2015 Breast Cancer Symposium to Encourage Collaboration in Patient Care, Education, and Research

ASCO’s educational symposia have historically provided attendees with a forum for learning and discussion, demonstrating ASCO’s commitment to promoting a network of global oncology expertise. The 2015 Breast Cancer Symposium, to be held in San Francisco, California, from Friday, September 25, to Sunday, September 27, will be no exception. It will bring together attendees from all disciplines of oncology practice and research to exchange ideas and learn from each other, with the ultimate goal of improving patient care.

The theme for this year’s Symposium—Enhancing Clinical Care Through Collaboration—highlights the importance of cross-disciplinary interaction and cooperation in making progress against breast cancer. ASCO will cosponsor the Symposium with the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American Society of Radiation Oncology, and the Society of Surgical Oncology.

Truly Multidisciplinary

The Breast Cancer Symposium is open to all members of the oncology community interested in the prevention, screening, evaluation, and management of breast cancer, resulting in a diverse group of attendees and a vibrant setting for discussion. Medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, and other members of the cancer care team will find ample opportunities to make connections with other breast cancer specialists and expand their professional networks.

With an educational program designed to be as multifaceted as its attendees, the Symposium will highlight progress in the field of breast cancer management and examine promising directions for future research. Sessions on topics ranging from risk assessment to survivorship care will feature presentations from a variety of perspectives, ensuring that all attendees are able to expand their breast cancer knowledge in every session.

Featured Sessions

This year’s Symposium will feature multidisciplinary sessions to encourage collaboration in patient care, education, and research advancements, as exemplified in the Featured Sessions here. The most up-to-date program information, including session times, speakers, and presentation topics, is available on breastcasym.org.

General Session 1: State-of-the-Art Breast Cancer Care–Past, Present, and Future

In this session, Eric P. Winer, MD, FASCO, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Eleftherios P. Mamounas, MD, of the UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health, and Timothy J. Whelan, BM, BCh, MSc, of Cancer Care Ontario, will discuss where we are and where we are going in medical, surgical, and radiation oncology and correlate science with current clinical issues. The presentations will include lessons learned from past practice and how they apply to outstanding issues in the management of breast cancer. To continue the conversation, this session will be followed by a session on the future of therapy, including ongoing trials and where the field is headed next.

General Session 5: Health Policy and Drug Approvals

The legislative and regulatory environment strongly affects the management of breast cancer, and this session will focus on key issues of the day, including breast density legislation, how the Affordable Care Act is changing oncology practice, and the process for U.S. Food and Drug Administration drug approvals, including ways of getting drugs to patients sooner. Session faculty includes Otis W. Brawley, MD, ­FASCO, of the American Cancer Society, Jafi Alyssa Lipson, MD, of Stanford University School of Medicine, and Suparna B. Wedam, MD, of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

General Session 7: Genomics and Personalized/Precision Medicine

Personalized precision medicine is gaining prevalence in current clinical practice, with multiple omics technologies already in use and in development. In this session, Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FASCO, of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Nancy E. Davidson, MD, FASCO, of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, will discuss omics as they are applicable in the clinic and how they may be used in clinical trials. The session will cover the use of whole-genome sequencing in the prediction, detection, and management of disease. After the didactic presentations, the speakers will participate in a case discussion, highlighting real-world issues in the context of the session.

Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award

The ASCO Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award and Lecture will also be presented at the Symposium. First given in 2007, it recognizes an active clinical and/or translational researcher with a distinguished record of accomplishments in advancing the field of breast cancer. The award also provides $50,000 to a fellow in the institution of the award recipient.

This year’s recipient is Matthew ­Ellis, MD, PhD, Director of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center and Professor of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine. A renowned clinician scientist in the area of genomics and molecular profiling of breast cancer, Dr. Ellis has been instrumental in developing a Genome Atlas and Therapeutic Road Map for estrogen receptor­–positive breast cancer. He also pioneered research into the clinical relevance of activating mutations in HER2 and in the deployment of patient-derived xenografts for the pharmacological annotation of breast cancer genomes. He is co-leader for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Breast Project and Co-Principal Investigator for the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium, which endeavors to translate TCGA genomic discoveries into protein-based biomarkers with clinical utility.

The 2015 Breast Cancer Symposium hotel reservation and early registration deadline is August 19, 2015. For more information and to register, please visit breastcasym.org. ■