2024 SABCS Meeting Magazine - 17

wildest ambitions, the
science presented at
the Symposium was
vital from the start.
" The speakers were
unbelievable, with
Drs. Bernie Fisher,
Ed Fisher, and Marc
Lippman, in addition
to McGuire and
others, " recounted C. Kent
Osborne, MD, director of the
Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive
Cancer Center at Baylor
College of Medicine. Dr.
Osborne arrived in San Antonio
less than 18 months before the
first SABCS® as an assistant
professor at UTHSCSA and was
one of the inaugural Symposium
attendees.
A recurring theme throughout the
history of the SABCS® is continuous
evolution and adaptation to meet
the most pressing challenges
of the time for breast cancer
specialists. After the initial meeting,
the Symposium slowly grew over
the years until Drs. McGuire and
Coltman decided to expand the
scope of the meeting to
encompass more
research by including
abstracts for oral and
poster presentations.
The idea was sparked
by Dr. McGuire's thesis
that clinicians should
be exposed to relevant
basic research and that
lab researchers should
remain connected to
clinical research and
December 10-13, 2024 | San Antonio, Texas
17
patient experiences. While
the term " translational
research " wasn't coined
until 1991 during
the development
of the National
Cancer Institute (NCI)
Specialized Programs
C. Kent Osborne, MD
of Research Excellence
grant program, Dr.
McGuire had the foresight to identify
the importance of this new type of
research years before it was given a
formal title.
" McGuire and Coltman were
ahead of their time in fostering the
idea of enhancing translation of
basic discoveries to the clinic, " Dr.
Osborne wrote.
By 1992, the SABCS® had grown
to host 700 attendees from 24
countries, necessitating a new
hosting site at the Hyatt Regency
Hotel in downtown San Antonio.
In March of that year, Dr. McGuire
tragically died of a heart attack at
the age of 55. His death stunned
and saddened the entire breast
cancer community. The William L.
McGuire Memorial Lecture Award
was established, commemorating
his significant contributions to
breast oncology.
Before his passing, Dr. McGuire
helped secure the first NCI
Specialized Programs of Research
Excellence (SPORE) grant for
UTHSCSA. The $1.7 million grant had
a unique stipulation for the time and
would subsequently spark another
significant evolution in the SABCS®.
The grant required the involvement
of patient advocates, making the
SABCS® the first symposium to
include patient advocates and
establishing a critical aspect of the
Symposium today. Only several
years later, in 1998, the Alamo Breast
Cancer Foundation began sponsoring
patient advocates to attend the
meeting, further expanding the role
of patient advocates at the annual
Symposium. In 2023, 617 patient
advocates joined the meeting to learn
about the latest research findings in
breast cancer and share them with
their local constituencies.
 CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
2024 SABCS Meeting Magazine

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