Program

Development of novel drug therapies will be discussed, showing the process of how a drug is selected from various candidates to be examined before conducting a first-in-human study.

Current and future directions for future development of novel drug therapies will be discussed, focusing on how a global clinical study overseas is proposed and developed, and how the Japanese market is viewed mainly in terms of worldwide development.

By looking back on my journey of 16 years in clinical and basic research and 22 years in breast cancer treatment, I will send a message to physicians contributing to future generations.

In the session, our activities in Japan and overseas will be introduced to discuss future challenges in the training of future generations leaders.

We would discuss about the appropriate indications of chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and molecular targeted therapy, based on the biological background of each type of agents.

We would review the clinical development of new anti-HER2 therapies and discuss about their positioning.

Therapeutic strategies against triple-negative breast cancer will be discussed by experts in individual fields, mainly covering PARP inhibitors against homologous recombination deficiency and the neoantigen- and cGAS-STING-activated tumor-immune systems triggered by DNA damage.

Survivorship care has become increasingly important for support of the recuperation and lives of breast cancer patients. This symposium will discuss the evidence and practice for exercise, women’s healthcare, psychosocial support, PRO, and advance care planning, including perspectives on medical cooperation and medical economics.

Mammography and ultrasonography are widely used for everything from breast cancer screening to diagnostic settings of breast cancer. In recent years, tomosynthesis and ABUS, which generate huge amounts of image data, have increased the burden on the diagnostic radiologist.
In order to reduce the burden on the physician, artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance with technical improvements, and some AI-based medical devices have been approved. This session shares information on the current status of AI in breast imaging and the potential for introduction of the AI into medical practice in the future.

Promotion services for fertility preservation were initiated in 2021. Fertility preservation in breast cancer patients who desire to bear children became one of the standards of care, leading to demand for more rapid establishment of a coordinated approach with cancer treatment and reproductive medicine. On the other hand, post-treatment pregnancy/delivery in breast cancer patients is an area requiring coordinated decision-making of the patient and healthcare professionals, frequently showing uncertain evidence. This session will discuss evidence on fertility preservation and post-treatment pregnancy/delivery as well as future challenges for breast cancer patients.

BRCA is now examined as a routine aspect of mammary care. This session will discuss other types of hereditary breast cancer related to factors such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome in patients with early-onset breast cancer tested negative for BRCA, hereditary breast cancer as a secondary finding identified by a cancer gene panel, and genetic services following BRCA gene testing for mammary care, including the introduction of a multigene panel for the germ line.

Genome medicine provides treatments coordinated for individual conditions based on gene alterations in cancer patients. Although drug therapies based on gene alterations are mainly conducted as the current genome medicine, it is expected that genomic data of patients will be also used for variety of treatment methods such as radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Further, genome medicine in the broad sense includes risk-reducing surgery and surveillance for hereditary breast cancer. Regarding the role of genome medicine in breast care, the outcomes to date and future possibilities will be considered from a wide perspective to discuss future challenges.

The roles of radiotherapy for breast cancer are changing as progress is made with surgical and drug therapies. In addition, adverse events, particularly late adverse events, continue to decrease with advances in radiotherapy technology. Radiotherapy is effective in various cases of breast cancer treatment. Active treatments for improving prognosis in oligomestastasis have attracted attention in recent years. This symposium will introduce technical advances and new trends for radiotherapy, followed by a discussion focusing on the current status and issues with encouraging broad use of the treatment in Japan.

HRQOL, which has frequently been included as a secondary endpoint in clinical studies, is also selected as a primary endpoint in some research. The challenges, usability, and future development of HRQOL used as an endpoint in clinical studies will be described.

Pathological diagnosis such as histological diagnosis, immunohistochemistry, and ISH method plays an important role in many evaluations and judgments of treatment policy decisions for breast cancer treatment. Recently, high-throughput genome analysis and gene analysis techniques are being applied one after another to breast cancer treatment, such as multigene assays, oncogene panel tests, and blood cfDNA. Furthermore, machine learning for pathological digital images and analysis of artificial intelligence using neural networks and statistical methods are also progressing in the field of histopathology. Under these circumstances, we would like to consider how the field of pathological diagnosis can confront these new fields, show their uniqueness and superiority, introduce them, and develop the field of pathology.

This session will show a video introducing oncoplastic surgery, procedures for axillary node dissection, and treatments of benign conditions.

Since mammary carcinoma that develops in the breast, an organ related to reproduction, can change the patients’ body image and clothing after surgery, and anticancer treatment can affect patients’ sexual lives and cause hair loss, there may be significant impact on patients’ sexuality. Sexuality is a private issue that is often difficult for patients to discuss with others. Despite being aware of this, healthcare professionals frequently cannot be involved in the issues directly. We hope that this session will provide you with an opportunity to consider the sexuality issues faced by breast cancer patients and methods of support in actual clinical practice.

For the selection and continuation of treatments with full understanding by patients receiving breast cancer treatment, support and psychiatric intervention for anxiety and depressive states are required so as to prevent patients from being isolated. Due to the ongoing pandemic, patients and their families often worry about infection with COVID-19 and therefore hesitate to visit medical institutions with various pains. We hope this session will provide an opportunity to consider the ideal methods of selecting a treatment while helping to ensure the continuation of treatment supporting breast cancer patients as well as the “emotional” state of the patients and their families during the pandemic.

Protocol-based Pharmacotherapy Management (PBPM) refers to implementation of a drug treatment by pharmacists using their pharmacological knowledge and techniques in cooperation with physicians and other professionals according to protocol agreed in advance with the physicians, pharmacists, and other professionals.
Practice of PBPM is expected to improve the quality of drug treatment and ensure safety in reducing the workload on physicians by exercising the pharmacists’ professional skills, resulting in an outstanding contribution to the development of future team medicine. In this session, physicians and pharmacists who have actually conducted PBPM will speak about the benefits and how it is applied.

Protocol-based Pharmacotherapy Management (PBPM) refers to implementation of a drug treatment by pharmacists using their pharmacological knowledge and techniques in cooperation with physicians and other professionals according to protocol agreed in advance with the physicians, pharmacists, and other professionals.
Practice of PBPM is expected to improve the quality of drug treatment and ensure safety in reducing the workload on physicians by exercising the pharmacists’ professional skills, resulting in an outstanding contribution to the development of future team medicine. In this session, physicians and pharmacists who have actually conducted PBPM will speak about the benefits and how it is applied.