37th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Gathers 7,500 People BioNews Texas

Last Saturday, December 13, the 37th annual edition of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium gathered more than 7,500 physicians, investigators, advocates and journalists from all over the world with the purpose of discussing the latest data on basic, translational, and clinical breast cancer research being conducted throughout the world. The meeting, which was organized by Baylor College of Medicine, the American Association of Cancer Research and the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, has become one of the major events regarding breast cancer research in the world today.

During the event, the attendees focused on the importance of clinical research and debated recent studies such as a clinical trial conducted at the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, novel findings regarding an adjuvant treatment administrated after initial therapy in order to suppress the formation of a tumor-like chemotherapy, and neoadjuvant treatment administrated before first line therapy in order to reduce the tumor. In addition, endocrine and targeted therapies, and research for the harnessing of the immune system were also discussed, as well as studies that revealed new mechanisms and pathways that are thought to be able to bring new targets and predictive factors to cancer treatment.

[adrotate group=”15″]The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium has become a significant event for breast cancer investigators, with event sponsors BCM contributing to the research aspect of the event since 2005. In addition, the facility’s Duncan Cancer Center Director Kent Osborne has served as the co-chair of the meeting since 1992 — during his entire tenure at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.

This year, several faculty members at BCM participated in the symposium, leading panels, moderating roundtable discussions, and directing educational, basic and general scientific sessions. The director of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor, Matthew Ellis, was responsible for one of only three special lectures presented at the event. The physician is a pioneer in the field of genomics and molecular profiling of breast cancer.

During the symposium, Ellis launched the debate on the navigation of the “therapeutic roadmap” based on the available data regarding mutated genes responsible for cancer development. Osborne, on the other hand, was in charge of closing the meeting with the moderation of a debate called “Year in Review” with honored experts with the purpose of reporting the major developments in the area of breast cancer that happened during the last year.