The BA-BCS 2021: an initial “trial” for integrating basic science and medical progress on breast cancer in a Latin-American country

Abstract

The first Buenos Aires Breast Cancer Symposium (BA-BCS) was held in a virtual format, between the 17th and the 21st of May 2021. The main goal of the meeting was to facilitate the interaction among physicians and basic researchers from South America and with peers from the rest of the world. To embrace their different interests and concerns, the congress included not only talks on basic, translational and clinical research, but also round tables to discuss diagnostic methods, research financing and biobank management, as well as virtual poster sessions in which the youngest fellows presented their recent findings. This report provides a brief overview of the talks delivered during the meeting, which addressed a wide variety of vital issues for breast cancer research mostly focused on the accurate diagnosis, prevention and treatment of this illness. The presentations included a wide spectrum of themes including hormone receptors and the relevance of their mutations, immunotherapy, cancer stem cells, mouse models, environmental hazards, genetics and epigenetics, local and systemic therapies, liquid biopsies, the metastatic cascade, therapy resistance and dormancy, among others.