Conference Offers "Deep Dive" Into Managing Clinical Issues

Joyce A. O’Shaughnessy, MD

Co-Director, Breast Cancer Research, Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, Texas Oncology/US Oncology, Dallas, TX

A thorough examination of emerging strategies for the treatment of breast cancer, as well as the clinical data underlying new and existing options, will form the cornerstone of the 9th Annual School of Breast Oncology, scheduled for November 1-4, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Joyce A. O’Shaughnessy, MD, a leading breast cancer researcher, is serving as program director for the four-day meeting, which is affiliated with Physicians’ Education Resource (PER).

Physicians who attend the sessions are able to earn up to 24.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, depending upon their level of participation.

“The School of Breast Oncology is a very practical deep-dive into the nuanced clinical management, day-to-day in practice, of breast cancer: from pathologic diagnosis to breast imaging and systemic imaging, to the careful understanding of the data and application of the data for locoregional management, and again this emphasis on biologic subtypes and how to match treatment strategies with the biologic subtypes,” said O’Shaughnessy.

The conference will take place during a period of significant expansion of the agents available for treating patients. Thus far this year, the FDA has approved a new drug, pertuzumab (Perjeta), for first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel, and supported a new indication for everolimus (Afinitor) as therapy for patients with advanced hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer in combination with exemestane. In addition, a Biologics License Application is pending for trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

The School of Breast Oncology is organized into 10 modules in which a wide realm of topics will be discussed. These include imaging, surgery, radiation therapy, biomarker considerations, toxicity management, pregnancy, and risk reduction.

“It is really a patient-focused, clinical management deep-dive into the application of all of the data we have for breast cancer, with a focus on challenging clinical scenarios,” said O’Shaughnessy.

For further information, visit www.gotoper.com.