Save the Date: 6th World Consensus Conference on BIA-ALCL in April 2025
Save the date for the 10th International Breast Surgery Workshop (IBSW) and the 6th World Consensus Conference on BIA-ALCL, scheduled for April 11-12, 2025, in Tampa, Florida, USA, with live streaming options available.
This event will feature leading experts in breast surgery and implant safety. Patients will be happy to know the conference is free to stream. For more details and registration, visit the official IBSW website.
Breast implants have been associated with a few different cancers. Breast Implant-Associated Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, caused by exposure to textured breast implants and textured expanders. The World Consensus Conference on BIA-ALCL is a time when experts discuss updates related to the disease. The most recent conference took place in Rome, Italy, on April 20, 2024. The conference is still available to stream on YouTube. BISA attended the conference virtually and wrote the article, 5th World Consensus Conference on BIA-ALCL: Recap and Major Takeaways.
BISA Contributions & Patient Advocate Involvement at the 5th World Consensus Conference on BIA-ALCL
BISA members Jennifer Cook and Terri McGregor helped shape some of the content of the conference by submitting topics of particular importance to patients and patient advocates. In response to our requests, conference organizers Dr. Fabio Santanelli di Pompeo and Dr. Mark Clemens created a separate virtual session focused on patient education at the end of the conference.
The virtual session also included a presentation by BIA-ALCL survivor and patient advocate Krisztina Sajósi from Hungary. Her presentation, titled Shaping Tomorrow: Perspectives on the Future of BIA-ALCL, is extremely powerful and a must-watch!
Patient Education Session from the 5th WWC on BIA-ALCL
There are two YouTube links for the 5th World Consensus Conference on BIA-ALCL. One is for the in-person portion of the conference. The other is for the virtual patient education portion. There is a time-stamped list of the presentations in the description box of each video.
Resources & References
BISA Responds to Statements on Explant Recommendation For Textured Breast Implants
BISA: BSCC Issues Consensus Statement on Breast Implant Capsulectomy Definitions and Management
BISA Approved Support Group: ALCL in Women with Breast Implants BIA-ALCL
Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma: Evidence-Based Consensus Conference Statement From The American Association of Plastic Surgeons
International Breast Surgery Workshop & World Consensus Conference on BIA-ALCL
The Breast Implant Safety Alliance (BISA) is the largest organization of board-certified patient advocates and subject matter experts in the world dedicated to patient and consumer safety relating to breast implants. Representing the millions of individuals worldwide that currently have, had, or are considering breast implants, the alliance is a non-industry funded leading authority dedicated to providing balanced, evidence-based information for informed decision making about breast implant surgery and related issues. Founded in 2019 by women, BISA is a grassroots nonprofit organization led by volunteers who do not receive a salary for their work.
For questions, please contact Jennifer Cook, Director of BIA-ALCL Advocacy. Email her directly at jennifer.cook@bisanonprofit.org.
