Sino-German Video Conference on Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer

Shantou Central Hospital always maintains an open mind for learning and attaches great importance to international exchange and cooperation. On December 11th, Shantou Central Hospital invited Prof. Sherko Kümmel, Director of Interdisciplinary Breast Unit of Kliniken Essen-Mitte(KEM), to join in the Sino-German Video Conference on Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer. The meeting was led by Dr. WU ZhiYong, Deputy President of Shantou Central Hospital and Chief Director of Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Breast Disease, hosted by Dr. HUANG JianHao, Chief Physician of Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Breast Disease and interpreted by Dr. QIU SiQi, Attending Physician from the same department .

On behalf of Shantou Central Hospital, Dr. WU ZhiYong, Deputy President of Shantou Central Hospital and Chief Director of Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Breast Disease, firstly extended his warmest welcome to Prof. Kümmel and to other attendees, and then introduced the basic situation of the Shantou Central Hospital and the achievements accomplished by the Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Breast Disease of the hospital.

Recently, the National Cancer Center and the National Quality Control Center on Cancer published a list of the first national pilot centers for standardizing quality control processes on the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, among which Shantou Central Hospital was honored to be one of them. It represents that the medical quality of the Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Breast Disease of Shantou Central Hospital has been widely recognized by colleagues. 

Prof. Kümmel gave a luture titled "Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy - Current Standards and Future Aspects". During his speech, Prof. Kümmel briefly introduced the treatment concept of early breast cancer, and some cutting-edge research findings in this field. He also introduced the current treatment standards for different kinds of breast cancers by showing some data, research results and treatment guidelines as a support, and provided a brief analysis of the future development of clinical practice in early breast cancer treatment. 

Dr. QIU SiQi, Attending Physician of the Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Breast Disease of Shantou Central Hospital, gave a case report about a Luminal B HER2- locally advanced breast cancer. Regarding to the treatment plan chosen in the case, Prof. Kümmel saw eye to eye with Dr. QIU and he also shared his valuable opinions with Dr. QIU on whether this patient should receive a chemo escalation after surgery and what kind of regimen and endocrine therapy should be used.

Then Dr. ZHAN WanLin, Attending Physician of the Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Breast Disease of Shantou Central Hospital, shared with us another case report about Her2 positive breast cancer. Regarding to the questions proposed by Dr. ZHAN, Prof. Kümmel expressed his opinions in details, stating that there were several solid researches supporting the practice of continuing-surgery even if the lesion disappears completely through MRI scan (cCR). He also agreed that breast-conserving surgery was the right solution for this patient. As for the question of whether to perform the axillary lymph nodes dissection, Prof. Kümmel said that although this patient's cancer stage was N2 and could convert to N0 after neoadjuvant therapy, there still was not sufficient evidence to support to perform the sentinel lymph node biopsy.

At the end of the meeting, Dr. WU ZhiYong, Deputy President of Shantou Central Hospital expressed his thankfulness to Prof. Kümmel for his impressive talk. He said that the discussions with Prof. Kümmel over the two case reports make it an inspiring and fruitful academic exchange. He believed that the meeting benefited both two parties a lot, which is a good opportunity for us to deeper understand the protocols in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. He looked forward to the intensive academic exchanges and close collaboration with Prof. Kümmel in the future. The face-to-face meeting is blocked by the pandemic, but he believed Germany will overcome the Coronaviruses soon and warmly welcomed Prof. Kümmel to visit Shantou Central Hospital after the pandemic. In the end, he thanked all the participants for their attending and Gloryren for organizing this video conference.

Prof. Kümmel also thanked for the invitation from Shantou Central Hospital and Gloryren to this wonderful meeting. He said that the case discussions and highlight lectures were very inspiring, which benefited all the parties involved a lot and he hoped in the future to meet his Chinese colleagues face to face in Germany or China or even in a global platform. China has done a good job in solving the COVID-19 pandemic, while Germany is facing a second outbreak. He hoped Germany will be as lucky as China to get through it.