Ian Kunkler, Consultant Clinical Oncologist and Honorary Professor of Clinical Oncology at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, has been named in TIME’S 2026 TIME100 Health List of the World’s Most Influential Leaders in Health. The 2026 TIME100 Health edition spotlights the 100 most influential leaders in health this year who have pushed ahead new ideas - from gene therapies to regulatory agencies - to build healthier populations around the world. Breast cancer trials Professor Kunkler, who leads a team involved in clinical and translational trials of radiotherapy in early breast cancer, was recognised for his work to cut unnecessary cancer treatments.Results from the large international SUPREMO (Selective Use of Postoperative Radiotherapy after Mastectomy) clinical trial, published last year, found that patients with early-stage breast cancer who underwent a mastectomy had similar 10-year survival rates whether or not they received radiotherapy. Radiation treatment is one of the well-established ways to kill any cancer cells that surgeons can’t find or remove. But it comes with a price - damaging some healthy tissue and organs, as well as raising the risk of additional cancer. Professor Ian Kunkler showed in a study published in 2025 in the New England Journal of Medicine that women with early stage breast cancer who skipped radiation treatment after getting a mastectomy were just as likely to survive to 10 years as women who received radiation.The results are part of a growing body of evidence supporting the 'less is more' approach that takes advantage of more sophisticated ways to stratify patients by their risk and better match them to the most effective treatments while avoiding exposing them to unnecessary harms. TIME100 This TIME100 Health award recognises a huge multidisciplinary international team effort in breast cancer clinical trials which I have had the privilege to lead for the University of Edinburgh, and all of the patients who have participated in these trials. Ian Kunkler Consultant Clinical Oncologist and Honorary Professor of Clinical Oncology Links TIME100 list Ian Kunkler Research Group Tags 2026 Publication date 11 Feb, 2026
