Richard L. Shapiro, MD

I provide advanced surgical care to patients with malignant melanoma, breast cancer, and a variety of other skin cancers and soft tissue tumors, such as Merkel cell carcinoma and sarcomas. My goal, through personalized treatments provided in a compassionate environment, is to help people return to their everyday lives as quickly as possible.

To make that transition as seamless and comfortable as possible, I carefully consider the cosmetic outcomes of surgical treatment. I achieve successful results through meticulous attention to detail and have refined minimally invasive procedures. I am an expert in the oncoplastic techniques required to achieve optimal results in breast conserving surgery, and I utilize complex repair and tissue rearrangement when required after melanoma and soft tissue tumor resection on all parts of the body, including the face and scalp.

I was one of the first surgeons to perform, evaluate, and refine the surgical techniques for sentinel lymph node mapping and biopsy, and I have incorporated these processes successfully into treatment of patients with melanoma, breast cancer, and other skin and soft tissue tumors.

I have been a leader in the performance of nipple areola sparing mastectomy, and have the earliest and the most extensive and successful experience with this technique at our medical center.

Throughout my years at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, I have been closely involved in the development and application of melanoma treatment vaccines designed to stimulate the body’s immune response to an existing melanoma. I have personally treated more than 700 patients using immunotherapy, and I have served as an investigator in many clinical trials that involved people with melanoma and breast cancer. As a faculty member at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, I work closely with students, residents, and fellows to educate them on how to attend to the medical and emotional needs of patients and their families.

I have published more than 125 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and abstracts in the field of surgical oncology, lectured regionally and internationally at conferences, and have appeared in various media outlets. I was featured in an Emmy-award winning television special that addressed the treatment of young women with breast cancer. I frequently am invited to speak at patient oriented support events, including SHARE, helping people with cancer and their families to better understand a diagnosis, as well as their treatment options.

I have been an active member in medical societies, including the American College of Surgeons, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Association for Academic Surgery, and the American Society of Breast Surgeons. I am honored to be consistently recognized in “America’s Top Doctors” for cancer and “Top Doctors” for the New York Metro Area by Castle Connolly, as well as in New York Magazine’s “Best Doctors in New York” feature.

In 2013, I was chosen as the sole physician honoree at the annual NYU Cancer Institute Gala where more than $1.7 million was raised. To date, more than $11 million has been donated in my name to NYU Langone Medical Center to support our multidisciplinary melanoma and breast cancer programs and our Department of Surgery.