The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium^® is known for many things in the breast cancer community: stellar podium presentations across educational and scientific sessions, deep-rooted partnerships with advocacy organizations, and a bustling Exhibit Hall. SABCS^® also has established its reputation within the global breast cancer community, with attendees hailing from more than 100 countries in 2023.

Part of the reason for such robust attendance by breast cancer researchers and clinicians based outside of the United States is that SABCS^® is the only meeting focused on breast cancer and that combines so many perspectives into one program. 

“The SABCS^® is the most important international breast cancer forum and has been able to establish a prime environment where all of those interested in breast cancer research and care can learn about state-of-the-art information, as well as get a clear understanding of what is on the horizon,” said Carlos Barrios, MD, director of the Oncology Research Center at São Lucas Hospital, Brazil.

Dr. Barrios, who is also the current president of the Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group and a member of the Oncoclínicas Group, values the diverse perspectives he encounters at the meeting and appreciates the opportunity to discuss clinical practice questions with colleagues from around the world. 

One of those colleagues, Nadia Harbeck, MD, shares Dr. Barrios’ enthusiasm for the program itself. Dr. Harbeck, who is the director of Breast Cancer at the LMU University Hospital in Munich, Germany, said she appreciates that SABCS^® always makes every attempt to fit in the most novel data to the program. She also appreciates the updated presentations from ESMO and other internationally based meetings.

“It’s nice for the American audience to be able to see highlights and updates of what has been shown at the major European meetings,” she said. I really like that a different audience gets a first-hand point of view of the data, and it’s nice that different international organizations are able to ‘speak to each other’ from both sides of the Atlantic.” 

Dr. Harbeck noted that obviously not all of those interested in attending the meeting can be there in person, either due to clinic responsibilities or simply the amount of travel required. Fortunately SABCS^® provides a virtual option for those unable to attend. Virtual attendees have full access to live streamed and on-demand sessions, access to virtual poster presentations, and the ability to interact with speakers and attendees through the SABCS^® app and virtual meeting platform.  

“Because everyone from my department cannot go to SABCS^® – someone has to stay behind and actually treat patients during that week – the hybrid format works quite well for us,” Dr. Harbeck said. “There is a 7-hour time difference to Munich from San Antonio, which allows clinicians to treat patients during the day and log in to the meeting in the evening.” 

Full registration information and additional virtual-only details are available at SABCS.org.