Dr. Starr K. Mautner

05/30/2025

A pathologic complete response or “pCR” is defined as the absence of invasive cancer in the breast and lymph nodes at the time of surgery, AKA the best news you can give a breast cancer patient who just finished chemotherapy!
Lately, I’ve had several pathology reports showing pCRs in my patients.
You may be wondering why this is important and why do we even give chemotherapy prior to surgery?
A patient’s cancer stage at diagnosis (tumor size and lymph node status) and tumor receptor status (ER/PR/HER2) help determine if they are a candidate to receive chemotherapy before having surgery, known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The goal in giving aggressive medical treatment before surgery is to attempt to shrink and downstage the tumor, allowing for a smaller and more successful surgery, while monitoring the in vivo response to therapy of the tumor. Certain aggressive cancers respond very well to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, specifically “triple negative” (ER-/PR-/HER2-) and “HER2+” tumors. For these tumors, a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy can produce up to a 50-70% pCR rate, meaning that at the time of surgery there is no viable tumor seen within the breast tissue or lymph nodes. Instead, we just find fibrosis and scar tissue, where there was previously cancer seen. These patients are often spared a full axillary dissection and mastectomy patients with a pCR can now safely omit radiation therapy. This will result in lower rates of lymphedema and side effects from surgery. None of this would be possible without the clinical trials that proved these treatments to be successful! This is why it is so important to keep moving the needle forward when it comes to breast cancer research. Treatments continue to improve, leading to better outcomes and less surgical side effects for our patients.
Happy patients=happy doctors! Happy Friday!

05/11/2025

04/01/2025

It’s April 1st and I’m back from Spring break vacation to remind you that whether you have 2 humps, 1 hump, or no humps it’s time to .
Fun fact- these one hu**ed Arabian camels we rode in the Sahara desert are actually called Dromedaries and are found in the deserts and scrublands of North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. They are the tallest of the camel species and their humps store fat, which can be metabolized for energy and water when needed. Breast tissue is also largely made up of fat and parenchymal tissue but it’s too bad we can’t metabolize that for energy when needed!
Swipe through for more of my favorite shots from our recent adventure through Morocco.

02/25/2025

One of my amazing patients authored a book to explain to her young children that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I get asked often by my young patients how and what to tell their kids about their diagnosis and treatment. This book not only sums it up perfectly in a very relatable and non-scary way, but turns mom into a cancer conquering super hero that she truly is! Congrats on your amazing book and victory over cancer. You are a warrior! The book is now available on Amazon in English and Spanish!

02/03/2025

Still thinking about ! Crossing the finish line with exactly a year after her breast cancer diagnosis was the most amazing full circle moment for us both. Running alongside us was my friend and colleague Dr. Kate Lampen-Sachar. We also met up with , another badass cancer warrior, who ran with me for my first half marathon 3 years ago after she finished her cancer treatment and led Team this year! Congrats to the 18,000 runners that crossed the finish line yesterday on the most humid Miami morning!!! 💪🏃‍♀️

01/24/2025

Join me, , and the MCI All Stars on March 15 for Bounce Back from Cancer! It’s a great way to get some exercise while raising money to expand clinical trials, research and special programming for our patients at MCI. We’ve raised over $2 million so far with a goal to raise $5 million!
Register at https://p2p.onecause.com/bouncebackfromcancer

11/20/2024

Still thinking about “The M Factor” and this incredible event I was a part of on Monday night. Thank you to Dr. Jila Senemar for inviting me to speak, to Tina van der Ven for ensuring a successful event and knocking it out of the park, and to Laurie Jennings for being such an amazing moderator and keeping a packed room of menopausal women cool, calm, and entertained even when the power went out!
Whether you are suffering through menopause due to natural aging or due to the treatment or prevention of cancer, “The M Factor” urges women not to suffer in silence. For some women, the benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) will outweigh the risks and for others systemic HRT will always be contraindicated. There are hormonal and non-hormonal options to manage the symptoms of menopause. Regardless of your risk, knowing what options you have and at least having the conversation about what is safe to use with your gynecologist is the take home message. Thank you to “The M Factor” for starting this important conversation!

11/20/2024

The 2025 Pin Up Calendar has arrived! This year the calendar profits go to to help women going through cancer treatment in South Florida. Several of my patients have been featured in the calendar in prior years and I was honored to be this year’s “Ms. January” alongside (Ms. March) and (Ms. December)! Calendars are now available for purchase and I can even get you a signed copy for $25 😉

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10/17/2024

Congratulations to Michael Katz (and the entire Katz family) on being named chairman of the Baptist Health Foundation! We celebrated together earlier this month at The Baptist Health Grand Gala which raised $5 million dollars and was an unforgettable night with entertainment by Marc Anthony. Under Michael’s leadership, I have no doubt that philanthropic support for the Foundation will continue to grow and lead to extraordinary opportunities for patient care, innovation and expertise at Baptist.

10/16/2024

Lastnight I was honored by the city of Miami Beach with a Cancer Hero Oncology Provider of the Year Award. The night was made more special because my daughter was there to accept the award with me. It’s never too early to show your kids what you do for work or in the community and why it’s important! 💪