Bret Taback, MD
Breast & Soft Tissue Surgery
Cancer Care, Surgery
Accepting New Patients
Virtual Visits/Telehealth
Overview
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.
Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated
- Breast Cancer
- Breast Cancer Surgery
- Breast Disease
- Mastectomies
- Melanoma
- Melanoma Surgery
- Sarcoma
- Sentinel Node Biopsy For Breast
- Specialist in Breast Cancer Surgery
- Specialist in Melanoma Surgery
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor of Surgery at CUMC
Administrative Titles
- Director, Breast Surgery Fellowship
Hospital Affiliations
- NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
- NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester
- NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital
- NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center
Gender
- Male
Schedule an Appointment
Virtual Visits/Telehealth
Virtual Visits allow you to connect with your provider from the comfort, convenience, and safety of your own home.
Phone Appointments
New and Existing Patients:
Connect Patient Portal
For existing patients, login to make an appointment, view documentation or contact your care provider.
Location(s)
161 Fort Washington Avenue
New York, NY 10032
Primary
Phone:
Fax:
Insurance Accepted
Aetna
- Aetna Signature Administrators
- NY Signature
- Student Health
Affinity Health Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
AgeWell
- Medicare Managed Care
- Special Needs
Amerigroup of New Jersey
- New Jersey Services (Medicaid Managed Care)
Amida Care
- Special Needs
Cigna
- EPO
- Great West (National)
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- POS
- PPO
Emblem/GHI
- Medicare Managed Care
- PPO
Emblem/HIP
- ConnectiCare
- EPO
- Essential Plan
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- POS
- PPO
- Select Care (Exchange)
- Vytra
Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- EPO
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- PPO
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
Fidelis Care
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
Healthfirst
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Leaf (Exchange)
- Medicare Managed Care
Local 1199
- Local 1199
- NYP Employee Plan
MagnaCare (National)
- MagnaCare
Medicare
- Railroad
- Traditional Medicare
Multiplan
- Multiplan
MVP Health Care
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid Managed Care
Quality Health Management
- Quality Health Management
RiverSpring
- Special Needs
UnitedHealthcare
- Columbia University Employee Plan
- Compass (Exchange)
- Empire Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid (Community Plan)
- Oxford Freedom
- Oxford HMO
- Oxford Liberty
- POS
- PPO
VNSNY CHOICE
- SelectHealth
WellCare
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
- New Jersey Services (Medicaid Managed Care)
World Trade Center Health Plan
- World Trade Center Health Plan
*Please contact the provider’s office directly to verify that your particular insurance is accepted.
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- Baystate Medical College - 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
Committees, Societies, Councils
- American Board of Surgery
- Diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners
- American Society of General Surgeons
- American Association for Cancer Research
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- American College of Surgeons
- American Medical Association
- American Society for Investigative Pathology
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Association for Academic Surgery
- Society for Surgical Oncology
- Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgery
Board Certifications
- Surgery
Honors & Awards
- 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)
America's Top Doctor
NY Top Doctor
Research
Research Interests
- Circulating nucleic acids in plasma and serum
- Micrometastasis and minimal residual disease surveillance
- Tumor genetics and profiling
Selected Publications
- Shinozaki M, Hoon D, Giuliano A, Hansen N, Wang H, Turner R, Taback B. Distinct hypermethylation profile of primary breast cancer is associated with sentinel lymph node metastasis. Clin Cancer Res. 11:2156-2162, 2005
- Taback B, Hoon D. Advances in circulating nucleic acids and serum proteomics: synopsis of the 3rd International Conference. Clin Chem. 50:2230-2232, 2004
- Taback B, Hoon D. Circulating nucleic acids in plasma and serum: past, present and future. Curr Opin Mol Ther. 6:273-278, 2004
- Taback B, O'Day S, Hoon D. Quantification of circulating DNA in the plasma and serum of cancer patients. Ann NY Acad Sci. 1022:17-24, 2004
- Taback B, Hoon D. Circulating nucleic acids and proteomics of plasma/serum: clinical utility. Ann NY Acad Sci. 1022:1-8, 2004
- Taback B, Bilchik A, Saha S, Nakayama T, Wiese D, Turner R, Kuo C, Hoon D. Peptide nucleic acid clamp PCR: A novel K-ras mutation detection assay for colorectal cancer micrometastases in lymph nodes. Int J Cancer 111:409-414, 2004
- Takeuchi H, Morton D, Kuo C, Turner R, Elashoff D, Elashoff R, Taback B, Fujimoto A, Hoon D. Prognostic significance of molecular upstaging of paraffin-embedded sentinel lymph nodes in melanoma patients. J Clin Oncol. 22:2671-2680, 2004
- Fujimoto A, O'Day S, Taback B, Elashoff D, Hoon D. Allelic imbalance on 12q22-23 in serum circulating DNA of melanoma patients predicts disease outcome. Cancer Res. 64:4085-4088, 2004
- Taback B, Hoon. Microsatellite alterations as diagnostic and prognostic molecular markers in patients with cancer. In: R.M. Nakamura, W. Grody, J. Wu, R. Nagle (eds), Cancer Diagnostics: Current and Future Trends. Humana Press, Inc., Totowa, New Jersey, 2004; 19:395-428
- Hoon D, Spugnardi M, Kuo C, Huang S, Morton D, Taback B. Profiling epigenetic inactivation of tumor suppressor genes in tumors and plasma from cutaneous melanoma patients. Oncogene. 23:4014-4022, 2004
- Fujimoto A, Takeuchi H, Taback B, Hsueh E, Elashoff D, Morton D, Hoon D. Allelic imbalance of 12q22–23 associated with APAF-1 locus correlates with poor disease outcome in cutaneous melanoma. Cancer Res. 64:2245-2250, 2004
- Takeuchi H, Taback B, Kuo C, Hoon D. Clinicopathological utility of molecular staging for melanoma patients undergoing sentinel lymphadenectomy.
- Ann Surg Oncol. 11(3 Suppl):152S-5S, 2004
- Taback B, O'Day S, Boasberg P, Shu S, Fournier P, Elashoff R, Wang H, Hoon D. Circulating DNA microsatellites: molecular determinants of response to biochemotherapy in patients with metastatic melanoma. J Natl Cancer Inst. 96:152-156, 2004
- Kuo C, Hoon D, Takeuchi H, Turner R, Wang H, Morton D, Taback B. Prediction of disease outcome in melanoma patients by molecular analysis of paraffin-embedded sentinel lymph nodes. J Clin Oncol. 21: 3566-3572, 2003
- Taback B, Hoon D. Ultrastaging of Melanoma Patients: Molecular Detection of Micrometastatic Disease. In: J.F. Thompson, D.L. Morton, and B.R. Kroon (eds.), Melanoma. Martin Dunitz 2004; 13:148-163
- Taback B, Giuliano A, Hansen N, Singer F, Shu S, Hoon D. Detection of tumor-specific genetic alterations in bone marrow from early stage breast cancer patients. Cancer Res. 63: 1884-1887, 2003
- Hoon D, Fujimoto A, Shu S, Taback B. Assessment of genetic heterogeneity in tumors using laser capture microdissection. Methods Enzymol. 356:302-309, 2002
- Taback B, Hashimoto K, Kuo CT, Chan A, Giuliano AE, Hoon D. Molecular lymphatic mapping of the sentinel lymph node. Am J Pathol. 161: 1153-1161, 2002
- Taback B, Chan AD, Kuo CT, Bostick P, Wang H, Giuliano AE, Hoon D. Detection of occult metastatic breast cancer cells in blood by a multi-molecular marker assay: correlation with clinical stage of disease. Cancer Res. 61: 8845-8850, 2001
- Taback B, Giuliano A, Hansen N, Hoon D. Microsatellite alterations detected in the serum of early stage breast cancer patients. In: P. Anker and M. Stroun (eds.), Circulating Nucleic Acids in Plasma or Serum II. Ann NY Acad Sci. 945: 22-30, 2001
- Taback B, Nguyen P, Hansen N, Edwards K, Conway K, Giuliano A. Sentinel lymph node biopsy for patients with local breast cancer recurrence following breast-conserving surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy. Ann Surg Oncol. 12(2 Suppl): S66, 2005
- Taback B, Hansen N, Conway K, Giuliano A. Recurrence patterns following a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with early-stage breast cancer. Proceedings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 23: 560a, 2004
- Taback B, Lai R, Giuliano A, Singer F, Hansen N, Hoon, D. Identification of tumor-associated epigenetic alterations in bone marrow and serum from early-stage breast cancer patients using a hypermethylation gene panel. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research 45: 772, 2004
- Taback B, Lai R, Giuliano A, Singer F, Hansen N, Hoon D. Detection of tumor-related epigenetic alterations in bone marrow from early-stage breast cancer patients using a hypermethylation gene panel. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 19: 1578, 2004
- Taback B, Hoon D. Quantitation of DNA in the serum and plasma of cancer patients. Clinical Chemistry 49: 3, 2003
- Kuo C, Spugnardi M, Taback B, Hoon D. Epigenetic inactivation of tumor suppressor genes in paired plasma and tumors from cutaneous melanoma patients. Clinical Chemistry 49: 5, 2003
- O'Day S, Fujimoto A, Taback B, Elashoff D, Hoon D. Allelic imbalance on 12q22-23 locus in serum DNA of melanoma patients predicts response to biochemotherapy. Clinical Chemistry 49: 7, 2003
- Taback B, Kuo C, Takeuchi H, Turner R, Wang H, Morton, D, Hoon D. Molecular analysis of melanoma patients paraffin-embedded sentinel lymph nodes predicts disease outcome. Proceedings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 22: 713, 2003
- Taback B, Giuliano A, Hansen N, Singer R, Hoon D. Identification of tumor-specific genetic alterations in the bone marrow of early stage breast cancer patients. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research 44: 563, 2003
- Shinozaki M, Giuliano A, Taback B, Hoon D. CpG hypermethylation of the glutathione S-transferase P1 and retinoic acid receptor-β genes in primary breast cancer correlates with lymph node metastasis. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research 44: 1233, 2003
- Fujimoto A, Takeuchi H, Shu S, Hsueh E, Taback B, Hoon D. Prognostic significance of LOH of the APAF-1 locus in malignant melanoma. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research 44: 1080, 2003
- Taback B, Shu S, Hansen N, Giuliano A, Hoon D. Detection of tumor-specific DNA in breast cancer patients' sera. Department of Defense Era of Hope Proceedings, Vol II: P24-7, 2002
- Taback B, O'Day S, Fournier P, Hoon D. Serum genetic markers as surrogates of response to biochemotherapy in patients with metastatic melanoma. Proceedings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 21: 339a, 2002
- Taback B, Nakayama T, Wiese D, Turner R, Bilchik A, Saha S, Hoon D. Detection of colorectal micrometastasis in sentinel lymph nodes using the novel approach of PCR PNA clamping. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research. 42: 612, 2001
- Taback B, Giuliano AE, Hansen N, Hoon D. Circulating DNA microsatellites with LOH in early stage breast cancer patients serum is associated with increased tumor proliferation. Clinical Chemistry, 47: 365, 2001
- Hoon D, Taback B, Morton DL, Fujiwara Y. DNA microsatellite markers with LOH in plasma from stage III melanoma patients is associated with a decreased survival. Clinical Chemistry, 47: 363, 2001
- Taback B, Nakayama T, Turner, R, Morton, D, Hoon, D. Genetic clonality of primary melanoma and subsequent in-transit metastases. Melanoma Research, 11(Supp 1): S206, 2001
- Taback B, Morton D, Fujiwara Y, O’Day S, Fournier P, Hoon, D. Circulating DNA microsatellite markers is associated with a poorer prognosis in high-risk melanoma patients undergoing therapeutic interventions. Melanoma Research, 11(Suppl 1): S75, 2001
- Taback B, Chan A, Kuo C, Nguyen D, Giuliano A, Hoon D. Molecular detection of metastatic cells in the blood of breast cancer patients. Department of Defense Era of Hope Proceedings, Vol I: 121, 2000
- Taback B, Giuliano AE, Nguyen D, Nakayama T, Hansen N, Martino S, Fournier PJ, Hoon D. Tumor-related free DNA microsatellites detected in breast cancer patients serum correlates with disease progression. Proceedings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology19: 606a, 2000