RISE UP for Breast Cancer

RISE UP (Revolutionizing Investigations to Link Screening to Experimental Therapeutics to Upend Prognosis for Breast Cancer) will bring an interdisciplinary, prevention-focused approach to the challenge of eliminating breast cancer mortality. We aim to leverage what we know about targeted breast cancer treatments to develop novel ways to approach breast cancer prevention. The conference will bring together an international group of experts from many backgrounds and disciplines, including (but not limited to!) physicians across women’s health specialties (oncologists, gynecologists, radiologists, primary care providers), basic scientists, advocates, entrepreneurs, policy makers, regulators, and investment leaders. We will apply this varied expertise to three main focus areas: 1) combining growing knowledge about new breast cancer subtypes and treatments that successfully eliminate tumors in the early-stage setting with strategies for subtype specific prevention; 2) exploring how best to apply trial designs using early endpoints to accelerate learning, funding, and FDA approvals for screening and prevention; 3) integrating knowledge of breast cancer treatment and prevention with the approaches to hormonal cycle control. Ultimately, we hope to use our knowledge about breast cancer to reformulate the hormonal control products millions of women take to reduce breast cancer incidence. The event will consist of talks and poster sessions to foster cross disciplinary learning, highlight research, and spark ideas and action. General sessions will be designed to educate attendees about opportunities to improve the health and well-being of women from prevention to treatment of breast cancer as well as management of cycle control, contraception, menopause, and sexual health. Our goal is to bridge the critical gap in knowledge of breast specialists and gynecologists to make breast cancer management better, engage the gynecologic and primary care community in improvements in breast cancer screening and prevention, and to rethink hormonal control across the continuum of a woman’s life with an eye toward breast cancer prevention. The conference is designed to foster questions, collaborations, and overall generation of new ideas and ways of thinking about breast cancer. There will be no overlapping sessions so that all attendees will come out with a common set of knowledge and the ability to improve their practice and upend the way we think about breast cancer prevention. The conference will be held from November 1-3, 2024, at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. We hope that the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley will energize attendees to challenge the status quo and act. This notion of idea to implementation is built into the conference: we will hold a competition to incorporate breast cancer prevention into the hormone-based care women already receive-- and a prize of working with Bay Area biotech leaders to make that idea a reality.