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A Legacy Written in Science: Professor Ruffo de Freitas Junior and the History of Mastology
Scientific journals are far more than repositories of knowledge. Over time, they become witnesses to the evolution of a field, recording not only the questions researchers have sought to answer but also changes in clinical practice, institutions, and the specialty itself. In mastology, few researchers have been as closely connected to this evolution as Professor Ruffo de Freitas Junior.
By the numbers, Professor Ruffo is the most prolific author in the journal’s history, with 46 published articles—31 in Revista Brasileira de Mastologia and 15 in Mastology. Yet these figures signify more than an extensive body of scientific work: in many respects, his career mirrors the development of modern mastology in Brazil.
His first article in the journal appeared in 1996, when it was still titled Revista Brasileira de Mastologia. Entitled “Fine-needle aspiration of breast lesions using a self-vacuum device,” the study examined the use of fine-needle aspiration in the diagnosis of breast lesions. Although modest in format, it assumes considerable symbolic importance in retrospect: that first paper marked the beginning of a scientific journey spanning three decades.
In the years that followed, his research addressed central issues in breast care, including diagnostic imaging, fine-needle aspiration, follow-up, and the ultrasonographic features of breast nodules. His 2001 study of factors associated with inadequate specimens after fine-needle aspiration illustrates his sustained commitment to improving diagnostic practice.
Over time, his studies came to encompass the clinical, surgical, epidemiological, and psychosocial dimensions of breast cancer. Research on mammographic screening, mammography quality, regional disparities in mortality, treatment patterns in the public health system, body image, lymphedema, and quality of life reflects a comprehensive view of care. His 2014 study of differences in breast cancer mortality between urban centers and rural areas in Brazil is particularly representative of this perspective, linking breast cancer outcomes to the social and geographical context in which care is delivered.
Education is another important thread running through his career. In 2017, together with collaborators—including the author of this tribute, then a medical student—he published “Undergraduate research: the experience of the Breast Disease Academic League at the Federal University of Goiás,” highlighting the connection between medical education and research. During the same period, his studies of oncoplastic surgery training in Brazil reinforced the idea that professional education could itself be a subject of scientific inquiry.
His more recent work retains this breadth, addressing the quality of information in cancer registries, the quality of screening and diagnosis, access to treatment in the public health system, and multiple aspects of breast surgery. In 2026, he became a coauthor of “Thirty-five years of publications: from Revista Brasileira de Mastologia to Mastology,” an article devoted to the journal’s own scientific trajectory. Few researchers could embody this history so directly: his scholarly output is interwoven with the journal’s evolution.
For me, this trajectory also carries deep personal meaning. I had the privilege of being his student and later of coauthoring several scientific papers with him, including many published in this journal. I am profoundly grateful for his mentorship, the opportunities he provided, and the scientific example he has set throughout this journey.
Looking across his 46 articles in the journal, what matters more than their number is the breadth of the questions they sought to answer. Diagnosis, surgery, screening, epidemiology, quality of care, and professional education together form a body of work that has accompanied the transformation of Brazilian mastology.
Professor Ruffo de Freitas Junior’s name has thus become part of the history of Mastology—not only because of the number of articles he has published, but also because of the continuity of a scientific career that, for nearly three decades, has followed the evolution of the specialty and helped shape its scientific memory. This tribute therefore celebrates not merely a prolific author, but a career devoted to research, education, and the advancement of care for women with breast conditions.
Leonardo Ribeiro Soares
Professor and Research Coordinator, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Goiás.
