MULTIDISCIPLINARY

BREAST CANCER SYMPOSIUM

SAVE THE DATE | FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2026

COURSE DIRECTORS | Nan Chen, MD & Rita Nanda, MD

KEYNOTE SPEAKER | Daniel Stover, MD

LOCATION | Westin Michigan Ave

Practice Gap/Needs Assessment

Breast cancer management is continually advancing, with new research findings, innovative treatments, and multidisciplinary approaches rapidly emerging. To ensure the best possible outcomes for breast cancer patients, healthcare professionals who provide care to these patients must stay up-to-date with the latest developments. Through discussions with clinicians and a review of recent and emerging literature, the planning committee identified the most urgent educational needs for clinicians in this area. These areas include how to deploy emerging systemic therapies into practice, exploring controversies in breast cancer surgical management, and identifying best practices to manage difficult cases not addressed in current guidelines. This information will be instrumental in tailoring the conference program to address the identified knowledge gaps, learning preferences, and challenges, ultimately leading to improved clinician performance and, by extension, better patient outcomes in the dynamic field of breast cancer management.

Goals

This activity will improve the care of patients with breast cancer. To achieve this, it will discuss best practices and controversies in managing breast cancer, encompassing medical, surgical, and reconstructive and radiation oncology. We will also focus on 2 important, timely topics affecting breast cancer patients: (1) emerging ctDNA and liquid biopsy techniques and (2) management of common side effects including sexual dysfunction, hair loss, and lymphedema. Additionally, participants will gain skills that can easily be incorporated into clinical practice, improving care and outcomes for those with breast cancer. This activity will discuss practice-changing developments from this past year and review promising drugs currently in late phases of development that may soon enter the clinical care setting. This activity will ultimately educate participants on best practices to manage all subtypes of breast cancer as well as survivors of breast cancer.

Target Audience

This activity is designed for physicians and other healthcare professionals caring for patients with breast cancer.

Outcomes

Participants will have improved knowledge of up-to-date innovations in breast cancer management. They will gain skills to manage systemic and local treatment toxicities, improve surgical decision-making, improve the care of breast cancer survivors, and provide appropriate supportive care during cancer treatment.

Learning Objectives

After this activity, participants will be able to:

  • Identify the principles and best practices utilizing ctDNA in breast cancer

  • Discuss changes in surgical management of breast cancer including de-escalation of axillary surgery

  • Illustrate how the latest key research findings can be applied to improve clinical care and treatment strategies for patients with breast cancer

  • Describe how to manage common toxicities of novel therapies for breast cancer, including antibody-drug conjugates and novel endocrine therapies

  • Understand the principles of management of common side effects of breast cancer therapies including sexual dysfunction, hair loss, and lymphedema