Canadian Breast Cancer Symposium

June 19-20, 2025 — Hilton Downtown Toronto

2019 Agenda

Thursday, June 13, 2019

0700 Breakfast and Registration
0745 Welcome remarks
Sunil Verma and Jaime Escallon
Chair: Sunil Verma and Jaime Escallon
0800 Key Note Lecture:

Addressing challenges and opportunities as we strive to de-escalate  treatment for breast cancer
Eric Winer

Chairs: Anne Koch and Eileen Rakovitch
0845 De-escalation of radiation for node positive breast cancer
Jennifer Bellon
0915 DCIS
Lawrence Solin
0945 Break with exhibitors
Chair: Ellen Warner
1000 Multi-gene signatures in breast cancer: current evidence and controversies
Stephen Chia
1015 Guidelines update: AJCC 8th Edition and new ASCO/CAP guidelines on Her 2 Testing
Susan Done
1030 Management of patients with high and moderate risk germline mutations
Andrea Eisen
1045 Chair Sunil Verma
Forum: What’s needed next to meet the challenges in breast cancer care?
1045 Clinician perspective:
Ellen Warner
1100 Researcher perspective:
John Bartlett
1115 Funding Perspective:
Maureen Trudeau
1130 Patient perspective:
MJ DeCoteau and Vesna Zic-Cote
1145 Panel discussion with audience
1200 Lunch with exhibitors
Chair: Maureen Trudeau
1300 Debate: Immuno-therapy in breast cancer is ready for clinical use?

  • Yes: Kasia Jerzak
  • No: John Hilton
1330 New advances in TNBC Breast Ca
David Cescon
1345 New advances in Her 2 Positive Breast Ca
Sunil Verma
1400 New advances in ER Positive Breast Ca
Christine Brezden-Masley
1415 Panel discussion with audience
Panelists: David Cescon / John Hilton/Karen Gelmon / Christine Brezden-Masley / SunilVerma
1445 Break with exhibitors
Case Discussion Chairs: Nadia Califaretti and Mala Bahl
1515 Biosimilars in breast cancer: trials, economics and potential for reinvestment
Eitan Amir
Chair: Pamela Goodwin
Neoadjuvant treatment for breast cancer – The new reality
1530 Medical Oncologist Perspective:
Christine Simmons
1540 Surgical Oncologist:
Ralph George
1550 Radiation Oncologist:
Anne Koch
1600 Panel discussion with audience
Chair: Pamela Goodwin and Sunil Verma
1615 Keynote Lecture
The Canadian Impact on Breast Cancer Research and Care
Karen Gelmon

Friday June 14, 2019

0615 Breakfast and registration
0700 Breakfast symposium: Tips and Tricks in Oncoplastic Surgery
Tulin Cil & Muriel Brackstone
Chair: Tulin Cil
0800 Robotic assisted nipple and skin sparing mastectomy
Antonio Toesca
Chair: Andrea Eisen
0900 Canadian Task Force on Breast Cancer Screening: Perspective
Martin Yaffe
0940 Contemporary management of Phyllodes Lesions
Frances Wright
1000 What to do with high risk lesions?
ADH, Radial Scar, DCIS

  • Surgery Claire Holloway
  • Observation Erin Cordeiro
10:20 Panel with Martin Yaffe, Frances Wright, Claire Holloway, Erin Cordeiro
1030 Break with exhibitors
Chair: Alexandra Easson
1045 Management of recurrence after lumpectomy Is mastectomy always necessary?
Amanda Roberts
1100 The evolving role for MRI and novel imaging techniques in screening and care of breast cancer patients
Allison Grant
1115 Advances in localization techniques: wire, mag seeds, radioactive seeds
Nicole Look-Hong
1130 Strategies to achieve negative margins
Wey Leong
1145 Is Chronic Pain after Breast Surgery a real problem?
David Flamer
1200 Lunch Surgical Oncology and Breast Fellows meet with Antonio Toesca
Chair: Jaime Escallon
1300 Novel surgical management of lymphedema
Syba Haykal
1330 Therapeutic opportunities in macrophage-induced breast cancer progression
Michael Reedjik
Afternoon Streams
1400-1600
  1. RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM
    Frontenac Room (plenary room)
    Amanda Roberts
  2. PRIMARY CARE
    Queens Quay I
    Melinda Wu
  3. PATIENT PROGRAM: RETHINK
    Queens Quay II
    Shawna Rich-Ginsberg

See agenda below

Research Symposium
Frontenac Room (plenary room)

1400 Welcome Remarks
Amanda Roberts
1405 Psychosocial Functioning in Women with Early Breast Cancer Treated with Breast Surgery With or Without Immediate Breast Reconstruction
Helene Retrouvey
1410 Do No Harm and yet Respect Patient Autonomy: Plastic Surgeons’ Perspectives of the Consultation for Breast Reconstruction with Women Who Have Early Stage Breast Cancer
Frances Wright
1415 Quality-of-Life and Surgical Outcome Comparison in Breast Cancer Patients treated with Oncoplastic Breast-Conserving Surgery vs Mastectomy with Immediate Reconstruction
Aneesh Karir
1420 A randomised controlled trial comparing Alloderm with Dermacell in immediate implant-based breast reconstruction
Erin Cordeiro
1425 Q&A with workshop participants
1430 Predictors of axillary node response in clinically node-positive patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer
Ashley DiPasquale
1435 Impact of omitting sentinel lymph node biopsy in elderly patients with clinically node negative, ER positive breast cancer
Rebecca Warburton
1440 Surgical Outcomes of Older Women with breast cancer: Data from the ACS NSQIP database
Tulin Cil
1445 Disparities among breast cancer patients who do not receive their recommended surgery
Ashley DiPasquale
1450 Q&A with workshop participants
1455 Patient navigation reduces time to care for patients with breast symptoms and abnormal screening mammograms
Rebecca Warburton
1500 Coordination of radiologic and clinical care reduces the wait time to breast cancer diagnosis
Rebecca Warburton
1505 Taking the Pulse of Multidisciplinary Cancer Conferences for Breast Cancer Care in Canada: A Stocktake of Current Practice
Arden Corter
1510 A randomized controlled feasibility study comparing a multimodal prehabilitation protocol to normal care for women undergoing neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer
Frances Wright
1515 LYMPHA in Breast Cancer Patients: Present Outcomes and Next Steps
Moein Momtazi
1520 Q&A with workshop participants
1525 The BEFORE (Begin Exploring Fertility Options, Risks, and Expectations) decision aid: development and alpha testing of a fertility tool for premenopausal breast cancer patients
Brittany Speller
1530 The role of a digital breast cancer surgery decision aid in supporting breast cancer patients
Jenn Gordon
1535 Jackson Pratt (JP) Drain Milking Device Improves Outcomes Following Breast Cancer Surgery
Rachel Shekhman-Goldstein
1540 The outcomes of ReFilx soft tissue filler as an immediate reconstruction technique for lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy
Wey Leong
1545 Development of a multimodal autofluorescence -Raman spectroscope as a diagnostic and biospy guiding tool in breast cancer
Alexandra Easson
1550 Intraoperative Fluorescence Imaging with Aminolevulinic Acid Detects Grossly Occult Breast Cancer: A Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial
Ralph Da Costa
1555 Q&A with workshop participants
1600 Flat Epithelial Atypia does not require excision
Rebecca Warburton
1605 Flat epithelial atypia: Are we being too aggressive?
Ashley DiPasquale
1610 A Survey of Canadian Breast Health Professionals’ Recommendations for High-Risk Benign Breast Disease
Erin Cordeiro
1615 Closing remarks
Amanda Roberts
1620 End of Day

Primary Care Workshop
Queens Quay I

1400 Welcome and Introduction
Melinda Wu
1405 Breast pain
Azadeh Nikoo Rajaee
1425 Genetics 101
Nicole Gojksa, Genetic Counsellor
1445 Breast density
Supriya Kulkarni
1505 Panel discussion with audience
1530 Breast cancer screening
Ellen Warner
1550 Survivorship care
Carol Townsley
1610 HRT in Breast Cancer
Jellena Wong
1630 Panel discussion with audience
1645 Wrap up
Melinda Wu
1700 End of Day

Patient Program: Rethink Workshop
Queens Quay II
(open to all delegates)

Chair: Shawna Rich-Ginsberg

Shared Decision-Making Workshop

Shared decision is a collaborative process that brings together the professional experience and clinical expertise of health care professionals and the values, perspectives and treatment goals of patients with the goal of making the right treatment decision for the patient.

While shared decision making is heralded as a gold-standard practice in patient-centred care, patients and physicians are still experiencing barriers to fully realizing its potential.

Can we improve the process and outcomes of shared decision making in treating metastatic breast cancer?

1400 Welcome and Introductions
Shawna Rich Ginsberg
1405 A physician’s perspective
1420 A patient’s perspective
1435 Facilitated group discussion: Improving shared decision making in treating breast cancer
1515 Breakout discussions: Small groups will discuss the needs gaps and needs to improve shared decision making in treating breast cancer from various stakeholder perspectives.
1550 Conclusion and Next Steps

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Advanced Oncoplastic Partnership Workshop
Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario
(additional registration required, space limited)

Agenda details:

https://www.breastsymposium.ca/oncoplastic-partnership-workshop