The ABC Global Alliance will hold the ninth Advanced Breast Cancer International Consensus Conference (ABC9) in Lisbon, Portugal, on 4-6 November 2027, in a hybrid format, according to the conference’s official website. The organisation is an international non-profit alliance dedicated to advanced and metastatic breast cancer, with more than 280 member organisations in over 100 countries.
What it is
ABC is the major international conference dedicated entirely to advanced and metastatic breast cancer. Its primary goal is to develop international consensus guidelines for the management of the disease, based on the most up-to-date evidence and intended to guide treatment decisions across very different healthcare settings. These guidelines are endorsed by several international organisations and many others adapt them to their own environment, particularly regarding access to healthcare services, diagnostics and new drugs. The conference closes with the guidelines consensus session and brings together oncologists and researchers as well as patients and patient advocates, who take an active part in the discussions.
What will be covered
The scientific programme for ABC9 is not yet published on the conference website. The chair, Fatima Cardoso, says in the official welcome that the 2027 edition will also present the 2015-2025 Global Decade Report and the new 2025-2035 ABC Global Charter, which sets out ten goals for the next decade. All topics will be approached from a multidisciplinary, person-centred perspective.
Registration and key dates
Registration opening dates, fees and abstract submission deadlines do not yet appear on the official site; the organisation publishes these updates in its newsletter and on the conference website. The specific venue in Lisbon has not been detailed either.
Reading from the breast unit
For a breast unit, the value of ABC9 lies less in the results presented than in the guidelines produced by its consensus session: these are the recommendations later used to discuss advanced breast cancer treatment in tumour boards and clinics around the world. The fact that the conference gives patients and advocacy groups a space of their own, and that its guidelines are adapted to settings with very different resources, makes it a useful reference for services caring for these patients as well.
