Japanese Breast Cancer Network: The 7th Annual Breast Cancer Symposium

This post is wayyyyy over due, but I wanted to share it anyway. This past April, I attended the "7th Annual BC Network Breast Cancer Symposium." I actually wrote a post about this event last year, too. (To see that post please click here). 

As I mentioned in my previous post, the "BC Network" is a Japanese organization founded by breast cancer survivors. This Japanese network is meant to serve as a support network for those who have survived breast cancer or have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. Furthermore, BC network endeavors to educate the Japanese community about breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, etc. Personally, I think this is a wonderful organization and I support it.

As someone aspiring to become a breast surgeon, I am always interested in attending breast cancer related events. I must admit, I have recently become fascinated with the field of oncology in general, especially the biochemistry of cancer, but my main focus is still breast cancer. I attended this symposium because I wanted to learn more about the effects of breast cancer within the Japanese community, but I also wanted to support my wonderful and brilliant boss, Dr. Freya Schnabel.

Dr. Schnabel is the director of breast surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center and my supervisor. I absolutely adore working with her. She is not only one of the most personable people I have every met, but also one of the most brilliant women I have had the pleasure of meeting and learning from. Dr. Schnabel has strengthened my understanding of breast cancer and has deepend my knowledge of cancer therapy. She is such an inspiration and I am fortunate to have her as a mentor!

The symposium program

Dr. Schnbel speaking

Small guidebook about the BC network

Dr. Schnabel was joined by two Japanese breast surgeons, each of whom discussed the prevalence and repercussions of breast cancer within the Japanese population. Dr. Schnabel's lecture focused on how breast cancer treatments have advanced over the last decade and what that means to both patients and physicians. She addressed the debates around mammography and discussed the issues surrounding the idea of "over diagnosis." (Dr. Schnabel advocates screening and doesn't feel that diligent radiographic surveillance is detrimental). 

The two Japanese breast surgeons discussed the prevalence of breast cancer in Japan, the potential causes, treatments, and noted trends. Now, you may be wondering what I mean by trends. In America, the average diagnosis age is 55. As we get older, our risk of diagnosis increases, but starts to dwindle eventually as you hit 80 or so. In Japan, the average age of diagnosis is 45 and as you get older, the risk of diagnosis increases --- this is very worrisome. The surgeons discussed that the introduction of high fat diets or the declining child birth rate could play into the increase of breast cancer in Japan. (Many more examples were discussed, but if recapped everything, this post would become a novel!)

One fact that I found particularly interesting pertained to mastectomy-reconstructions. I know I am making a blanketed statement here, but from what I have experienced, it seems like in America, having immediate breast reconstruction after a mastectomy is the norm. By this I mean, the breast surgeon performs the mastectomy and whilst the patient is still under anesthesia, the plastic surgeon reconstructs the lost breast. Of the mastectomies I have seen, I'd say that 9 out of 10 patients choose tissue expanders (which eventually lead to implants) and 1 out of 10 patients are candidates and choose autologous tissue reconstruction (ex: DIEP flaps). Sure, some women opt out of reconstruction, but from what I have seen, majority don't. I was really shocked to hear that in Japan, this is not the norm. Most women have the mastectomy and that's it. Immediate reconstruction has only become an option recently. I was totally blown away by this fact! 

A goodie bag of breast cancer literature

I left this symposium with a new wealth of knowledge. It was nice to hear Dr. Schnabel's thoughts on the "over diagnosis" debate, especially since this is a topic that I have been following closely. It was a reassuring feeling to know that she and I maintained the same opinions (advocating diligent screening) despite the difference in experience between us. 

My eyes were also opened to the world of breast cancer in Japan. I had no idea about the exponential growth in the number of Japanese women diagnosed with breast cancer. I had no idea that treatment options varied so much between America and Japan. In addition to the mastectomy-reconstruction discussion, I learned that certain cancer drugs available in the USA are not available in Japan. Although breast cancer is a universal disease, I found the difference in treatment between American and Japan totally fascinating! So glad I attended this event!!!