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Co-Chair

Kelly McCann

MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine
UC San Diego

Kelly E. McCann is a board-certified medical oncologist and physician-scientist specializing in breast cancer and translational oncology research. She is a member of the breast cancer care team.

Her clinical and research interests include hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, ovarian suppression in premenopausal patients, precision oncology, PARP inhibitors (targeted cancer drugs) and supportive oncology care.

She is nationally recognized for her expertise in breast cancer therapeutics and has served as an invited speaker, moderator and advisor for numerous academic and oncology-focused organizations. Her work focuses on advancing targeted therapies, antibody-drug conjugates, ovarian function suppression strategies and precision medicine approaches for patients with breast cancer.

She currently serves as an associate professor in the Division of Medical Oncology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. McCann has served as principal investigator on numerous national and international clinical trials evaluating emerging therapies for breast cancer and solid tumors.

Dr. McCann is deeply committed to medical education and mentorship and has mentored residents, fellows, medical students and undergraduate researchers throughout her academic career. She has received multiple teaching honors, including the UCLA Hematology/Oncology Teacher of the Year Award.

2026 Sessions

General Session

Oral SERDs in Breast Cancer: They’re All the Same: Yes vs No

This debate will examine the evolving role of oral selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs) in breast cancer and address the question of whether these agents are truly...

  • Moderator
    • Kelly McCann, MD, PhD
  • Presenter
    • Sarah Premji, MD
    • Seth Wander, MD, PhD
Breast Cancers

Yes

This debate will examine the evolving role of oral selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs) in breast cancer and address the question of whether these agents are truly interchangeable. Compare differences in mechanism of action, clinical efficacy, resistance profiles, and safety across available and emerging oral SERDs. Speakers will highlight implications for patient selection and sequencing in hormone receptor-positive disease and provide expert insight into how nuanced differences among oral SERDs may influence real-world treatment decisions.

Faculty will review shared mechanisms of action, class-wide efficacy data, and common safety profiles across available, largely comparable therapeutic agents. The discussion will address whether differences among oral SERDs translate into meaningful distinctions in clinical practice, and participants will gain insight into the rationale for viewing oral SERDs as a broadly similar therapeutic class in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

Presenter

Saturday, March 14 10:25–10:45 AM
Room Royal Ballroom 1
Breast Cancers
Faculty

Seth Wander

MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Wander is a medical oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital with a clinical and translational research interest in breast cancer and cancer genomics. He serves as the Director of Translational Research for the Breast Oncology Program, where he leads a multidisciplinary team focused upon leveraging genetic and molecular sequencing results to understand how cancers become resistant to standard therapies in order to develop novel, personalized treatment strategies. Dr. Wander has published more than seventy peer-reviewed manuscripts in the field of precision medicine and continues to present educational sessions and original research nationally and internationally related to drug resistance and the development of personalized therapy for breast cancer. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and remains engaged in teaching medical students, residents, and fellows. He was a recipient of the 2017 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Wong Family Translational Research Award and a 2018 recipient of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award. As the Director of Precision Medicine in the Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies, he leads efforts across the MGH Cancer Center to promote novel and innovative research leveraging emerging genetic sequencing technologies to both understand resistance to cancer therapies and inform the design of new clinical trials. Dr. Wander's research has helped to shape our understanding of drug resistance in metastatic breast cancer, and he continues to lead a variety of clinical trials, across all phases of drug development, focused upon developing new, personalized treatment options for patients with breast cancer.

No

This debate will examine the evolving role of oral selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs) in breast cancer and address the question of whether these agents are truly interchangeable. Compare differences in mechanism of action, clinical efficacy, resistance profiles, and safety across available and emerging oral SERDs. Speakers will highlight implications for patient selection and sequencing in hormone receptor-positive disease and provide expert insight into how nuanced differences among oral SERDs may influence real-world treatment decisions.

Our presenters will examine differences in pharmacology, potency, resistance profiles, and clinical trial outcomes among available and emerging agents, discussing how these distinctions may influence patient selection, sequencing, and combination strategies. Delve into the clinical relevance for patients of heterogeneity within the oral SERD class.

Presenter

Saturday, March 14 10:45–11:05 AM
Room Royal Ballroom 1
Breast Cancers

Sarah Premji

MD
Assistant Director, Breast Cancer Research
Sarah Cannon Research Institute

Dr. Sarah Premji joined Sarah Cannon Research Institute as Assistant Director of Breast Cancer Research and Medical Oncologist at Sarah Cannon Research Institute Oncology Partners in September 2025.

Dr. Premji completed medical school at the Medical College of Georgia, residency at Baylor College of Medicine and fellowship at Mayo Clinic. Her research interest is breast oncology therapeutics with a focus on patient reported outcomes and treatment toxicity in clincial trials. She attended the prestigous ASCO/AACR Methods in Clinical Cancer Research, formerly known as Vail Workshop and was awarded a ASCO Concur Cancer Young Investigator Award in 2025. While in fellowship, she was awarded Minnesota Society of Clinical Oncology's "outstanding fellow" award, was recognised at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium for a clinical scholar award and received a Mayo Clinic small grant award. Dr. Premji was also awarded scholarships to attend numerous workshops including the Duke Southeastern Fellows Research Retreat, NCCN Oncology Fellows Program, Lynn Sage Symposium, Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium and Alliance.
General Session

All Patients With TNBC Should Receive Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: Yes vs No

Faculty will critically evaluate current evidence, including trial data, biomarkers, and patient selection considerations, to clarify where immunotherapy offers meaningful benefit...

  • Moderator
    • Kelly McCann, MD, PhD
  • Presenter
    • Melinda Telli, MD, FASCO
    • Yuan Yuan, MD, PhD
Breast Cancers

Yes

Faculty will critically evaluate current evidence, including trial data, biomarkers, and patient selection considerations, to clarify where immunotherapy offers meaningful benefit and where uncertainty remains in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. Presenters will provide expert insight into translating evolving data into real-world clinical decision-making. Through this balanced discussion, participants will gain a nuanced understanding of the risks, benefits, and limitations of universal versus selective use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in TNBC.

Explore the rationale and evidence behind the use of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with TNBC. Discussion will review key clinical trial data, mechanisms of action, and the role of biomarkers in guiding treatment decisions. Faculty will also address ongoing controversies, including patient selection, toxicity considerations, and real-world applicability. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of the potential benefits and limitations of broadly applying immunotherapy across the TNBC population.

Presenter

Saturday, March 14 11:10–11:30 AM
Room Royal Ballroom 1
Breast Cancers

Yuan Yuan

MD, PhD
Director, Breast Oncology
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Director, Breast Oncology; Medical Director, Breast Oncology DRG, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Yuan Yuan, MD, PhD is a Professor and Director of Breast Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She also serves as the Medical Director for Breast Cancer Research at Cedars. She received her medical degree at Xu Zhou Medical College in 1994 and Master of Oncology training at Peking Union Medical College in 1997. She completed PhD training in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at U.C. Riverside in 2002, internal medicine training at New York Downtown Hospital; HemOnc Fellowship at NYU. Prior to joining Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, she worked at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center from 2012-2022.

Her research focuses on translational and clinical studies investigating novel therapeutics in metastatic breast cancer. She has a strong background in basic sciences, clinical oncology and translational medicine with specific interest in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) chemotherapy resistance and novel therapeutics. She have successfully developed and completed several investigator initiated breast cancer immune therapy studies including a phase I/II trial combining letrozole, palbociclib and pembrolizumab in patients with HR+ metastatic BC (NCT02778685); a phase I/II trial androgen receptor (AR) targeted therapy GTx-024 in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with metastatic AR+ TNBC (NCT02971761) and a phase IB study combining ipatasertib with carboplatin or carboplatin/paclitaxel or capecitabine/atezolizumab in patients with metastatic TNBC (NCT03853707); Phase I study of ivermectin and balstilimab in patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer (NCT05318469).

No

Faculty will critically evaluate current evidence, including trial data, biomarkers, and patient selection considerations, to clarify where immunotherapy offers meaningful benefit and where uncertainty remains in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. Presenters will provide expert insight into translating evolving data into real-world clinical decision-making. Through this balanced discussion, participants will gain a nuanced understanding of the risks, benefits, and limitations of universal versus selective use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in TNBC.

Examine the evidence supporting a selective approach to the use of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with TNBC. Faculty will review clinical trial data, biomarker-driven strategies, and patient-specific factors that influence treatment benefit and risk. The discussion will address toxicity, cost, and limitations of current evidence in certain TNBC subgroups, as well as how to individualize immunotherapy decisions to optimize outcomes while minimizing unnecessary treatment.

Presenter

Saturday, March 14 11:30–11:50 AM
Room Royal Ballroom 1
Breast Cancers

Melinda Telli

MD, FASCO
Professor of Medicine & Director, Breast Cancer Program
Stanford University School of Medicine

Dr. Melinda Telli, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at Stanford University School of Medicine, is Director of the Breast Cancer Program and Associate Director for Clinical Research at the Stanford Cancer Institute. She also serves as Associate Director of the Stanford Women’s Cancer Center. Dr. Telli’s research focuses on the development of novel therapies for the treatment of triple-negative, hereditary, and metastatic breast cancer. Dr. Telli currently has served as a Komen Scholar, Co-Chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Guideline Advisory Group, and is a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Breast Cancer Guideline Panel.
General Session

Should We Order ctDNA in the Adjuvant Setting for Early-Stage Breast Cancer Outside of Clinical Trials?: Yes vs No

This debate will examine the role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in the adjuvant management of early-stage breast cancer outside of clinical trials. Faculty will explore...

  • Moderator
    • Kelly McCann, MD, PhD
  • Presenter
    • Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD
    • Jason Mouabbi, MD
Breast Cancers

Yes

This debate will examine the role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in the adjuvant management of early-stage breast cancer outside of clinical trials. Faculty will explore the potential clinical value of ctDNA for detecting minimal residual disease, guiding treatment escalation or de-escalation and informing prognosis. The discussion will also address limitations of current evidence, assay variability, and ethical and practical considerations. Session presenters will give their expert perspective on whether and how ctDNA testing should be integrated into routine adjuvant care.

Faculty will review emerging data supporting ctDNA as a tool for detecting minimal residual disease and identifying patients at higher risk for recurrence, addressing how ctDNA results may inform earlier intervention, treatment intensification, or closer surveillance. Participants will gain insight into the potential clinical utility of ctDNA testing in real-world adjuvant breast cancer care.

Presenter

Sunday, March 15 10:25–10:45 AM
Room Royal Ballroom 1
Breast Cancers

Jason Mouabbi

MD
Assistant Professor
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Jason A. Mouabbi, MD is an Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He completed his fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, followed by a clinical instructorship in Breast Oncology at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Mouabbi serves as the Chair of the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance and is the Co-Lead of the Hormone Receptor–Positive Working Group at MD Anderson. His research focuses on two main areas: (1) investigating the unique biology of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) compared to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), including the cellular, molecular, and genetic features of the ILC tumor microenvironment to identify novel therapeutic targets; and (2) developing and evaluating cutting-edge therapies for metastatic hormone receptor–positive (HR+) breast cancer, including both endocrine-sensitive and endocrine-refractory disease. Dr. Mouabbi is currently the principal investigator and co-investigator on multiple therapeutic clinical trials aimed at advancing treatment strategies for both ILC and HR+ metastatic breast cancer.

No

This debate will examine the role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in the adjuvant management of early-stage breast cancer outside of clinical trials. Faculty will explore the potential clinical value of ctDNA for detecting minimal residual disease, guiding treatment escalation or de-escalation and informing prognosis. The discussion will also address limitations of current evidence, assay variability, and ethical and practical considerations. Session presenters will give their expert perspective on whether and how ctDNA testing should be integrated into routine adjuvant care.

Current limitations in evidence, including uncertainty around clinical actionability, impact on outcomes, and optimal management of positive results, define the conversation around the use of ctDNA in cancer therapy. This discussion will address concerns related to assay variability, false positives, cost, and patient anxiety, and explore why ctDNA testing may be best reserved for investigational settings until prospective data clarify its role.

Presenter

Sunday, March 15 10:45–11:05 AM
Room Royal Ballroom 1
Breast Cancers

Adam Brufsky

MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh

Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, is Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He Medical Director, Women’s Cancer Center at the UPMC Magee Women’s Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA. He also serves as the Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives for the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh, PA.
Dr. Brufsky received an in Chemistry (Cum Laude) from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He earned his MD and his PhD in Developmental Biology at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, CT. He was an Intern and Resident in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. He then completed a Fellowship in Medical Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, where his appointments included Associate Physician and Instructor in Medicine at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.
Dr. Brufsky is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is an active member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Association for Cancer Research. He has authored or co- authored more than 300 abstracts and research articles in leading journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Lancet Oncology. Dr. Brufsky is a Principal Investigator on several research grants funded by the National Institutes of Health, Susan G. Komen Foundation, and US Army Breast Cancer Research Program.
General Session

Oral SERDs in Breast Cancer: They’re All the Same: Yes vs No

This debate will examine the evolving role of oral selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs) in breast cancer and address the question of whether these agents are truly...

  • Moderator
    • Kelly McCann, MD, PhD
  • Presenter
    • Karthik Giridhar, MD
    • Seth Wander, MD, PhD
Breast Cancers

Yes

This debate will examine the evolving role of oral selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs) in breast cancer and address the question of whether these agents are truly interchangeable. Compare differences in mechanism of action, clinical efficacy, resistance profiles, and safety across available and emerging oral SERDs. Speakers will highlight implications for patient selection and sequencing in hormone receptor-positive disease and provide expert insight into how nuanced differences among oral SERDs may influence real-world treatment decisions.

Faculty will review shared mechanisms of action, class-wide efficacy data, and common safety profiles across available, largely comparable therapeutic agents. The discussion will address whether differences among oral SERDs translate into meaningful distinctions in clinical practice, and participants will gain insight into the rationale for viewing oral SERDs as a broadly similar therapeutic class in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

Debate Speaker

Saturday, September 26 10:05–10:25 AM
Room Empire Complex - Chelsea/Hudson
Breast Cancers
Faculty

Seth Wander

MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Wander is a medical oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital with a clinical and translational research interest in breast cancer and cancer genomics. He serves as the Director of Translational Research for the Breast Oncology Program, where he leads a multidisciplinary team focused upon leveraging genetic and molecular sequencing results to understand how cancers become resistant to standard therapies in order to develop novel, personalized treatment strategies. Dr. Wander has published more than seventy peer-reviewed manuscripts in the field of precision medicine and continues to present educational sessions and original research nationally and internationally related to drug resistance and the development of personalized therapy for breast cancer. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and remains engaged in teaching medical students, residents, and fellows. He was a recipient of the 2017 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Wong Family Translational Research Award and a 2018 recipient of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award. As the Director of Precision Medicine in the Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies, he leads efforts across the MGH Cancer Center to promote novel and innovative research leveraging emerging genetic sequencing technologies to both understand resistance to cancer therapies and inform the design of new clinical trials. Dr. Wander's research has helped to shape our understanding of drug resistance in metastatic breast cancer, and he continues to lead a variety of clinical trials, across all phases of drug development, focused upon developing new, personalized treatment options for patients with breast cancer.

No

This debate will examine the evolving role of oral selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs) in breast cancer and address the question of whether these agents are truly interchangeable. Compare differences in mechanism of action, clinical efficacy, resistance profiles, and safety across available and emerging oral SERDs. Speakers will highlight implications for patient selection and sequencing in hormone receptor-positive disease and provide expert insight into how nuanced differences among oral SERDs may influence real-world treatment decisions.

Our presenters will examine differences in pharmacology, potency, resistance profiles, and clinical trial outcomes among available and emerging agents, discussing how these distinctions may influence patient selection, sequencing, and combination strategies. Delve into the clinical relevance for patients of heterogeneity within the oral SERD class.

Debate Speaker

Saturday, September 26 10:25–10:45 AM
Room Empire Complex - Chelsea/Hudson
Breast Cancers
Faculty

Karthik Giridhar

MD
Assistant Professor of Oncology
Mayo Clinic

Dr. Giridhar is a breast oncologist at Mayo Clinic, where he also completed his fellowship training. Prior to this, he obtained his medical degree from the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Giridhar’s therapeutic trial research focuses on mechanisms of hormonal receptor resistance. His translational research focuses on the identification and development of circulating predictive biomarkers, with his lab performing studies on circulating tumor cells. He received the Conquer Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Grant and the Grand Forks Career Development Grant Award to continue work on phenotypically characterizing circulating tumor cells. He is currently an Assistant Professor in Oncology and the Breast Tumor Group Practice Chair at Mayo Clinic (Rochester).
General Session

All Patients With TNBC Should Receive Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: Yes vs No

Faculty will critically evaluate current evidence, including trial data, biomarkers, and patient selection considerations, to clarify where immunotherapy offers meaningful benefit...

  • Moderator
    • Kelly McCann, MD, PhD
  • Presenter
    • VK Gadi, MD, PhD
    • Tiffany Traina, MD, FASCO
Breast Cancers

Yes

Faculty will critically evaluate current evidence, including trial data, biomarkers, and patient selection considerations, to clarify where immunotherapy offers meaningful benefit and where uncertainty remains in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. Presenters will provide expert insight into translating evolving data into real-world clinical decision-making. Through this balanced discussion, participants will gain a nuanced understanding of the risks, benefits, and limitations of universal versus selective use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in TNBC.

Explore the rationale and evidence behind the use of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with TNBC. Discussion will review key clinical trial data, mechanisms of action, and the role of biomarkers in guiding treatment decisions. Faculty will also address ongoing controversies, including patient selection, toxicity considerations, and real-world applicability. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of the potential benefits and limitations of broadly applying immunotherapy across the TNBC population.

Debate Speaker

Saturday, September 26 10:50–11:10 AM
Room Empire Complex - Chelsea/Hudson
Breast Cancers
Faculty

VK Gadi

MD, PhD
Deputy Director
University of Illinois Cancer Center

I am a clinician investigator, community and peer educator, and health care administrator and leader working towards precision health equity in cancer working out of Chicago, Illinois. My scholarly work has centered around women's oncology, specifically breast cancer. Over my 34 year cancer career, I have made foundational contributions towards our understanding of cancer risk, diagnostics implementation, and therapeutics development. I am proud that our team's findings hold clinical impact affecting the course of many patients' care. I remain an active practicing clinician and am blessed to work collaboratively with many patients and their families on their cancer treatment and eventual survivorship journies.

No

Faculty will critically evaluate current evidence, including trial data, biomarkers, and patient selection considerations, to clarify where immunotherapy offers meaningful benefit and where uncertainty remains in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. Presenters will provide expert insight into translating evolving data into real-world clinical decision-making. Through this balanced discussion, participants will gain a nuanced understanding of the risks, benefits, and limitations of universal versus selective use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in TNBC.

Examine the evidence supporting a selective approach to the use of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with TNBC. Faculty will review clinical trial data, biomarker-driven strategies, and patient-specific factors that influence treatment benefit and risk. The discussion will address toxicity, cost, and limitations of current evidence in certain TNBC subgroups, as well as how to individualize immunotherapy decisions to optimize outcomes while minimizing unnecessary treatment.

Debate Speaker

Saturday, September 26 11:10–11:30 AM
Room Empire Complex - Chelsea/Hudson
Breast Cancers
Faculty

Tiffany Traina

MD, FASCO
Vice Chair, Department of Medicine
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Dr. Tiffany A. Traina is an Associate Attending Physician on the Breast Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She serves as Vice Chair of Operations for the Department of Medicine and Section Head of the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Clinical Research Program. She is also Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. Her research program centers on the development of therapies for patients with breast cancer, with a particular focus on Triple Negative Breast Cancer and the role of the androgen receptor. Dr. Traina is a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and has held several leadership roles including past Chair for the ASCO Membership Committee, past Co-Chair of the Breast Cancer Guidelines Advisory Group and faculty mentor in the Leadership Development Program. Dr Traina is a graduate of the 2016-2017 ASCO Leadership Development Program and the MSK Physician Executive Development Program. She has Co-Chaired the MSK Outpatient Operations Committee, served as the Clinical Director of the Breast Medicine Service and recently Co-Chaired the Clinical Advisory Council for implementation of Epic across MSK. She has received recognition for her teaching from MSK and Weill Cornell and has been acknowledged with the Hally Yaccino Steiner Award from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Hero Award from the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation.
General Session

Should We Order ctDNA in the Adjuvant Setting for Early-Stage Breast Cancer Outside of Clinical Trials?: Yes vs No

This debate will examine the role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in the adjuvant management of early-stage breast cancer outside of clinical trials. Faculty will explore...

  • Moderator
    • Kelly McCann, MD, PhD
  • Presenter
    • Neil Iyengar, MD
    • Arielle Medford, MD
Breast Cancers

Yes

This debate will examine the role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in the adjuvant management of early-stage breast cancer outside of clinical trials. Faculty will explore the potential clinical value of ctDNA for detecting minimal residual disease, guiding treatment escalation or de-escalation and informing prognosis. The discussion will also address limitations of current evidence, assay variability, and ethical and practical considerations. Session presenters will give their expert perspective on whether and how ctDNA testing should be integrated into routine adjuvant care.

Faculty will review emerging data supporting ctDNA as a tool for detecting minimal residual disease and identifying patients at higher risk for recurrence, addressing how ctDNA results may inform earlier intervention, treatment intensification, or closer surveillance. Participants will gain insight into the potential clinical utility of ctDNA testing in real-world adjuvant breast cancer care.

Debate Speaker

Sunday, September 27 10:05–10:25 AM
Room Empire Complex - Chelsea/Hudson
Breast Cancers
Faculty

Neil Iyengar

MD
Co-Director, Breast Medical Oncology
Director, Cancer Survivorship Services
Associate Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University

Neil M. Iyengar, MD, is a board-certified medical oncologist who specializes in treating patients with breast cancer. His primary practice location is Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University's Clifton campus. He serves as Director of survivorship services at Winship Cancer Institute, Co-Director of breast oncology, and Associate Professor of Hematology and Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. As Co-Director of breast oncology,he leads the clinical trial portfolio and strategic direction for development of new therapeutic strategies. As Director of survivorship services,Dr. Iyengar leads the strategic direction, operations and integration of survivorship care across Winship and Emory Healthcare. He oversees a comprehensive, personalized program that supports patients with wellness plans tailored to needs such as exercise, nutrition and supportive care. He also directs research initiatives and evidence-based practices in survivorship.
Dr. Iyengar earned his undergraduate and medical degrees through the accelerated program at the University of Illinois at Chicago, graduating with the university’s highest honors. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center and a fellowship in medical oncology and hematology at Memorial Sloan Kettering. His research focuses on improving metabolic health to reduce breast cancer risk and mortality. At Memorial Sloan Kettering, he developed and led the Healthy Living Program, an evidence-based survivorship model that creates personalized lifestyle plans for patients during and after treatment. His work has been recognized by several organizations and supported by research grants from the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Conquer Cancer and others.

No

This debate will examine the role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in the adjuvant management of early-stage breast cancer outside of clinical trials. Faculty will explore the potential clinical value of ctDNA for detecting minimal residual disease, guiding treatment escalation or de-escalation and informing prognosis. The discussion will also address limitations of current evidence, assay variability, and ethical and practical considerations. Session presenters will give their expert perspective on whether and how ctDNA testing should be integrated into routine adjuvant care.

Current limitations in evidence, including uncertainty around clinical actionability, impact on outcomes, and optimal management of positive results, define the conversation around the use of ctDNA in cancer therapy. This discussion will address concerns related to assay variability, false positives, cost, and patient anxiety, and explore why ctDNA testing may be best reserved for investigational settings until prospective data clarify its role.

Debate Speaker

Sunday, September 27 10:25–10:45 AM
Room Empire Complex - Chelsea/Hudson
Breast Cancers
Faculty

Arielle Medford

MD
Attending Physician
Mass General Brigham Cancer Center/Harvard Medical School

Dr. Medford obtained her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed internal medicine residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where she won several awards including the Harvard Medical School Resident Teaching Award and the MGH Humanism in Medicine Award. She subsequently returned to the MGH to serve as Chief Resident. She completed her medical oncology fellowship at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Mass General Cancer Center, where she also became a clinical post-doctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of Harvard & MIT. She is now an attending medical oncologist at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses primarily on the clinical-translational applications of circulating tumor DNA in early and advanced breast cancer, and how these tools can be used to lead to more personalized care for individual patients living with breast cancer. Dr. Medford is a recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation and a Paul Calabresi K12 Career Development Award.
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