The 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference: IMProve cAre and Knowledge through Translational research

IMPAKT is an international conference dedicated to translational research and drug development in breast cancer. IMPAKT focused this year on PI3K and metabolism, next generation sequencing and tumor heterogeneity, triple negative breast cancers and implementation of gene expression arrays in daily practice. Several key messages were delivered during the conference. Firstly, PI3K has very strong interactions with DNA repair, and some strategies combining PI3K and PARP inhibitors could lead to antitumor effects. Secondly, a tumor should no longer be considered as a single population of cells, but rather as a population of heterogeneous cells. Thirdly, data have been presented that suggest that targeting DNA repair could impact outcome in triple negative breast cancers. Finally, although the technology is ready for implementation, the genomic signatures have not yet shown that they change patient outcome in the context of prospective trials.