For 30 years, Nadia Harbeck, MD, PhD, has been making the 20-hour trip to Texas for the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium®. Here, Dr. Harbeck, who is the director of the Breast Center at the LMU University Hospital in Munich, Germany, talks with SABCS Meeting News about her favorite aspects of the symposium and provides tips for first-time attendees.

What are you most excited about regarding this year’s program?

I love that SABCS® always presents the most novel clinical trial data, right down to the minute it is released, it seems like. You can’t accelerate the pace of the data, but SABCS® is really great about allowing researchers to be more spontaneous and still submit long-awaited clinical trial data, even last minute. I am hoping that we’ll hear about options in second-line treatment for patients with metastatic hormone receptor-positive disease.

Regardless of what is presented, however, I am excited about discussing new study concepts with colleagues from around the world. Identifying industry collaborations is also important because it is a partnership with academia and industry – we don’t do science in a vacuum.

As a physician who practices outside of the United States, why do you think SABCS® has such a robust attendance by non-U.S. practitioners?

SABCS® is a good opportunity for those who focus clinically or scientifically on breast cancer to get the most recent updates. It’s nice because there aren’t concurrent sessions during the general scientific program, so the whole audience is in one room. And since SABCS® has teamed up with AACR, there is always a nice mix of early preclinical insights together with the later-phase clinical data, in addition to the mix of educational and scientific presentations.

San Antonio is a difficult destination for most international attendees so the fact that so many of us come to the meeting year after year speaks to the quality of the meeting and the data presented. Plus, I think the organizers did a great job making the schedule logistically feasible, especially for the international attendees.

Also, personally, as someone involved in ESMO, I love that SABCS® allows presentations of data initially presented in Europe, with new data pieces added for the U.S. audience. This increases global awareness of scientific advancements and makes it more interesting for practicing clinicians. It’s a very collaborative approach that allows for greater connection within the global breast cancer care community. 

What aspects of the Exhibit Hall have the biggest draw for you?

One of the nicest features of SABCS® are the poster receptions, which will be held from noon to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and from noon to 2 p.m. on Friday. It’s a nice atmosphere, and these are always well attended so there are ample opportunities to network with key opinion leaders and peers.

My son, who is in medical school, was selected for a basic science award last year, and he actually gave a poster presentation. It was really interesting for him because he was able to speak with key opinion leaders in his topic area, but he also was able to get a wealth of information from his peers about what a residency in the United States is like. Now he wants to make oncology his career! So now, I’m able to see this aspect of the meeting – one of my favorites – from different perspectives. I still remember when my oldest son was a toddler, sitting under the poster boards, and my husband is a co-author on some of my study group’s abstracts, so this aspect of the meeting has become a bit of a family event. 

What are some tips for first-time attendees?

Definitely attend the educational sessions and make the most of the networking in the poster area. This provides a fantastic opportunity to plan new science with colleagues. Also, be sure to stay for the entire meeting. The View from the Trenches session puts all of the information you just heard into perspective so it helps you really process what the data means for your clinical practice, and the Year in Review session is an excellent start for the new year.