Advances in Breast Cancer Research

This will be the eighth AACR Special Conference focused on the latest advances in breast cancer research. This program has been held every two (2) years and addresses basic and translational breast cancer research, not typically covered in other breast cancer conferences with a more clinical agenda. The 2015 Advances in Breast Cancer Research conference features presentations on genomics, circulating tumor DNA, epigenomics, models, stem cells, metastasis, tumor dormancy, tumor microenvironment and immunity, and resistance to targeted therapies that all have applications to cancer treatment now and in the near future.

The fields of research being presented at this conference are rapidly advancing our knowledge base and will guide the development of more effective (and less toxic) treatments for breast cancer. Gene expression analysis has led to the identification of distinct sub-types of breast cancer, allowing for the development of more targeted therapies based on the patient’s individual tumor. Opportunities are emerging that somatic mutation screening will also drive a new standard of care for certain patient subsets. Pathway analysis using proteomics and circulating tumor DNA are also promising new tools to connect basic science to clinical investigation. Manipulations of the body’s immune system that increase recognition and killing of cancer cells will also be discussed.