Clinical masterclass series - Episode 1: Surgical oncology – ultra conservative to ultra radical

Professor Humphrey Scott has been appointed Dean of the Royal Society of Medicine, a leading provider of postgraduate education and learning to the medical profession and wider healthcare teams. 

Humphrey Scott is a consultant general and colorectal surgeon working in the NHS and is Head of the School of Surgery and Associate Dean for Health Education Kent, Surrey and Sussex. He is Visiting Professor in Medical Education at Canterbury Christ Church University and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Educators and the Faculty of Surgical Trainers. In 2012 Prof Scott was awarded the 2012 Silver Scalpel for Trainer of the Year by the Association of Surgeons in Training.

Tamzin Cuming is a Consultant in Colorectal Surgery with a special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) and the prevention of anal squamous cell carcinoma. She is the lead for the Homerton Anogenital Neoplasia Service which is the largest AIN detection and treatment service in the UK. She has now additionally opened an AIN service at CCL.  

Tamzin was educated at Queen Elizabeth’s School in Faversham, Kent and Newnham College Cambridge, completing her medical degree at Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospitals in London. She trained Brighton, followed by the South and then North East Training Programmes, including a period of flexible training while her three children were young. After her training, she undertook a Masters in Surgical Education at Imperial and a Fellowship in Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery in Plymouth.  

During her training she worked at Homerton Hospital and met Dr Mayura Nathan, a worldwide expert in AIN and sexual health physician. Having been inspired, Tamzin returned to take up a Consultant post in colorectal surgery at Homerton which enabled her to learn High Resolution Anoscopy and laser ablation of AIN under Dr Nathan’s tutelage and take over the multidisciplinary HANS on Dr Nathan’s retirement.  

Tamzin is the Vice-President of the International Anal Neoplasia Society and Co-chair of the IANS Education Committee. She teaches a module on the Imperial MEd in Surgical Education and is Chair of the Women in Surgery Forum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Mr. Sacheen Kumar is a Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Surgeon specialising in the treatment of Oesophago-Gastric Cancer, GIST tumours and benign Upper GI conditions. He is also Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Division of Surgery at Imperial College London and Team Leader for the Upper GI Surgical Oncology Research Group in the Division of Radiotherapy & Imaging at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). 

Mr. Kumar qualified in medicine from Imperial College London and undertook his General Surgical Training within the London Deanery. His specialist Upper GI Surgical training was undertaken at Royal Free London, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and University College London Hospitals. Upon completion of his training, he spent time at the National Cancer Centre (NCC) in Seoul learning minimally invasive surgical techniques for Upper GI cancer.  

His postgraduate research was focussed on breath analysis for the early diagnosis of Upper GI cancer. He was awarded his PhD from Imperial College in 2014 and was subsequently appointed to the position of National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Lecturer in Surgery. During his lectureship, he was awarded CRUK postdoctoral funding and supervised several PhD & MSc students. In recognition of his original scientific research, he was elected a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2018.