Medicine, BMJ Publications, London, 2008

Prognostic and Predictive Factors in Breast Cancer. Editors: Walker RA & Thompson AM. Informa Healthcare, London 2008 (second edition).

Disorders of the Breast.
Thompson AM, Dewar JA. In: Essential Surgical Practice Vol 1, Eds Cuschieri A, Steele RJC, Moosa S. Butterworth Heineman, Oxford, 2001, 61-93.

Surgical management of cancer. Thompson AM. In: Nursing patients with cancer - principles and practice, Eds Kearney N Richardson A. Elsevier Science, Edinburgh, 2005.

Prognostic Factors. Thompson AM, Pinder SE. In: ABC of Breast Diseases (third edition) Ed JM Dixon BMJ Books, London, 2006.

Review

Evaluation of the current knowledge limitations in breast cancer research: a gap analysis. Thompson A, Brennan K, Cox A, Gee J, Harcourt D, Harris A, Harvie M, Holen I, Howell A, Nicolson R, Steel M, Streuli C. Breast Cancer Research (2008) 10: R26 doi:10.1186/bcr1983

• Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality
• Scottish Audit of Gastric and Oesophageal Cancer
• Safe Births: Everybody's Business
• Gap Analysis
• The COnfidential REporting System in Surgery
• The breast cancer campaign charity
• BMJ Clinical Evidence – the evidence base for non-metastatic breast cancer