The 2007 Triple Negative Breast Cancer Symposium
On December 11, 2007, The Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation ("TNBC") [1], along with Susan G. Komen for the Cure,[2] convened one of the first "think tanks" dedicated specifically to Triple Negative Breast Cancer. The meeting was held prior to the opening of the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.[3]
Thirty researchers, from leading cancer institutions in North America and Europe, were invited to share information on the latest science, to discuss potential research collaborations and develop a scientific agenda for future research and clinical trials to find effective treatment for women with this subtype of breast cancer. The meeting also marked the first joint effort between TNBC and Susan G. Komen for the Cure to share resources to accelerate research and progress for women who are not benefiting from recent advances in breast cancer research.
The goal of the meeting was to create the first comprehensive publication and white-paper summarizing the "state of the science" with input and authorship from leading researchers from around the world who have been dedicated specifically to this subtype of the disease. The publication will also include a roadmap and recommendations for planning, funding and designing the next level of research with the goal of identifying effective, tailored therapies for these women, thereby further reducing the rates of breast cancer mortality around the world.
Co-chairing the symposium were Allison Axenrod, executive director of TNBC, and Hayley Dinerman, TNBC's director of operations. The program was planned by TNBC's medical advisory board, which includes Dr. Winer as well as Lisa A. Carey, M.D., medical director of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and George W. Sledge, Jr., MD, professor of Medicine and Pathology and co-chair of the Breast Cancer Program at the Indiana University School of Medicine.