Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Profile image of Bret Taback, MD

Bret Taback, MD

Director, Breast Surgery Fellowship

Call (212) 305-9676 for appointments.
1
1

About Bret Taback, MD:

Dr. Bret Taback is a nationally recognized surgical oncologist in the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center department of surgery. Dr. Taback is a leader in the clinical management of melanoma, sarcoma and skin/soft tissue tumor surgery. Dr. Taback is the Director of the Melanoma and Sarcoma Program and Director of the Breast Surgery Fellowship. Dr. Taback received his MD degree at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston , and completed his general surgery residency at Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital.

During that time he completed a Basic Science Research Fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School in Boston. Following this, he completed a fellowship in Complex Surgical Oncology at the John Wayne Cancer Institute, Santa Monica, California. Dr. Taback is a member of a number of organizations and societies including Society of Surgical Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Association for Cancer Research. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has published and authored numerous peer review manuscripts, abstracts and presentations, as well as book chapters over the years in notable publications such as Annals of Surgery, Annals of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. He is a clinical investigator with SWOG and Alliance for clinical trials. Dr. Taback has served on numerous hospital committees including tumor boards, Institutional Review Boards, Oncology Operations Council and is the American College of Surgeon’s Commission on Cancer Physician Liaison for NYP Hospital. Most recently, Dr. Taback is a noted Castle Connolly Top Doctor.

Expertise:

Breast & Soft Tissue Surgery
Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer Surgery
Breast Disease
Cancer Care
Mastectomies
Melanoma
Melanoma Surgery
Sarcoma
Sentinel Node Biopsy For Breast
Surgery
Surgical Oncology

Honors:

Member, International Scientific Committee, The 4th International Sentinel Node Congress, Los Angeles, CA (2004)

Co-Chairman, The 3rd International Conference on Circulating Nucleic Acids in Plasma and Serum & Serum Proteomics (CNAPS III), Santa Monica, CA (2003)

Young Investigator Award, The 3rd International Sentinel Node Congress, Yokohama, Japan (2002)

Merit Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Orlando, FL (2002)

Elected to Associate Member Council, American Association for Cancer Research, Philadelphia, PA (2001-2004)

Scholarship Award to attend Epidemiology and Biostatistics Conference, Berlex Oncology Foundation, Hackensack, NJ (2001)

Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Fellowship Award, Santa Monica, CA (2000)

Merit Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology, New Orleans, LA (2000)

Interests:

Tumor genetics and profiling
Micrometastasis and minimal residual disease surveillance
Circulating nucleic acids in plasma and serum

Appointments:

Assistant Professor of Surgery at CUMC

Education:

Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine
Residency: Brown University Rhode Island Hospital
Residency: Northwestern University Hospital
Fellowship: John Wayne Cancer Institute , Santa Monica CA
Fellowship: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

New Patients:

YES

Locations

Primary Locations:

CUIMC/Herbert Irving Pavilion

161 Fort Washington Avenue
New York, NY 10032

For new and current patient appointments, call:
(212) 305-9676
Fax:
(212) 305-1522

Insurances:

Please contact the doctor's office directly to verify that your particular insurance is accepted.

AETNA [Aetna Signature Administrators, Medicare Managed Care, HMO, PPO, POS, EPO, NY Signature, Student Health, AETNA Westchester MG Local 1199]
Affinity Health Plan [Essential Plan, Medicaid Managed Care]
Amida Care [Special Needs, Amida Care Westchester MG Medicaid Managed Care, Amida Care Westchester MG HIV SNP]
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield [Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Westchester MG Anthem, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Westchester MG Blue Access (Marketplace), Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Westchester MG Blue Card, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Westchest
CIGNA [PPO, HMO, Great West (National), EPO, POS, CIGNA Westchester MG FEP, CIGNA Westchester MG HealthPartners, CIGNA Westchester MG LocalPlus, CIGNA Westchester MG MVP, CIGNA Westchester MG Medical Indemnity, CIGNA Westchester MG Open Access Plus
ElderPlan [ElderPlan Westchester MG Medicare Managed Care]
ElderServe [Special Needs]
Emblem/GHI [PPO, Medicare Managed Care]
Emblem/HIP [Select Care (Exchange), Vytra, EPO, Medicare Managed Care, HMO, PPO, POS, ConnectiCare, Essential Plan, Medicaid Managed Care]
EmblemHealth [EmblemHealth Westchester MG Bridge Program, EmblemHealth Westchester MG Brooklyn Healthworks, EmblemHealth Westchester MG DC37 Med-Team, EmblemHealth Westchester MG EPO, EmblemHealth Westchester MG Emblem Health, EmblemHealth Westcheste
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus [Medicaid Managed Care, Child/Family Health Plus, Essential Plan, Individual Network (Exchange)]
Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield [PPO, Medicare Managed Care, HMO, EPO]
Fidelis Care [Essential Plan, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicare Managed Care, Child/Family Health Plus, Fidelis Care Westchester MG Ambetter (Exchange), Fidelis Care Westchester MG Essential Plan, Fidelis Care Westchester MG Medicare Dual Advantage, Fide
Healthfirst [Leaf (Exchange), Medicaid Managed Care, Child/Family Health Plus, Medicare Managed Care, Healthfirst Westchester MG Child Family Health Plus, Healthfirst Westchester MG Essential Plan, Healthfirst Westchester MG Exchange (Leaf Metal Plans)
Healthplus [Healthplus Westchester MG Child Family Health Plus, Healthplus Westchester MG Essential Plan, Healthplus Westchester MG Exchange (Gatekeeper), Healthplus Westchester MG Managed Long Term Care (MLTC), Healthplus Westchester MG Medicaid Mana
Healthspring (Cigna Medicare) [Medicare Managed Care]
Healthspring [Healthspring Westchester MG Medicare Managed Care]
Local 1199 [Local 1199]
MVP Health Care [HMO, Essential Plan, Child/Family Health Plus, Medicaid Managed Care, MVP Health Care Westchester MG]
Magnacare (National) [MagnaCare, Magnacare (National) Westchester MG ASC, Magnacare (National) Westchester MG PPO]
Medicaid [Medicaid Westchester MG Traditional]
Medicare [Traditional Medicare, Medicare Westchester MG Traditional, Medicare Westchester MG Railroad]
Molina Healthcare [Molina Healthcare Westchester MG Medicare Managed Care (Senior Whole Health)]
Multiplan [Multiplan, Multiplan Westchester MG EPO, Multiplan Westchester MG PHCS, Multiplan Westchester MG POS, Multiplan Westchester MG PPO, Multiplan Westchester MG HMO]
UnitedHealthcare [HMO, POS, PPO, Empire Plan, Oxford Liberty, Oxford Freedom, Oxford HMO, Medicare Managed Care, Medicaid (Community Plan), UnitedHealthcare Westchester MG Oxford Freedom, UnitedHealthcare Westchester MG Oxford HMO, UnitedHealthcare West
VNS Health [VNS Health Westchester MG Medicare Managed Care, VNS Health Westchester MG Medicaid Managed Care]
VNSNY CHOICE [SelectHealth, Medicare Managed Care, Special Needs]
WellCare [Medicaid Managed Care, Medicare Managed Care, WellCare Westchester MG American Progressive Life, WellCare Westchester MG NJ Managed Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS), WellCare Westchester MG NJ Medicaid, WellCare Westchester MG NY Medi
World Trade Center Health Plan [World Trade Center Health Plan]

Publications:

Fine RE, Gilmore RC, Tomkovich KR, Dietz JR, Berry MP, Hernandez LE, Columbus KS, Seedman SA, Fisher CS, Han LK, Manahan ER, Hicks RD, Vaidya RP, Curcio LD, Sevrukov AB, Kenler AS, Taback B, Chen M, Miller ME, Gold L, Anglin BV, Aoun HD, Simmons RM, Feldman SM, Boolbol SK. Cryoablation Without Excision for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: ICE3 Trial 5-Year Follow-Up on Ipsilateral Breast Tumor Recurrence. Ann Surg Oncol. 2024 Oct;31(11):7273-7283. doi: 10.1245/s10434-024-16181-0. Epub 2024 Sep 16.PMID: 39283572

Reyes A, Sun L, Ha R, Desperito E, Brown M, Francescone MA, Ugras S, Wiechmann L, Rao R, Taback B. A Comprehensive Assessment of Radial Scars on Core Needle Biopsy in Patients with or Without Breast Cancer: Upgrade Rate and Implications on Management. Clin Breast Cancer 2024 Jun;24(4):e273-e278. doi: 10.1016/j.clbc.2024.01.020. Epub 2024 Feb 1. PMID: 38402106.

Levy AS, Murphy AI, Ishtihar S, Peysakhovich A, Taback B, Grant RT, Ascherman JA, Feldman S, Rohde CH. Lymphatic microsurgical preventive healing approach for the primary prevention of lymphedema: A 4-year follow-up. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2023 Feb 1;151(2):413-420

Mojahed D, Applegate M, Guo H, Taback B, Ha R, Hibshoosh H, Hendon C. Optical coherence tomography holds promise to transform the diagnostic anatomic pathology gross evaluation process. J Biomed Opt. 2022 Sep;27(9):096003

Brown A, Buss EJ, Chin C, Liu G, Lee S, Rao R, Taback B, Wiechmann L, Horowitz D, Choi JC, Katz LM, Connolly EP. Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy (TARGIT-IORT) for Early-Stage Invasive Breast Cancer: A Single Institution Study. Front Oncol. 2022 Jun 29;12:788213

Cogan JC, Accordino MK, Beauchemin MP, Spivack JH, Ulene SR, Elkin EB, Melamed A, Taback B, Wright JD, Hershman DL. Efficacy of a password-protected, pill-dispensing device with mail return capacity to enhance disposal of unused opioids after cancer surgery. Cancer. 2022 Sep 15;128(18):3392-3399

Koelmeyer LA, Gaitatzis K, Dietrich MS, Shah CS, Boyages J, McLaughlin SA, Taback B, Stolldorf DP, Elder E, Hughes TM, French JR, Ngui N, Hsu JM, Moore A, Ridner SH: Risk factors for breast cancer-related lymphedema in patients undergoing 3 years of prospective surveillance with intervention. Cancer. 2022 Sep 15;128(18):3408-3415

Iwai Y, Prigoff J, Sun L, Wiechmann, L, Taback B, Rao R, Ugras SK: Shaves off the Cavity or Specimen in Lumpectomy for Breast Cancer. J Surg Res. 2022 Sep; 277:296-302

Lifrieri A, Fuzesi S, Desperito E, Taback B: When the clipped node goes missing, CT guided SAVI SCOUT placement: A novel approach for localizing soft tissue targets. Clin Imaging. 2022 May;85:115-117

Wu V, Colquhoun M, Fuzesi S, Sun L, Ugras S, Wiechmann L, Rao R, Taback B, Omitting Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Postmenopausal Hormone Receptor Positive Stage I Breast Cancer has no Adverse Impact on Outcomes or Regional Recurrence Despite Current Predictors of Nodal Positivity. Ann Surg Oncol Vol 22. 2022 (suppl 1: abstract E35)