St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference

St.Gallen International Consensus on the primary treatment of individuals with breast cancer

PUBLICATION 2023 is available for you now! Please go to this page:
https://www.annalsofoncology.org/article/S0923-7534(23)00835-9/fulltext
to read the summary of the St.Gallen International Consensus Guidelines. It is published in the scientific journal Annals of Oncology.

The St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference concludes with its prestigious St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Consensus Session. In this last session, a panel with over 70 breast cancer specialists from all over the world discusses developments from the past two years in the treatment of individuals with early breast cancer.

A skilled moderator guides panelists from all relevant fields through the session to provide evidence-based input. The panelists reach a consensus on challenging issues and define adapted diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. Consideration of cultural issues and economic influences is a major challenge.

Following the conference, a group of gifted authors completes the current guidelines with the new findings and/or decisions and asks the panelists to comment on the publication. Only a few months later, the St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Consensus Guidelines are published in the esteemed Journal Annals of Oncology. The St.Gallen Guidelines are updated every second year with the most recent research findings, making them globally accessible to both breast cancer specialists and their patients. The St.Gallen Consensus is a testament to the commitment to excellence in the treatment of individuals with early breast cancer.

**Earlier Consensus Publications**

Publication 2021

For those who wish to access the earlier version (2021), it is still available. Please access them in the Journal Annals of Oncology:
Customizing local and systemic therapies for women with early breast cancer: The St.Gallen International Consensus Guidelines for treatment of early breast cancer 2021. H.J. Burstein, G. Curigliano, B. Thürlimann, W.P. Weber, P. Poortmans, M. Regan, H.J. Senn, E.P. Winer, M. Gnant and Panelists of the St.Gallen Consensus Conference.

Conference co-chairs

Univ. Prof. Dr. Michael Gnant
Medical University of Vienna/Austria

Prof. Dr. med. Beat Thürlimann
Breast Centre, Kantonsspital St.Gallen/Switzerland and SwissBreastCare, Bethanienspital, Zurich/Switzerland

Prof. Dr. Walter Weber
University Hospital Basel/Switzerland

Scientific Programme-Planning Committee

Harold Burstein, Boston/USA
Giuseppe Curigliano, Milano/Italy
Michael Gnant, Vienna/Austria
Sibylle Loibl, Neu-Isenburg/Germany
Philip Poortmans, Antwerp/Belgium
Meredith Regan, Boston/USA
Hans-Joerg Senn (†), St.Gallen/Switzerland
Beat Thürlimann, St.Gallen/Switzerland
Walter Weber, Basel/Switzerland
Eric Winer, New Haven/USA

Conference founder and honorary chair

Prof. Dr. med. Hans-Joerg Senn
(* 28 March 1934, † 13 January 2023), Foundation St.Gallen Oncology Conferences (SONK),
St.Gallen/Switzerland

Conflict of interest statement

All faculty members of the scientific programme have submitted a conflict of interest statement.
The summary of all statements is available here.

Aebi Stephan
Luzerner Kantonsspital, Lucerne Cantonal Hospital / Switzerland

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Al-Foheidi Meteb
Princess Noorah Oncology Center, National Guard Health Affairs / KSA

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Anderson Benjamin
WHO / Switzerland

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André Fabrice
Gustave Roussy / France

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Anikusko Mikola
Kyiv City Clinical Oncology Center / Ukraine

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Badwe Rajendra
Dr. E. Borges Marg, Parel, Tata Memorial Centre / India

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Barrio Andrea V.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center / USA

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Barrios Carlos
LACOG – Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group, Lacog – Oncoclínicas Group / Brazil

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Berg Jonas
Karolinska Institutet and University Hospital / Sweden

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Bonnefoi Hervé
Institut Bergonie Unicancer / France

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Bretel Morales Denisse
GECOPERU – Medical Direction, Gecoperu / Peru

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Brucker Sara
Tuebingen University Women’s Hospital / Germany

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Burstein Harold J.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute / USA

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Caldas Carlos
Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University Of Cambrige / UK

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Cameron David
Edinburgh Cancer Research, The University of Edinburgh, The University Of Edinburgh / UK

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Cardoso Fatima
Champalimaud Cancer Center / Portugal

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Cardoso Maria Joao
Champalimaud Foundation Breast Unit / Portugal

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Carey Lisa
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center / USA

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Chia Steven
BC Cancer, Vancouver Cancer Centre, BC Cancer – Vancouver Centre / Canada

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Coles Charlotte
University of Cambridge / UK

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Connolly Roisin
Cancer Research at UCC and Cork University Hospital / Ireland

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Cortes Javier
International Breast Cancer Center, IBCC / Spain

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Curigliano Giuseppe
Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, IRCCS / Italy

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de Boniface Jana
Capio St. Göran’s Hospital, Capio St. Göran’s Hospital And Karolinska Institutet / Sweden

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Delaloge Suzette
Gustave Roussy / France

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DeMichele Angela
University of Pennsylvania / USA

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Denkert Carsten
Universitätsklinikum Griessen und Marburg, Philipps-University Marburg / Germany

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Fastner Gerd
Department of Radiotherapy and Radio-Oncology, Paracelsus Medical University, University Hospital Salzburg / Austria

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Fitzal Florian
Medical University of Vienna, Medical University Vienna / Austria

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Francis Prudence
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, De, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre / Australia

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Gamal Heba
National Cancer Institute, Cairo University / Egypt

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Gentilini Oreste
S.Raffaele University and Research Hospital, San Raffaele University and Research Hospital / Italy

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Gnant Michael
Medical University Of Vienna – ABCSG / Austria

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Gradishar William
NCCN Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Nccn/northwestern University / USA

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Gulluoglu Bahadir
Marmara Universiy of Medicine, Marmara University School Of Medicine / Turkey

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Harbeck Nadia
Head of Breast Center, Oncological Therapy and Breast Clinical Trials Unit, University of Munich / Germany

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Heil Jörg
Breast Unit Heidelberg / Germany

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Huang Chiun-Sheng Huang
National Taiwan University Hospital / Taiwan

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Huober Jens
Cantonal Hospital St.Gallen, Kantonsspital St.Gallen, Brustzentrum / Switzerland

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Jiang Zefei
Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital Beijing / China

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Kaidar-Person Orit
Sheba Tel Hashomer, Oncology Institute, Sheba Medical Center / Israel

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Kok Marleen
Netherlands cancer institute, Netherlands Cancer Institute / Netherlands

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Lee Eun-Sook
National Cancer Center / Korea

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Loi Sherene
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre / Australia

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Loibl Sibylle
GBG Forschungs GmbH, Gbg Forschungs Gmbh / Germany

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Martin Miguel
Hospital Gregorio Marañon / Spain

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Meattini Icro
University of Florence, University Of Florence / Italy

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Morrow Monica
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center / USA

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Partridge Ann
Dana Farber Cancer Institut / USA

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Penault-Llorca Frederique
Centre Jean Perrin, centre Jean Perrin UNICANCER / France

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Piccart Martine
Institut Jules Bordet, Institut Jules Bordet / Belgium

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Pierce Lori
University of Michigan/, University Of Michigan / USA

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Poortmans Philip
Iridium Netwerk & University Of Antwerp / Belgium

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Prat Aleix
August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute / Spain

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Regan Meredith
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,, Dana-farber Cancer Institute / USA

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Reis-Filho Jorge
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center / USA

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Rubio Isabel
Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Clinica Universidad De Navarra / Spain

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Rugo Hope
University of California Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, Ucsf Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center / USA

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Rutgers Emiel
Netherlands Cancer Institute/Dept. of Surgery / Netherlands

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Saura Cristina
Vall d’Hebron University Hospital/ Vall D’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Vall D’hebrón University Hospital / Spain

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Senkus Elzbieta
Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk / Poland

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Shao Zhiming
Fudan University Cancer Hospital/Department of Breast Surgery / China

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Singer Christian
Medical University of Vienna, Medical University/Center for Breast Health /Austria

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Spanic Tanja
Europa Donna / Slovenia

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Thuerlimann Beat
Breast Center St.Gallen and SwissBreastCare Zürich / Switzerland

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Toi Masakazu
Kyoto University Hospital / Japan

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Tolaney Sara
Harvard Medcial School / Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute / USA

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Turner Nicholas
Royal Marsden Hospital, Icr / UK

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Tutt Andrew
The Institute of Cancer Research / Breast Cancer Research / UK

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van Kruchten Michel
University Medical Center of Groningen / Netherlands

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Viale Giuseppe
European Institute of Oncology Milan / Italy

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Vrancken Peeters Marie-Jeanne
Netherlands cancer institute – antoni van leeuwenhoek, Netherlands Cancer Institute – Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek / Netherlands

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Watanabe Toru
Hamamatsu Oncology Center / Japan

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Weber Walter
University Hospital Basel / Switzerland

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Wildiers Hans
University Hospitals Leuven / Belium

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Xu Binghe
Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences / China

accepted abstract
The list of all accepted abstracts can be found here..

book of abstracts
All accepted abstracts have been published in an electronic supplement issue to the journal “The Breast” by Elsevier Publishers. Click here to access the journal.

Best Poster Awards 2023

A renowned reviewing team honours the three best poster abstracts with the St.Gallen Oncology Conferences Best Poster Award 2023. The awards were presented at the SGBCC 2023 on Wednesday, 15 March 2023.

The St.Gallen-Vienna Breast Cancer Care Educationals for Professionals around the world

The SGBCC 2023 was a great success, bringing together leading experts in the field of breast cancer from around the world to share the latest research, best practices, and insights. The conference featured a range of engaging sessions, including keynote lectures, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, covering a broad range of topics related to breast cancer.

One of the highlights of the conference was the SGBCC Academy, which offered a series of lectures on the most important topics in early breast cancer care, delivered by the panelists of the St. Gallen Consensus. Attendees had the opportunity to access these lectures via the virtual conference platform and participate in daily SGBCC Academy sessions, where they could ask follow-up questions and engage in further discussions on the most pressing issues in patient care.

Looking ahead, we are excited to continue providing exceptional educational opportunities to our attendees. We invite you to mark your calendars for the next St. Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference, which will take place in Vienna from 12 – 15 March 2025. Stay tuned for updates and announcements about the program and speakers, and we look forward to seeing you there.

St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Award Winner 2023

The Foundation Council of “St.Gallen Oncology Conferences“ (SONK) honors Professor Giuseppe Viale for his extraordinary contribution in research and practice development in the treatment of individuals with breast cancer with the “St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Award 2023“, which was presented during the SGBCC 2023 on 15 March 2023.

Prof. Giuseppe Viale

European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan / Italy

St.Gallen Oncology Conferences (SONK) is privileged to count on Prof. Giuseppe Viale as an active contributor and supporter of the St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference and Consensus Guidelines. He is the first pathologist to receive this Award. He added his scientific and professional perspective to provide truly interdisciplinary discussions for the benefit of the best treatment of individuals with early breast cancer. With the St.Gallen Breast Cancer Award 2023, the Foundation St.Gallen Oncology Conferences (SONK) wishes to honour Giuseppe Viale for his extraordinary contributions to breast cancer science.

Former St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Award Winners

2021: Prof. Philip Poortmans, Wilrijk-Antwerp/BE

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2019: Prof. Monica Morrow, New York/USA

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2017: Prof. Martine Piccart-Gebhart, Brussels/BE

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2015: Prof. Alan Coates, Cennential Park/AUS

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2013: Prof. Aron Goldhirsch, Lugano/CH + Milano/IT

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2011: Prof. V. Craig Jordan, Washington, DC/USA

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2009: Prof. Richard Gelber, Boston, MA/USA

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2007: Prof. Michael Baum, London/UK

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2005: Prof. Umberto Veronesi, Milano/IT

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2003: Dr. Gianni Bonadonna, Milano/IT and Dr. Bernard Fisher, Pittsburg, PA/USA

We hope that the recordings of the 18th St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference 2023 will help you further enhance your knowledge and understanding of the latest developments in the field of breast cancer. Thank you for being a part of SGBCC 2023!

Opening Ceremony: Welcome, Awards and Award Lectures

Chairs: Michael Gnant (Austria), Beat Thürlimann (Switzerland), Walter Weber (Switzerland)

The St.Gallen Breast Cancer Award Lecture 2023:
The Saga of Theragnostic Biomarkers of Breast Cancer
Giuseppe Viale, Italy

The ESO Umberto Veronesi Memorial Award Lecture 2023:
A global approach to breast cancer management
Benjamin Anderson, WHO

Session 1: News in breast cancer care since St. Gallen 2021 / Best Poster Awards 2023

Surgery of patients with early breast cancer: Quo vadis?
Walter Weber, Switzerland

Access to evidence based radiation therapy for patients with early breast cancer
Philip Poortmans, Belgium

What’s new in systemic treatment of patients with early breast cancer
Roisin Connolly, Ireland

Translational research priorities for patients with early breast cancer
Fabrice André, France

Hot topics in survivorship, patient reported outcomes, and Quality of Life
Ann Partridge, USA

Session 2: Genomics, Transcriptomics, ctDNA for disease monitoring and risk stratification

ctDNA dynamics for early assessment of recurrence risk
Nicholas Turner, UK

Molecular imaging in breast cancer
Michel van Kruchten, Netherlands

Webcast not available: Multi-omic machine learning prediction of treatment response
Carlos Caldas, UK

How to assess clinical utility and clinical validity of biomarkers in clinical trials?
Meredith Regan, USA

Session 3: Immunology in early breast cancer

Understanding the anti-cancer immune response: Innate and adaptive responses to breast cancer cells
Sherene Loi, Australia

Tumor microenvironment in early breast cancer
Carsten Denkert, Germany

Multiplexed analysis and spatial histology to predict response
Marleen Kok, Netherlands

The future of breast cancer immunotherapy (PD, PDL, vaccines)
Giuseppe Curigliano, Italy

Session 4: Hereditary Breast Cancer

Imaging, screening & surveillance for individuals with increased hereditary breast cancer risk Suzette Delaloge, France

Local treatment in patients with high risk hereditary breast cancer
Maria Joao Cardoso, Portugal

Management of patients harboring medium penetrance genes
Christian Singer, Austria

Adjuvant systemic therapy for patients with germline BRCA1/2 mutations
Andrew Tutt, UK

Session 5: The future treatment landscape in the adjuvant setting

Post-neoadjuvant options in triple negative disease: PARPi, capecitabine, checkpoint inhibitors Javier Cortes, Spain

Risk assessment in ER positive disease: Who should receive CDK 4-6 inhibitors?
Angela De Michele, USA

What’s next? Antibody drug conjugates for breast cancer therapy
Cristina Saura, Spain

Integrating new oral SERDs in the adjuvant treatment
David Cameron, UK

Session 6: Tailoring breast surgery and radiotherapy

Patient selection, dose and fractionation for external beam radiotherapy in patients with early breast cancer
Charlotte Coles, UK

Benefits and risks of oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery
Marie-Jeanne Vrancken Peeters, Netherlands

Breast surgery after neoadjuvant therapy
Andrea V. Barrio, USA

Breast surgery for local recurrence
Isabel Rubio, Spain

Session 7: Controversies in the treatment of the axilla

Omission of surgical staging of the axilla
Oreste Gentilini, Italy

Axillary surgery in the adjuvant setting
Jana de Boniface, Sweden

Limited axillary surgery concepts to determine nodal pathologic complete response
Jörg Heil, Germany

De-escalation of axillary radiotherapy – the time has come!
Icro Meattini, Italy

Session 8: Optimizing treatment in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer

Assessing HER2 heterogeneity
Frederique Penault-Llorca, France

Current adjuvant and neoadjuvant approaches
Nadia Harbeck, Germany

Emerging new treatments in HER2 positive breast cancer
Martine Piccart, Belgium

ER positive vs ER negative: tackling diversity in HER2 positive breast cancer
Aleix Prat, Spain

Session 9: Optimizing treatment in patients with triple negative breast cancer

Optimal neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy for patients with early triple negative breast cancer Hope S. Rugo, USA

Optimal systemic therapy for residual disease in TNBC
Sibylle Loibl, Germany

Tackling triple negative histological subtypes in early breast cancer
Jorge Reis Filho, USA

Can we de-escalate immunotherapy and chemotherapy in TNBC?
Hervè Bonnefoi, France

Session 10: Global Prespective on breast cancer treatment

Breast cancer treatment and research from a global perspective
Benjamin Anderson, World Health Organization

Perspective from Asia
Binghe Xu, China

Perspective from Africa
Heba Gamal, Egypt

Perspective from Latin America
Denisse Bretel, Peru

Session 11: Optimizing treatment in patients with HR positive breast cancer

What to do when there are many options? Integrating Olaparib in BRCA-associated ER positive tumors Sara Brucker, Germany

Pre-menopausal: Who needs chemotherapy in the (neo)adjuvant setting?
Prudence Francis, Australia

Can we omit adjuvant endocrine therapy?
Fatima Cardoso, Portugal

Duration of endocrine therapy in early breast cancer
Jens Huober, Switzerland

Interactive Session I: How to avoid unnecessary mastectomies – a global discussion

Interactive Session II: Too big, too small? Too low, too high? Adjuvant choices when stage and biology do not align.

What to do in discordant scenarios? Small tumors with high biological risk? (Case studies)

Interactive Session III: Controversies and uncertainties in axillary management

Debate I: Early breast cancer: do we need chemotherapy in low genomic/high clinical risk (ER+/HER2-)?

Debate II: Axillary dissection versus axillary radiation for residual nodal disease after neoadjuvant systemic therapy

Debate III: If you achieve pCR after neoadjuvant, do you need adjuvant therapy?

Debate IV: Surgery of the primary for stage IV disease

Special lecture I and panel discussion

Special lecture I
The future of innovation: Why are we conducting clinical trials in countries that are unlikely to be able to afford innovative drugs?
Sara Tolaney, USA

SGBCC Academy – on-demand lectures

Stefan Aebi: Endocrine therapies in early breast cancer

Meteb Al-Foheidi: Immunotherapy for early breast cancer – who benefits?

Carlos Barrios: Adequate treatment for early breast cancer in LMIC?

Jonas Bergh: Chemotherapy in early breast cancer – who benefits?

Sara Brucker: Early Detection, Diagnosis of Breast Cancer, quality control and Public Health Aspects

Fatima Cardoso: The importance of defining standards of care for breast cancer

Gerd Fastner: Modern radiotherapy for early breast cancer

Chiun-Sheng Huang (ROC): Preop MRI: helpful or dangerous for the breast surgeon?

Miguel Martin: New drugs on the horizon for early breast cancer

Emiel Rutgers: Breast Surgery Standards in 2023

Elzbieta Senkus-Konefka: Overtreatment in early breast cancer – who is at risk?

Masakazu Toi: Luminal B-like cancers and neoadjuvant systemic therapy – who benefits

Toru Watanabe: Gene signatures – who benefits?

Hans Wildiers: Systemic therapy in older persons for early breast cancer

Jiang Zefei: CDK4/6 Inhibition in early breast cancer – who benefits

SGBCC Satellite Symposium – Novartis

The Rise of CDK4/6 Inhibitors in HR+/HER2− Early Breast Cancer: Impact For Patients

We thank our sponsors and partners who support the 18th St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference 2023.

Co-Operating Partners

Sponsors and Exhibitors

Promotional Partners

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your valuable contribution to the 18th St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference 2023. It brings us great pleasure to see so many delegates come together every two years to learn about the latest developments in the treatment of individuals with early breast cancer, and your presence and contribution played an integral part in making the conference a success. As per tradition, the conference concluded with an update on the widely acknowledged «St.Gallen International Consensus on the Primary Treatment of Individuals with Early Breast Cancer,» which has just been published in the Annals of Oncology. https://www.annalsofoncology.org/article/S0923-7534(23)00835-9/fulltext

The next St. Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference will take place from 12 – 15 March 2025 in Vienna. We cordially invite you to mark this date in your agenda today. Don’t miss any news and sign up for our newsletter or join us on social media to stay informed. Once again, we would like to thank you for your participation and contribution to this important event, and we hope to see you again at the SGBCC 2025!

Save the date!

19th St.Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference 2025

Primary Therapy of Early Breast Cancer. Evidence, Controversies, Consensus

12 03 - 15 03 2025, Austria Center Vienna