Today marks the start of the two-day (Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 January) UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium (UKIBCS), hosted by leading UK breast cancer charity, Breast Cancer Now.
Held every two years, the UKIBCS takes place virtually this year as the charity brings together leading experts from across the UK and beyond, to discuss latest developments in breast cancer research and treatment.
Hearing from some of the brightest minds across the field – including researchers, oncologists, radiologists, surgeons, patient advocates and nurse specialists – attendees will consider and discuss latest advances and emerging practices.
And they will discuss how these may impact their areas of expertise.
Topics covered will include: prevention and diagnosis, secondary (metastatic) breast cancer, living with and beyond breast cancer, and our vision for the future of breast cancer management (e.g. personalised screening, radiotherapy and surgery) and research.
Dr Simon Vincent, Director of Research, Support and Influencing at Breast Cancer Now, said:
“Every year, 55,000 women and 370 men are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK alone. Despite decades of progress in research and care, we have a long way to go to stop people dying from this devastating disease.
“Treatment of breast cancer is dependent on the interaction of professionals across many disciplines.
"Equally, research into improving our understanding of this complex disease and prospects for improving its prevention and treatment relies on interdisciplinary collaboration to make meaningful advances.
"Over the past two years, disruption to research and treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic has made innovation and collaboration more critical to progress than ever. And indeed we’ve witnessed collaboration on an unprecedented level in an effort to overcome these challenges.
“That’s why we are so proud to be hosting the UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium, as a forum for world-leading experts to share and discuss latest scientific breakthroughs, and collaborate in setting us on the best possible path towards a time when anyone diagnosed with breast cancer will live and be supported to live well.”
Dr Andreas Makris, Consultant in Clinical Oncology, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre and Organising Committee Chair of the UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium, said:
“As Organising Committee Chair I'm excited that today marks the start of the UK Interdisciplinary Symposium.
"With 2,000 people registered to attend, this is the biggest breast cancer meeting the UK has seen in many years.
“Collaboration is key to progress in breast cancer research and care, and the Symposium is such a valuable opportunity to share latest advances, and to open up discussions across experts who share an active interest in breast cancer research and treatment.
"I hope the meeting will stimulate new ideas and collaborations, allowing us to continue to make the progress so urgently needed by people with breast cancer.”
Professor Fiona Gilbert, Professor of Radiology at University of Cambridge and imaging theme lead for the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, said:
“I'm delighted to be speaking at the UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium.
"I hope the meeting will be a great opportunity to share and learn, and to continue the spirit of collaboration that accelerates progress in breast cancer research.
“My work is focused on early detection of breast cancer and identifying women who are more at risk of developing breast cancer.
"I believe more could be done to diagnose people at high risk at the earliest possible stage, by offering different imaging strategies.
"During my talk, I will outline the latest advances in this area and discuss how we could use this knowledge to tailor the screening service to people’s personal needs.”
Dr Raghavan Vidya, Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon, Breast International Surgical Training Programme lead, Royal College of Surgeons, said:
“We are in an exciting moment for breast cancer prevention, personalised treatment and research.
"Advances in our detecting and understanding of genes and the role they play in breast cancer risk is helping us to personalise treatment plans.
"New emerging technologies including AI and virtual reality could help patients to opt for tailor-made treatments and make surgical procedures as precise as possible.
“I'm excited to participate in the UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium and share my hopes for the future, and learn from other experts.”
For more information about the UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium visit https://ukibcs.org/
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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact the Breast Cancer Now press office on 07436 107914, or email press@breastcancernow.org