Bio

Dr. Thompson is a board-certified general surgeon and fellowship-trained breast surgical oncology. She is a clinical assistant professor of surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Medical Director for the Office of Cancer Health Equity. She is also a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Thompson clinical interests include treatment of women and men who have breast cancer, benign breast disease, genetic mutations, family history of breast cancer, or other breast cancer risk factors. Procedures performed by Dr. Thompson include lumpectomies (partial mastectomies) using oncoplastic techniques and hidden scar methods, skin- and nipple-sparing mastectomies, simple mastectomies with aesthetically flat closure, oncoplastic procedures, benign breast lesion excisions, axillary node dissections, and sentinel lymph node biopsies.

She completed a breast surgical oncology fellowship at Stanford University under the mentorship of one of the world’s foremost experts in the field. She completed her general surgery training at Georgetown University, where she was the co-administrative chief resident. She is passionate about equitable care and addressing healthcare disparities, especially in breast cancer.

Dr. Thompson works closely with medical oncology, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, genetics, and other breast cancer specialists in a multidisciplinary setting to provide high quality, evidence-based, and individualized care. Dr. Thompson is a strong advocate for patient education and empowerment and strives to deliver compassionate care to patients and their families.

Her research has focused on Nipple Sparing Mastectomies, Community Engagement for Breast Cancer in the Black Community, Immune responses during breast cancer treatment, and prognostic role of Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the management of breast cancer. She also has strong research interests in community engagement, health disparities, oncoplastic surgical options, and cancer biomarkers. She has delivered presentations on a wide range of topics related to breast cancer at national and regional meetings including NRG Oncology, ASBrS, ASC.

For her scholarship and research achievements, Dr. Thompson has won numerous honors and awards. She has earned the resident teaching award during her chief year at Georgetown. She was awarded the Stanford Cancer Institute Clinical Innovation Fund Grant for her work in educating the Black Community about Breast Health and Breast Cancer (2022). She was also awarded the prestigious NCI Early-Surgeon Scientist Program (ESSP) Award to support her early career as a surgeon scientist(2024). She also serves on the AAS Academic Advancement Committee, NRG Oncology Surgical Oncology Committee, NCCN Breast Screening and Diagnosis Panel, and TOUCH Black Breast Advisor for Pink Table Talk.


Dr. Thompson is a member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS), Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO), Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS), Association of Women Surgeons (AWS), National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), and American Medical Association (AMA).

Outside of work, Dr. Thompson enjoys pilates, tennis, baking, sewing, wine tasting, and traveling.

Clinical Focus

  • General Surgery
  • Breast Surgical Oncology
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cancer Biomarkers
  • Cancer Health Equity
  • Benign Breast Disease

Academic Appointments

Professional Education

  • FACS, American College of Surgeons (2025)
  • MSc, Stanford University, Epidemiology and Clinical Research (2025)
  • Fellowship: Stanford School of Medicine (2022) CA
  • Board Certification: American Board of Surgery, General Surgery (2021)
  • Residency: Medstar Georgetown University General Surgery Residency (2021) DC
  • Internship: MedStar Washington Hospital Surgery Program (2016) DC
  • Medical Education: Howard University College of Medicine (2015) DC

Contact

  • Academic
    cnt133@stanford.edu
    Department: Surgery - General Surgery Position: Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Clinical (Primary)  Stanford Emeryville Cancer Center 5800 Hollis St Pod A 4th Floor Emeryville, CA 94608 (510) 974-2428 (fax)

Additional Clinical Info

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5641

All Publications

  • Comparison of Two Wireless Localization Technologies for Removal of Non-palpable Breast Lesions: SCOUTRadar Reflector and PintuitionMagnetic Seed. Annals of surgical oncology Chinn, J., Earley, M., Dashevsky, B. Z., Stone, K., Thompson, C. N., Bao, J. 2025

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: The SCOUT radar reflector (SCOUT) is a common wireless technology used for removal of non-palpable breast lesions. The Pintuition magnetic seed (Pintuition) utilizes a magnetic marker encapsulated in nickel-free titanium. This is the first study comparing surgical outcomes of SCOUT and Pintuition.METHODS: A retrospective, single-institution review was conducted evaluating lumpectomies and excisional biopsies of non-palpable breast lesions performed between May 2022 and July 2024 utilizing wireless localization for intraoperative guidance. The SCOUT was the only wireless option at our institution prior to June 2023, at which time the Pintuition seed became available. Patients with multiple localizations or oncoplastic reconstruction were excluded. Patient characteristics, procedure type, lesion characteristics, positive margin, and re-excision rates were compared using the Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests for categorical variables and Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables. Generalized linear models were used to compare surgery length and specimen volume.RESULTS: Of 90 lesions identified, 45 were localized by SCOUT and 45 by Pintuition. Age, body mass index (BMI), surgery type, neoadjuvant therapy, total specimen volume, pathologic cancer size, positive margin, and margin re-excision rates were not found to differ by device. All Pintuition seeds were removed on index operation, whereas one SCOUT was not. Surgery length was significantly shorter for Pintuition cases compared with SCOUT (median 37 min vs. 50 min; p=0.006). One patient in each group required margin re-excision.CONCLUSIONS: Operative time was significantly shorter for Pintuition cases. Pintuition represents a reliable and effective wireless localization technique. Considerations need to be given to nuanced features of each device.

    View details for DOI 10.1245/s10434-025-18354-x

    View details for PubMedID 40946252

  • Primary breast arteriovenous malformation in a patient with Cowden syndrome and bilateral ductal carcinoma in situ: a case report ANNALS OF BREAST SURGERY Anderson, T. N., Thompson, C. N., Hovsepian, D. M., Josephs, S. C., Dirbas, F. M. 2024; 8

    View details for DOI 10.21037/abs-23-81

    View details for Web of Science ID 001391316400005

  • Use of surgery for de novo metastatic breast cancer (mBC) Dickerson, J., Tang, H., Thompson, C., Gomez, S. L., Satoyoshi, M., Kurian, A. W., Caswell-Jin, J. LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. 2024

    View details for Web of Science ID 001275557400315

  • Residual cancer burden in two-stage nipple sparing mastectomy after first stage lumpectomy and devascularization of the nipple areolar complex. Breast cancer research and treatment Thompson, C. N., Chandler, J., Ju, T., Tsai, J., Wapnir, I. 2024

    Abstract

    Ischemic complications after nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) can be ameliorated by 2-stage procedures wherein devascularization of the nipple-areolar complex (NAC) and lumpectomy with or without nodal staging surgery is performed first (1S), weeks prior to a completion NSM (2S). We report the time interval between procedures in relation to the presence of residual carcinoma at 2S NSM.Women with breast cancer who received 2S NSM from 2015 to 2022 were identified. Both patient level and breast level analyses were conducted. Clinical staging at presentation, pathologic staging at 1S and residual disease at 2S pathology are noted. Residual disease was classified as microscopic (1-2 mm), minimal (3-10 mm), and moderate (> 10 mm).59 patients (108 breasts) underwent 2S NSM. The median time interval between 1 and 2S for all patients was 34 days: 31 days for upfront surgery invasive cancer, 41 days for upfront DCIS surgery and 31 days for those receiving neoadjuvant therapy. Completion NSM was performed within 6 weeks for 72% of the breasts analyzed. Of the 53 breasts with invasive cancer on 1S pathology, 35% (19/53) had no residual invasive disease and 24.5% (13/53) had neither residual invasive nor in situ carcinoma on final 2S. Among the 50 women who had upfront surgery, 16 (32%) had residual invasive cancer found at 2S NSM, 9 of which had less than or equal to 1 cm disease.Invasive cancers were completely resected during 1S procedure in 65% of breasts. Residual disease was minimal and there was only one case of upstaging at 2S. Added time of two-stage surgery is offset by a reduction in ischemic mastectomy flap complications.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s10549-024-07348-0

    View details for PubMedID 38713288

    View details for PubMedCentralID 5293653

  • Primary breast arteriovenous malformation in a patient with Cowden syndrome and bilateral ductal carcinoma in situ: a case report Anderson, T. N., Thompson, C. N., Hovsepian, D., Josephs, S., Dirbas, F. Annals of Breast Surgery. https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/abs-23-8. 2024
  • Internal Mammary Perforator Preserving Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy (IMP-NSM) to Reduce Ischemic Complications Journal of Medical Insight Karin, M., Momeni, A., Thompson, C. N. 2023

    View details for DOI 10.24296/jomi/365

  • Two-stage nipple-sparing mastectomy does not compromise oncologic safety Thompson, C., Chandler, J., Ju, T., Wapnir, I., Tsai, J. SPRINGER. 2022: 204-205

    View details for Web of Science ID 000780965900146