The European CanCer Organisation Lifetime Achievement Award

The ECCO Lifetime Achievement Award honours individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the fight against cancer, by impacting the cancer field or the cancer professional community, and by demonstrating a lifetime commitment to progress against cancer.

2011 Award: Umberto Veronesi

In 2011 the ECCO Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Professor Umberto Veronesi on the occasion of the European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress, during the Presidential session of Saturday 24th September.

Umberto Veronesi is a surgeon who has devoted the greater part of his professional life to exploring the paths of research with the aim of improving the treatment and the quality of life for cancer patients. He is renowned especially for his innovative techniques that revolutionised breast surgery procedures. He first demonstrated that in the case of small cancer of the breast it is safe to perform a wide resection followed by radiotherapy and, thereby, preserve the breast, thus obviating the mutilating procedure of mastectomy. More recently ha has developed new researches to avoid axillary dissection when the lymph nodes are not involved.

In May 1994, he took the position of Scientific Director at European Institute of Oncology (Milan, Italy). Before, he directed the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan for 18 years.

Prof. Veronesi is the founder of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the European School of Oncology. He has been an influential figure in setting up the Federation of European Cancer Societies (FECS), which then became ECCO – the European CanCer Organisation. He was President of FECS from 1991 to 1993. It was he who engaged European societies of the main cancer disciplines to come together to host a multidisciplinary cancer congress.

Umberto Veronesi was entrusted with the post of Minister of Health in the Italian Government (April 2000-June 2001) and Senator of the 16th Italian Parliament (April 2008-February 2011).

Umberto Veronesi is a true visionary who has shaped the cancer landscape, improving the treatment of cancer throughout Europe. He is the author of more than 775 scientific publications and 12 oncological treatises.

About the ECCO Lifetime Achievement Award

The ECCO Award for Lifetime Achievement was established by the ECCO Board of Directors in early 2009. The first recipient of the Award was  Margaret Foti (USA).  

The award honours individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the fight against cancer, by impacting the cancer field or the cancer professional community, and by demonstrating a lifetime commitment to progress against cancer.

Nominations for the ECCO Award for Lifetime Achievement are accepted for individual candidates irrespective of race, sex, nationality, or religious/political views. Institutions, groups or associations are not eligible. 

Nominations can be made by any individual member of any ECCO member society. Candidates cannot nominate themselves. Nominations can be sent to the ECCO office or to any ECCO Board member, before April 1 of each non-even year. The awardee is selected by the ECCO Board of Directors.

The recipient, who must be present to receive the Award (unless otherwise unable to do so because of health restrictions or other serious conflicts), receives a commemorative plaque, and financial support to attend the biennial joint ECCO-ESMO congress.