Roswell Park Breast Surgery Chief Gives Keynote Talk on Immunotherapy for Breast Cancer

Address to Japan Society of Clinical Oncology focuses
on opportunities to expand benefits to more patients

• Accomplished surgeon-scientist joined Roswell Park in 2016
• Currently, immunotherapies work well for very few patients with breast cancer
• Dr. Takabe also speaking on how to support development of oncology leaders
   

Dr. Kazuaki Takabe, Roswell Park’s Chief of Breast Surgery, gave the keynote address at the annual meeting of the Japan Society of Clinical Oncology.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Chief of Breast Surgery, Kazuaki Takabe, MD, PhD, FACS, gave an Oct. 24 keynote address on immunotherapy for breast cancer at the 57^th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Clinical Oncology (JSCO).

“Immunotherapy is becoming another major tool to fight many cancers, but breast cancer has been behind on this because it’s a cancer where we see very little lymphocyte infiltration, which is a major factor in whether these treatments will be effective,” notes Dr. Takabe, a surgeon-scientist who is also The Alfiero Foundation Endowed Chair in Breast Oncology and Professor of Oncology at the Buffalo, N.Y.-based cancer center. “Currently, immunotherapies for breast cancer are effective in only about 3% of patients. But we have a lot of opportunity to apply what we know toward making immunotherapy work for a much larger share of patients with the disease.”

Dr. Takabe joined Roswell Park’s faculty in 2016. His background includes training in general surgery both at the University of California, San Diego, and in Japan; specialized training in surgical oncology and service as an attending surgical oncologist and faculty member at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine; and postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. 

On Friday, Oct. 25, Dr. Takabe also led a discussion on the roles of Japanese oncologists in global oncology and how JSCO’s U.S. counterpart, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, is addressing the challenge of developing future leaders.

The meeting, the theme of which is “Tackling the Needs of Society and Medicine,” continues through Oct. 26 at the Fukuoka International Congress Center in Fukuoka, Japan.

###

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a community united by the drive to eliminate cancer’s grip on humanity by unlocking its secrets through personalized approaches and unleashing the healing power of hope. Founded by Dr. Roswell Park in 1898, it is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. Learn more at www.roswellpark.org, or contact us at 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or ASKRoswell@RoswellPark.org.