Kefah Mokbel

Kefah Mokbel was born in 1965 in the currently occupied Golan Heights in Syria. At the end of junior high school, he was awarded a national scholarship after he passed the Brevet des collèges diploma with the highest score (98%) in Syria (1980). In 1983 he was awarded a scholarship to study medicine in the United Kingdom having achieved 100% score (in all subjects) in the Baccalaureate. Kefah Mokbel learned English in Eastbourne and then studied A levels in a boarding school (Concord College) in Shrewsbury and achieved 3 A grades and distinction in the special papers within one year (1985). He graduated (MB, BS) from the University of London in 1990. Kefah was a phenomenal self learner (attended lectures only occasionally) and was awarded several prestigious prizes during his undergraduate medical training and achieved the highest score in General Medicine (MB,BS finals) at The London Hospital Medical College. He qualified as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS, England) in 1994. He was granted the Master of Surgery degree in 2000 by The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine for his research in the field of molecular biology of breast cancer.

In 2002, Mokbel was appointed an Honorary Professor at The Brunel Institute of Cancer Genetics and Pharmacogenomics at Brunel University in recognition of his contribution to breast cancer research.[4] In 2005, he was appointed as a Reader in Breast Surgery at St. George’s University of London in recognition of his outstanding research contribution in the field of breast cancer.[5]

Mokbel's clinical interests in the field of breast surgery include the early detection of breast cancer, breast ductoscopy, minimally-invasive breast surgery, sentinel node biopsy, skin-sparing mastectomy, breast reconstruction, cosmetic breast surgery, prevention of breast cancer, genetic predisposition, integrative oncology and the management of benign conditions including breast cysts, mastalgia and fibroadenomas.[6] Mokbel has extensive experience in the field of reconstructive and aesthetic breast surgery including augmentation mammoplasty (replacement of implants and correction of contracture), reduction mammoplasty and mastopexy.

Kefah Mokbel's main research interest lies in the field of molecular biology and the clinical management of breast cancer. Furthermore he has published several papers in the field of aesthetic breast surgery including breast reconstruction following mastectomy and augmentation mammoplasty using implants and fat transfer. His prolific research output includes over 300 published papers[7] in medical literature. According to Google Scholar Kefah Mokbel has 350 publications [8] which have been cited more than 7000 times with a H-index of 50 and an i10-index of 167. Furthermore, his research linked the SET domain containing protein 2 (SETD2) gene to human breast cancer.[9] He has also written 14 books[10] in various disciplines including surgery, oncology, breast cancer, and postgraduate medical education. Mokbel is a member of the editorial board of several international medical journals...[11][12][13][14][15] and a peer reviewer for leading medical journals including The Lancet. Mokbel has supervised and examined a significant number of higher postgraduate degrees in the field of breast cancer including PhD, MSc, MD and Master of Surgery degrees.

In October 2017 Professor Mokbel and his team reported through a metaanalysis that the use of hair dyes could be associated with a 20% increase in breast cancer risk.[16]

In October 2018, Professor Mokbel and his team reported that the use of testosterone gel for hyposexual desire might not increase breast cancer risk among women using it.[17]

Kefah Mokbel has been also featured in many publications and interviews regarding breast cancer and surgery in the national and international media including: The Times,[18] The Daily Telegraph,[19] The Guardian,[20] New York Post, The BBC,[21] ITV, NBC Washington,[22] Hello Magazine,[23] ABC News,[24] , MSN, Yahoo, The Daily Express,[25] The Independent,[26], The Medical Daily,[27]The Evening Standard.,[28] The Mirror.[29], Marie Claire and British Sky Broadcasting.[30] He also writes medical articles for totalhealth and is one of totalhealth's specialist consultants.[31][32] In 2013, Kefah Mokbel featured on BBC world news regarding the news that actress Angelina Jolie had preventative double mastectomy after finding that she is a BRCA1 gene carrier[33] He was depicted by Silas Carson in the BBC drama The C Word, about his real-life patient Lisa Lynch.[34]

Kefah Mokbel is currently the Director of Breast Surgery at The London Breast Institute of The Princess Grace Hospital, chair of the multidisciplinary breast cancer program of the London Breast Institute, Professor (Honorary) of Breast Cancer Surgery (Brunel University, London), Honorary Consultant Breast Surgeon at St. George’s Hospital (London, UK) and President of Breast Cancer Hope Foundation. He is a member of the editorial board of several international medical journals and a member of the medical advisory committee at the Princess Grace Hospital. Furthermore he is a member of the editorial boards of several international medical journals.

• Princess Grace Hospital, London
• Breast Cancer Hope
• Breastspecialist.co.uk
• The London Breast Institute