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The Breast Unit (Breast Center) is composed of highly specialized professionals from various departments who dedicate their expertise exclusively or primarily to the treatment of breast diseases.

The "Raffaelina Cerase" Breast Unit is an integral part of the Breast Unit Network (B.U.N.) within the Puglia Oncological Network (R.O.P.), where it functions as a HUB (reference center).

It is also a member of Senonetwork (www.senonetwork.it), the network of Italian Breast Centers committed to promoting the treatment of breast diseases in dedicated facilities that comply with European standards.

Core Team Operative Units:

·       Diagnostic Senology

·       Breast Surgery (Director: Dr. Luigi Ciuffreda)

·       Pathology (Director: Dr. Paolo Graziano)

·       Oncology (Director: Dr. Evaristo Maiello)

·       Radiotherapy (Director: Dr. Sandro Parisi)

Support Operative Units and Services:

·       Nuclear Medicine (Director: Dr. Elio Perrone)

·       Medical Genetics (Director: Dr. Marco Castori)

·       Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (Director: Dr. Domenico Intiso)

·       Clinical Psychology (Health Directorate)

The Breast Unit operates through the following key activities:

Multidisciplinary Approach

Every case is managed through a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach, involving the active participation of all dedicated professionals.

These multidisciplinary discussions take place during weekly meetings.

Interdisciplinary Clinic for Hereditary-Familial Risk (A.I.R.E.F.)

Patients diagnosed with breast cancer who, due to family history or young age, are identified as being at high hereditary-familial risk (i.e., having a high likelihood of carrying genetic mutations that predispose them to breast and ovarian cancer) are referred to the Interdisciplinary Clinic for Hereditary-Familial Risk (A.I.R.E.F.)

D.T.A. (Diagnostic, Therapeutic, and Care Pathways)

The care pathways within the Breast Unit are developed in alignment with the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Pathways (P.D.T.A.) established by the Puglia Region for breast cancer management. These pathways are continuously monitored using specific performance indicators to ensure quality and effectiveness.

  • Meetings are scheduled throughout the year to assess the quality of care and to update internal guidelines in alignment with the latest evidence from the scientific literature.

     

    ·       The Preoperative Multidisciplinary Meeting (MMD) reviews cases that, upon completion of the diagnostic process, are slated for surgical intervention. The objective is to identify the most appropriate course of action for oncological and reconstructive surgery. In cases of advanced-stage cancer, patients are referred for preoperative medical therapy (neoadjuvant therapy) before undergoing surgery.

    The Postoperative Multidisciplinary Meeting (MMD) focuses on designing the therapeutic plan following surgery, incorporating any necessary medical and/or radiotherapy treatments.

    The Integrated Senology Clinic (A.I.S.) provides follow-up care for patients after the completion of all prescribed therapies, employing a consistently multidisciplinary approach.

    All multidisciplinary activities are documented in specialized databases shared across the operative units within the Breast Unit. Each patient receives a detailed treatment plan, which is also shared with the responsible operative unit that assumes care management.

Head of units:
Dr. Luigi Ciuffreda

Contacts
0882-410607
l.ciuffreda@operapadrepio.it

Medici Core Team

Dr. Luigi Ciuffreda
Dr. Paolo Graziano
Dr. Evaristo Maiello
Dr. Sandro Parisi