Editor's Note: From July 12th to 14th, the 2024 CACA Integrated Breast Cancer Conference and The 8th Yunling Breast Cancer Summit Forum were held in Kunming, Yunnan. "Oncology Frontier" invited Professor Guojun Zhang, the chairman of both conferences and the president of Yunnan Cancer Hospital, to introduce the conference highlights, the hot directions of translational medicine research in breast cancer, and the achievements of Yunnan Cancer Hospital in breast cancer discipline construction. He also shared his outlook on the application prospects of artificial intelligence in breast cancer.Professor Guojun Zhang: Towering Yunling Mountains, gathering of renowned experts. The 2024 CACA Integrated Breast Cancer Conference and the 8th Yunling Breast Cancer Summit Forum were grandly held in Kunming, bringing together national breast cancer experts to share the latest hotspots, address controversial issues, and showcase cutting-edge advancements. As the host, I would like to thank all colleagues and friends for their presence, contributing to the grand event for breast cancer prevention and treatment in Yunnan, and adding bricks to the Healthy China strategy!
Highlights of the Conferences
Oncology Frontier: As the chairman of the 2024 CACA Integrated Breast Cancer Conference and the 8th Yunling Breast Cancer Summit Forum, and the president of the hosting institution, Yunnan Cancer Hospital, can you introduce the conference’s highlights in terms of schedule and content?
Professor Guojun Zhang: It is an honor and a pleasure to have these two important conferences held in Yunnan. Particularly, the 2024 CACA Integrated Breast Cancer Conference is the largest academic event for breast cancer in Yunnan’s history. There are several highlights:
First Highlight: The Academician Forum. Academician Fan Daiming, president of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, delivered a report titled “Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Focus on Integration.” This concept has been widely recognized by peers and has formed a new trend in the medical field. Additionally, Academician Xu Binghe from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Cancer Hospital presented “Clinical Research of China’s Original Breast Cancer Drugs,” showcasing the latest research achievements and highlights in the domestic breast cancer field.
Second Highlight: Expert Discussions. Professor Shao Zhimin from Fudan University Cancer Hospital and Professor Jiang Zefei from PLA General Hospital delivered presentations on “Revolution in Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer” and “Chinese Experience in Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Models,” respectively. They deeply explored the latest advancements in the clinical treatment of breast cancer, especially in internal medicine. Furthermore, the “Integrated Breast Cancer Guidelines” will be interpreted at this conference, covering multiple aspects such as prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, full-cycle management, and postoperative and post-treatment rehabilitation. I will also share the latest advancements in translational medicine for breast cancer.
Third Highlight: The Sub-forum Setup. Including the CACA Breast Cancer Professional Committee (CBCS) sub-forum, the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association Breast Cancer Integrated Rehabilitation Professional Committee & Breast Cancer Integrated Screening Professional Committee & Integrative Medicine Breast Cancer Professional Committee sub-forum, the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association Breast Cancer Integrated Nursing Professional Committee & Breast Reconstruction Integrated Nursing Professional Committee sub-forum, and the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association Breast Cancer Integrated Rehabilitation Professional Committee & Chinese Anti-Cancer Association Case Management Professional Committee sub-forum. Each sub-forum will conduct in-depth discussions, elaborations, and exchanges on the full-cycle and full-course management of integrated breast cancer. Through these discussions, elaborations, and exchanges, we hope to impart the latest advancements in the field of breast cancer to more professionals.
Overall, through this grand conference, we aim to promote academic exchange and cooperation in the field of breast cancer, further improve the prevention and treatment levels of breast cancer, and bring better treatment effects and quality of life to patients.
Hot Directions in Translational Medicine for Breast Cancer
Oncology Frontier: You introduced the progress of “Integrated Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines Translational Medicine” at the 2024 CACA Integrated Breast Cancer Conference. Could you briefly summarize the current hot directions in translational medicine research in the field of breast cancer?
Professor Guojun Zhang: Translational medicine is a concept we are all familiar with. Originating in the 1990s, it was proposed in “Science” and “The Lancet” between 1992 and 1996. It acts as a bridge between basic medicine and clinical medicine, thus termed translational medicine. Initially known as “from bench to bedside,” it represents the transition from basic research to clinical research. Through translational means, the results of basic research can gradually be applied to humans and clinical practice, which is the essence of translational medicine.
The reason for mentioning translational medicine in the integrated breast cancer diagnosis and treatment guidelines is that if basic research cannot be translated, its significance will be greatly reduced. Similarly, if our clinical research lacks the innovation of ideas, technologies, and methods from basic research, clinical research will also find it difficult to achieve good results.
In terms of progress in translational medicine, Professor Shao Zhimin’s team has made significant achievements in the field of late-stage triple-negative breast cancer based on the concept of precise classification. The FUTURE series of clinical studies have shown substantial benefits to patients, particularly the FUTURE-C-Plus study, which significantly extended patients’ progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), providing new hope for more patients and playing a leading role.
Academician Xu Binghe has led multiple domestic clinical studies on small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting drugs. Among them, the Phase 3 PHILA study of pyrotinib combined with trastuzumab and docetaxel (PyHT) as the first-line treatment for HER2-positive advanced breast cancer was successfully published in the “British Medical Journal” (BMJ). This is the first time in BMJ’s 183-year history, as one of the world’s “Big Four Medical Journals,” that it has published innovative clinical research results in the field of breast cancer from China, setting a precedent for the Chinese. Currently, the pyrotinib+trastuzumab+docetaxel regimen is recommended by the CSCO guidelines as a first-line treatment for HER2-positive advanced breast cancer.
Our own team is conducting research in the field of molecular imaging-guided surgical navigation. By synthesizing optical molecular probes, we achieve non-invasive, real-time, and dynamic visualization of tumors and their boundaries in the human body. This will play a significant role in breast-conserving surgery in the future. Our research has already achieved results at the basic research level, including cell level and small animal level, and will gradually transition to human research.
Professor Guojun Zhang
- MD, Professor, Chief Physician, Doctoral Supervisor
- President of Yunnan Cancer Hospital (Yunnan Hospital of Peking University Cancer Hospital, Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University)
- Director of Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer
- Director of Xiamen Municipal Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Endocrine Tumors
- Director of Xiamen Breast and Thyroid Tumor Clinical Medical Research Center
- Distinguished Professor of the Changjiang Scholars Program
- Outstanding Talent of the National Special Support Program (Ten Thousand Talents Plan)
- National-level candidate for the New Century Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Talents Project
- Category A high-level talent introduced by Fujian Province
- Innovative Talent of the “Hundred Talents Plan” of Fujian Province
- Outstanding Talent of Guangdong Province Special Support Plan
- Vice President of the Environmental Medicine Branch of the Chinese Research Hospital Association
- Director of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, Deputy Chairman of the International Medical Exchange Branch, Standing Committee Member of the Integrated Oncology Branch
- Standing Committee Member of the Second Committee of the Oncology Physicians Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association
