Breast Cancer UK’s second Breast Cancer Prevention Conference took place at Middlesex University (London, UK) on the 10–11 June 2025.
With prevention taking centre stage, the conference showcased the critical role that environmental chemicals and lifestyle factors play in the risk of developing breast cancer. Attendees were invited to rethink current approaches and explore the latest evidence on how everyday choices and exposures may influence breast cancer risk.
The conference welcomed nearly 100 delegates and speakers from across the UK and around the world, including from the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Myanmar and mainland Europe. Their presence highlights the growing global commitment and interest into advancing research, raising awareness, and promoting collaborative efforts in breast cancer prevention.
The conference brought together a multidisciplinary mix of academics, researchers, clinicians, nurses, students, and charity representatives, creating a unique space for cross-sector dialogue.
Attendees were highly engaged throughout, with thought-provoking questions following each presentation. It was clear that the talks not only delivered compelling science but also inspired critical thinking and renewed determination to tackle the root causes of breast cancer.
“One strong reflection I had from the conference was just how valuable and unique it was to have such a concentration of international expertise in one room. The breadth and depth of knowledge shared, especially from those working with large-scale longitudinal studies, was remarkable, and the discussions were consistently grounded in high-quality, data-driven evidence.” – Dr Annette Lasham, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
As a prevention charity, Breast Cancer UK are leaders in public education on risk factors and pioneers in environmental chemical prevention research. As such, the conference provides a unique opportunity to drive forward change through knowledge, collaboration and innovation.
“I love the work of Breast Cancer UK because their focal point is on breast cancer prevention, and most importantly looking at the evidence supporting the prevention of breast cancer” – Darryl Edwards, Primal Play Method
Our 2025 event is a follow-up to the highly rated inaugural two-day event in 2023. The key objectives of the conference were to unite like-minded individuals with a shared interest in breast cancer prevention to discuss the latest research, foster meaningful collaborations, build new research networks, and identify current research gaps or areas of unmet need.
“This conference is an opportunity to bring together leading voices and researchers from across the globe to share their ideas and results and to have really important discussions about what it is that is causing breast cancer that we have some influence over. The incidence rates of breast cancer continue to go up but we’re not really doing enough to understand what the causes are of that. So, it’s really important for this conference to start to address this” – Thalie Martini, CEO, Breast Cancer UK
A highlight for many was the return of the popular poster flash talks. This offered a fast-paced and engaging platform for early career researchers to share their latest work; many of whom are exploring the concerning issue of environmental chemical exposure.
The conference ended on a high note with an exciting and thought-provoking interactive panel discussion where the focus was on how scientific discoveries into environmental chemicals can and should be translated into meaningful and timely policy changes.
Opening the conference was keynote speaker Dr Jennifer Kay who delivered a detailed and insightful overview on developing methods to identify those environmental chemicals most likely to influence breast cancer risk.
Dr Kay highlighted the importance of using this information not only to inform the public about potential health risks but also to support chemical risk assessment, regulatory decisions and exposure monitoring.
“Anything that we can do to understand what chemicals are increasing breast cancer risk in the population empowers people to take actions to reduce their exposure. If regulators recognise chemicals that are increasing cancer risk, then they have a duty to restrict those chemicals so that we’re not being exposed to them and not the ones who are responsible for protecting ourselves” – Dr Jennifer Kay, Silent Spring Institute
Further confirmation of the importance of knowing which chemicals are most likely to influence our health came from Dr Olwenn Martin who spoke candidly about the complexities of regulating mixtures of chemicals, which is much more relevant with regards to human exposure.
Using human relevant methods was also a theme in the penultimate session of the conference. Dr Étienne Audet-Walsh and Professor Stuart Harrad presented their innovative human-relevant models for assessing chemical exposure in the breast, and how chemicals can enter the body via the skin respectively.
Population studies are fast becoming one of the most powerful tools in understanding disease risk—particularly for complex diseases like breast cancer. By tracking large groups of individuals who share certain characteristics over time, researchers can identify patterns and associations between specific risk factors and the likelihood of developing the disease.
Day two of the conference featured a standout keynote from Professor Marc Gunter, who delivered a compelling overview of how population-based cohorts are being used to uncover novel risk factors for breast cancer.
His talk focused on the role of circulating biomarkers (small molecules that can be detected in blood) and breast cancer risk. While strong evidence currently exists for only a handful of hormones, Professor Gunter explained how additional biomarkers, including specific proteins, might also serve as future tools for early detection or even as targets for prevention.
This is a position echoed by Professor Felix Grassmann who presented his latest findings on whether protein levels are associated with breast cancer risk using similar large-scale study methods.
“While many breast cancers can be linked to specific causes or risk factors, a significant number cannot, and there is still much we do not understand. Further research is clearly needed, highlighting the importance of events such as this.” – John Curd, Peptimatrix
Other talks which discussed using population-based methods included Dr Yahya Mahamat-Saleh who focussed on the potential role of stress. Dr Mahamat-Saleh shared his latest findings that link the body’s primary stress hormone cortisol to an increased breast cancer risk.
An eagerly anticipated talk for our 2025 conference was the update on the Breast Cancer Now Generations Study by Dr Michael Jones. This landmark project is tracking more than 100,000 women over four decades and has recently reached its 20-year halfway point. The study continues to collect extensive data on a wide range of breast cancer risk factors with a long-term goal of shaping more effective breast cancer prevention strategies.
A new addition to the 2025 programme was the Intrinsic Risk Factors session, which aimed to shed more light on some of the non-modifiable risk factors for breast cancer.
Talks included an insight into the genetics of male breast cancer by Professor Nick Orr – a significantly understudied cancer compared to its female counterpart, with Professor Orr reiterating the need for more refined risk stratification models tailored to men.
Consultant radiologist Dr Louise Wilkinson gave a specialist insight into the current breast screening programme and spoke passionately about ways for improvement, including how artificial intelligence could play a key role.
A key highlight from the lifestyle sessions included Darryl Edwards’ (Primal Play, UK) engaging and unique perspective on the benefits of physical activity for cancer prevention.
His talk also featured a movement break, which got everyone up on their feet and exercising- a unique injection of energy into the conference which was enjoyed by all!
Dr Neil Iyengar was also keen to promote exercise as a risk reduction strategy for breast cancer. His talk took a personalised approach to promoting a healthy lifestyle through the delivery of tailored physical activity and diet programmes.
Environmental chemical exposure remains a central focus for Breast Cancer UK, and this year’s conference once again brought cutting-edge research to the forefront.
Dr Barbara Cohn presented her latest work, suggesting that breast cancer risk may be influenced not just by an individual’s exposures, but by those experienced by their grandparents. Particularly eye-opening was her emphasis on father’s exposure—a factor often overlooked in discussions about chemical risks.
Building on this, Professor Jasmine McDonald offered a compelling life-course perspective on chemical exposure, highlighting how critical windows such as in the womb, puberty, and pregnancy may be key to understanding how breast cancer risk begins.
Together, these talks reinforced the urgent need to look beyond individual exposures and consider the broader impact across generations when assessing breast cancer risk from chemical exposures.
The conference concluded with an interactive panel discussion on the translation of scientific research into meaningful policy change. The expert panel, consisting of Dr Jennifer Kay, Dr Olwenn Martin, Professor Stuart Harrad and Chloe Topping from the charity CHEMTrust were invited to share their views on the current landscape regarding chemical regulation and policy.
Audience members engaged in a lively and informative dialogue with the panel, with several topics explored, including:
This session stood out as a highlight of the conference, marked by dynamic discussion and valuable insights from both panellists and attendees.
“The panel discussion featured a rich exchange that merits further synthesis and valorisation in form of the publication of a joint commentary to share its insights with the broader scientific community, as well as with policy-makers and practitioners in the field.” – Dr Béatrice Fervers, Centre Léon Bérard
Breast Cancer UK’s Breast Cancer Prevention Conference is the only event of its kind dedicated entirely to the prevention of breast cancer. It provides a focused platform for exploring how environmental, lifestyle, and intrinsic factors contribute to breast cancer risk; areas often underrepresented in traditional cancer research.
“Breast cancer prevention covers so many different disciplines, and this is a really focused meeting with lots of great speakers, lots of really good debate and argument, and it really presents the whole story, not just focusing on one issue, but really bringing people together from different disciplines”– Dr Simon Vincent, Breast Cancer Now
A key takeaway from the conference was the growing interest in breast cancer prevention across sectors, with delegates from the NHS, academia, NGOs and health and wellness fields coming together.
Notably, NHS professionals expressed strong interest in bringing prevention research into clinical practice. This highlights an important shift: prevention is currently in the spotlight more than ever before, and the expressed willingness of some NHS professionals to translate prevention science to patients in the clinical setting is an important and notable step forward.
The event also underscored the need for greater collaboration across and within sectors. It’s our hope that this event served as a springboard for knowledge exchange and innovation, helping to foster new partnerships and inspire research initiatives aimed at better understanding and ultimately reducing breast cancer risk.
“My most important takeaway from this conference is that effective breast cancer prevention requires collaborative efforts across laboratory science, epidemiology, and clinical research. Integrating insights from these diverse fields is essential to develop a comprehensive understanding of risk factors and to translate findings into practical prevention strategies” – Dr Peng Liu, University of Aberdeen
If you would like to discuss any of the topics addressed at the conference or around breast cancer prevention, Breast Cancer UK would be delighted to hear from you. Please get in touch with our science team here.