Miami Breast Cancer Conference Celebrates 40 Years

Patrick I. Borgen, MD

“Hear it on Friday, use it on Monday” has long been the reigning catchphrase of the Miami Breast Cancer Conference^®. With the conference entering its 40th year and chair Patrick I. Borgen, MD, stepping into his 10th year leading the meeting, it’s a time to reflect on the achievements and advances that have shaped the agendas for this meeting in the past. It’s also a time for thinking about what is yet to come for the field in 2023 and beyond.

“This is a real milestone for us—the 40th anniversary of the most important breast cancer conference maybe in the history of this country,” Borgen said in an interview with OncLive^®.“What’s really exciting is that we’re back together again in the same room. We’re talking about research, trials, and advances in patient [care] together, face-to-face.”

“There’s no single solid tumor in humans where the knowledge base has changed more rapidly or more often than [in] breast cancer,” said Borgen, who is chair of the Department of Surgery at Maimonides Medical Center and head of the Maimonides Breast Center at the Maimonides Cancer Center in Bronx, New York. “What that means is, you have to stay current or there’s a chance that your patient won’t have the best chance of a cure or survival. The Miami Breast Cancer Conference takes the past year of research, trials, and studies and synthesizes it into a package that allows you to be updated in a very practical, very user-friendly way, so that when you go home, you’re confident that you’re offering your patient the best chance of survival.”

The agenda set by this year’s steering committee and cochairs of the meeting—Debu Tripathy, MD; Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO; and Tiffany A. Traina, MD—has been shaped by the recent updates out of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), updates to guideline recommendations over the past year, and the influence of new indications and approvals across subtypes of breast cancer.

Sequencing will be top of mind during the medical track sessions as presenters prepare to contextualize what fits where in the treatment landscape for patients with HER2-positive disease and triple-negative breast cancer.

Presentations will highlight the evolving role of fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu) as it continues to solidify its role as the antibody-drug conjugate of choice in the second-line setting for patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. Updates from the DESTINY-Breast03 trial (NCT03529110) showcased the clinically meaningful improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival over the previous standard of care, ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla).¹

Join William J. Gradishar, MD, FASCO, FACP, for “Sequencing Therapy for Advanced HER2+ Breast Cancer” today at 3:45 pm.

Also making waves in the HER2 space is the renewed focus on classification of pathologic results. With sessions appearing in the general, medical, and nursing tracks, the topic is sure to be on everyone’s radar at this year’s meeting.

Join us this morning for “What Is HER2-Low Breast Cancer?” presented by Jorge S. Reis-Filho, MD, PhD, FRCPath, at 9:40 am.

In the HER2-negative space, treatment with the oral selective estrogen receptor degrader elacestrant (Orserdu) showed marked improvements for patients with ESR1-mutant, estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. The agent was approved by the FDA in January 2023 based on data from the phase 3 EMERALD study (NCT03778931) and is set make its way into the treatment paradigm.² A special CE-certified satellite symposium will address changes in this space.

Join us for “Medical Crossfire^®: The Newest Frontier in HR+ Breast Cancer—Targeting ESR1 Mutations With Next-Generation Endocrine Therapy” tonight at 6:30 pm.

Speaking of debates, the surgical and radiation tracks, led by Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD,

MHCM; and Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, respectively, will feature hot topics in these fields. In surgical oncology, Kelly K. Hunt, MD, FACS, FSSO, will argue the pros in the debate, “Medical Crossfire^®: When Should We Use Targeted Axillary Dissection?” She will face

Tari A. King, MD, FSSO, who will be delivering the arguments against dissection today at 2:50 pm.

In radiation oncology, Atif Jalees Khan, MD, MS, will make a case for using 5 fractions against Jean L. Wright, MD, who will argue for 15 fractions in “Medical Crossfire®: 5 Fractions or 15 Fractions for Adjuvant Radiation Therapy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer,” today at 2:50 pm. For more on the surgical and radiation tracks, see COVER.

The nursing track is another highlight of the meeting each year, with a reputable docket of oncology nurses set to tackle a robust agenda. Moderated by La-Urshalar Brock, MSN, FNP-BC, CNM; and Patricia Jakel, RN, MN, AOCN, topics will cover the latest in precision medicine through a case-based workshop, updates on HER2-low disease, and a dedicated Meet the Faculty session to discuss challenging cases.

“This year, we have a very special focus on a program for our oncology nurses. There’s no single person in my practice more important than my nurse,” Borgen said. “We could not do what we’re doing without our nurses.”

The nursing track begins at 1:55 pm tomorrow.

The keynote lectures for this year’s Miami Breast Cancer Conference will reflect thoughtful insights from giants in the field of cancer care, as well as those on the front line of patient advocacy.

The Giants of Cancer Care® lecture will be delivered by Laura J. Esserman, MD, MBA, the 2018 winner in Cancer Diagnostics. As founder of the I-SPY TRIAL (Investigating Serial Studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response using Imaging And moLecular analysis), Esserman’s dedication to bringing the right drug to the right patient has helped to accelerate progress in the field. She will give a lecture titled “The Use of Early Endpoints to Accelerate Getting the Right Drugs to the Right Patients: The I-SPY2 Example” today at 11:55 am.

Tomorrow, 2 keynotes will feature women who have also made invaluable contributions to advocacy and awareness. “One of the important highlights of every Miami Breast Cancer Conference are our keynote speakers, and we have 2 incredibly powerful, impactful women who have both helped drive the field forward in breast cancer, maybe as much as any person alive,” Borgen said.

First, the Patti Hennessy Keynote Address will feature Lindsay Avner, founder and CEO of Bright Pink, a foundation dedication to shifting the conversation on breast and ovarian cancer treatment, prevention, and awareness.

Second, Nancy Brinker, whose sister Susan G. Komen passed away from breast cancer, leading Brinker to found the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation, will deliver the second address of the morning. A former US ambassador, Brinker has raised over $2 billion for women’s health and will join the faculty for a fireside chat–style discussion during the meeting.

On Saturday, a special panel discussion will focus on what the Miami Breast Cancer Conference does best—putting it all together. The medical track panel will come together for a case-based discussion that will contextualize the key takeaways to bring with you to the clinic Monday morning.

Join the MBCC faculty for “Putting It All Together: How Do We Apply What We Learned to Practice?—A Case-Based Session” tomorrow at 3 pm.

We hope that you enjoy these 3 full days of exciting discussions, lively debates, and, perhaps most fun of all, a night of dining—and singing—at the closing reception Saturday at 6:30 pm Ocean Lawn.

References

1. Hurvitz SA, Hegg R, Chung WP, et al. Trastuzumab deruxtecan versus trastuzumab emtansine in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer: updated survival results of the randomized, phase 3 study DESTINY-Breast03. Presented at: 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; December 6-10, 2022; San Antonio, TX.
2. FDA approves elacestrant for ER-positive, HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer. FDA. January 27, 2023. Accessed February 27, 2023. bit.ly/3Hbxxln