Awards - Lifetime Achievement and ESSO Medal

Serge EVRARD is a professor of surgical oncology at the Bergonié Institute and the University of Bordeaux. Concerned by the challenges of clinical research in surgery, he has worked to promote prospective, non-randomized methodologies.  He has addressed questions that break with conventional wisdom, such as the choice of delayed coloanal anastomosis after proctectomy, extensive peritoneal surgery without HIPEC, and targeted treatment of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) rather than extensive parenchymal resections.

In 2012, he published the first prospective study on the use of intraoperative ablation, helping to establish the concept of parenchymal sparing approach through focused resections and intraoperative radiofrequency ablations. This iterative approach, combined with perioperative chemotherapy, is gaining more and more acceptance. Having led research for ESSO and EORTC, he collaborated with the JCOG on the DREAM trial, whose findings appear to set limits on the pursuit of vanishing metastases. In fundamental research, he works with Dr. Majid Khatib’s INSERM BRIC1312 team to develop a new therapeutic class, the anti-convertases—particularly PCSK7—in pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Tibor Kovacs is an internationally recognised expert in breast cancer and reconstructive surgery, with particular expertise in oncoplastic breast conservation, breast reconstruction, and risk-reducing breast surgery. He completed his surgical oncology training at the National Institute of Oncology in Budapest, earned a PhD in Surgical Oncology in 2002, and has been a European Board–Certified (FEBS) Surgical Oncologist and Breast Surgeon since 2004. His career has included senior clinical and academic roles in the United Kingdom, notably at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, where he specialised in complex oncoplastic breast surgery and immediate breast reconstruction.

A distinguished leader in European surgical oncology, Dr. Kovacs served as President of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO) from 2018 to 2020 and is the founder and Chair of the ESSO Oncoplastic Breast Surgery Course. He has played a major role in surgical education and certification across Europe, including as an examiner for the European Board of Surgery Qualification in Breast Surgery and as founding Chair of BRESO. His international leadership has also included senior appointments in Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, and, most recently, at the American Hospital Dubai, where he serves as Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon and Director of the Breast Surgery Research Centre.