Maimah Karmo and D. Charles Perou will again kick off one of the Special Sessions at this year's SABCS.
Patient care with a special emphasis on equity, and breast oncology in a post-COVID world will be the focus of the Special Sessions at the 44th annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
“COVID-19 has redefined patient care for the last two years and those effects will last long into the future, so it is important that we examine those,” said Sharon Hill, Director, Symposia Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. “We also want to make sure we tackle the difficult questions about trust in science and medical care. This symbiotic partnership is critical to ensuring health equity, eliminating unconscious bias, and improving patient care and outcomes.”
Proposed topics for the Special Session “Trust in Science and Healthcare” include:
- Equity in Research and Patient Care
- Diversity in Clinical Trials – From Ideation to Action
The main goal is to define the means to build more trust in science and health care within communities of color. It is time to discuss solutions to the problem of health care inequity in breast cancer research and treatment, and to maximize opportunities for synergistic collaborations with colleagues in cancer science and medicine.
This session will be co-hosted by Dr. Charles Perou, Professor of Genetics at the UNC School of Medicine, and Maimah Karmo, president and founder of the Tigerlily Foundation.
“We feel this Special Session is an important opportunity to strengthen the bridge between science, patients and communities facing disparities in health care,” Hill said.
Dr. Melissa Bondy, professor of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford and Patty Spears, Research Manager with Patient Advocates for Research Council Office of Clinical & Translational Research in Oncology at UNC Lineberger will co-moderate Health Equity in Translational Research Studies. This session will address disparities in translational research including clinical trial accrual and biospecimen donation.
Re-framing Leadership in Academic Breast Oncology Post COVID-19, will be moderated by SABCS Co-Director Carlos Arteaga, M.D. and Rebecca Dent, M.D., MSc, of the National Cancer Center Singapore. Topics covered in this Special Session include:
Applying the lessons of my mentor to building a successful translational breast program. It will explore:
- The nature of leadership in this setting
- How to build team science – who needs to be at the table and what are the essential components and required resources?
- Where’s our bench going to come from? How do we get young clinical / translational investigators interested in breast cancer?
Other proposed Session topics include FDA/Regulatory and COVID updates.
Registration is open for #SABCS21 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Dec. 7–10. It will be a hybrid conference with in-person and virtual attendance for all sessions. Visit SABCS.org to register, book a hotel, or get more information.