Antoine Loutfi
Associate professor of Surgery and Oncology
MD, FRCSC, FACS
- Recipient of the 2011 Golden Hand Award, from the Lebanese Society of General Surgery, in Beirut, Lebanon. This award is given as a tribute to activities and contributions to excellence in surgery.
- Recipient of the Prix reconnaissance 2012 de la Direction Qu茅b茅coise de Canc茅rologie of the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services (recognition award for contributions made in advancing services for cancer patients in Quebec)
- Recipient of the 2017 merit award for research or service from the Bronfman Department of Oncology at 91社区
- Recipient of the 2019 lifetime achievement award from the Bronfman Department of Oncology at 91社区
Dr. Antoine Loutfi has been a member of the Departments of Surgery and Oncology at 91社区 since 1981, when he came back from his fellowship in surgical oncology at Tulane University in New Orleans, USA. He received his medical diploma (M.D.) from the Facult茅 Fran莽aise de M茅decine, Universit茅 St-Joseph, Beirut, Lebanon. He came to Canada in 1974 and trained in General Surgery at Laval and 91社区 universities.
Dr. Loutfi鈥檚 main interests have been clinical research in breast cancer and melanoma and recently in organization of cancer care services. He was an active member in the NSABP trials, which have been instrumental in setting new guidelines for the treatment of breast cancer. In 1986, as a member of the Executive Committee of the Melanoma Intergroup, he participated in the development and conduct of multicenter trials evaluating the surgical treatment of melanoma patients, thus establishing new standards for their management. In addition, Dr. Loutfi鈥檚 interest in the assessment of new technologies led to the evaluation of a new implantable device for venous access, the 鈥減ort-a-cath鈥�. He was the first surgeon at the MUHC to implant one, and developed an instructional video for other surgeons to learn the original technique. Since then such devices have become an integral part of the care of cancer patients. He also worked with Dr. C. Thompson on the development and evaluation of Positron Emission Mammography for the detection of breast tumours.
Dr. Loutfi has also been involved in education in surgery and oncology. He was Program Director of the Surgical Oncology Fellowship and a member of the Royal College specialty committee in surgical oncology for three years. He spent three years in Ethiopia where he developed a training program in surgical emergencies for general practitioners and has taught surgery in short teaching missions in Uganda and Rwanda. More recently, in 2021 he developed and taught a course in gastro-intestinal diseases to medical students at the university of Shalom in Bunia, the Democratic Republic of Congo
In October 2004, Dr. Loutfi was appointed the first director of the Direction de la lutte contre le cancer at the Minist猫re de la Sant茅 et des Services Sociaux, of the Province of Quebec. Under his mandate a 5-year cancer control plan 鈥淥rientations Prioritaires 2007-2012鈥� was developed and implemented throughout the province. Some of the accomplishments of the plan included: better access to quality radiation therapy with 99% of patients now treated within 4 weeks, implementation of a process to improve quality assurance in pathology, increased availability infirmi猫res pivot for oncology patients, implementation of a comprehensive program to optimize palliative care services, and development of a new program in health services research in cancer at the Fond de Recherche Qu茅bec- Sant茅 (FRQ-S)