The 15th Monegasque Oncology Biennial will kick off at the end of January, highlighting the latest major advances in oncology, pharmaceuticals and haematology, but this year, the spotlight is on breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer to strike women. Over 2.2 million cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2020, and in France it is the leading cause of cancer death amongst women, causing more than 11,000 mortalities each year.
This form of cancer accounts for one-third of all cases in women in France and 54,000 new cases are detected annually. Globally, it is estimated that 10% of the female population will be confronted with breast cancer during their lifetimes.
These terrifying statistics have put breast cancer front in centre over the past several years, marking it as a major health concern.
Widespread screening and awareness programmes have made early detection possible and have given many women the chance to successfully battle the disease. Significant advances in therapy and treatment have also raised the bar, giving those diagnosed a five-year survival rate of 87%, the highest survival rate for cancer in France.
For this reason, the 15th Monegasque Cancer Biennial has decided to focus this year on the current innovations and the latest ways of offering treatment and care.
“The sessions devoted to breast cancer are one of the key events this year,” says Professor Xavier Pivot, President of the 15th Monegasque Biennial of Cancerology. “Advances in biotechnology which allow the use of new loaded antibodies have changed the way patients are treated. These treatments have increased the life expectancy of many women with aggressive cancers and the number of those who are definitively cured. In the context of targeted therapies, the presentations will show in particular the treatments using CDK 4/6 inhibitors which bring major benefits in the treatment of these cancers in the metastatic phase and probably permanent cures, when these treatments intervene in the early phase of the development of the disease.”
The Monegasque Cancer Biennial has been instrumental in bringing together francophone health professionals for the past 30 years to present and assess advances in diagnostics, therapeutic treatments,patient care, and available screening and treatment technologies.
This year’s edition is set to attract 1,200 doctors, researchers, professors and students to 76 talks and sessions, open to all.
The event will be held at the Grimaldi Forum from 26th to 29th January. For more information, the program and for registration, visit https://biennalecancerologie.org/2022/
Photo source: National Cancer Institute, Unsplash