BIGOSA - Breast Interest Group of Southern Africa

Congress & Events

Bringing the breast healthcare community together.

BIGOSA’s Annual Scientific Meeting is one of Southern Africa’s leading multidisciplinary breast healthcare congresses. Each year the meeting brings together local and international faculty, researchers and healthcare professionals to share the latest evidence, research and clinical advances shaping breast healthcare.

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14th Annual Scientific Meeting

Setting the Standard. Pushing the Frontier.

13–14 November 2026

Protea Hotel Johannesburg Wanderers
Sandton, Johannesburg

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Programme

Workshop, welcome reception and dinner on the Friday. Full scientific meeting, free papers and AGM on the Saturday.

View full programme

DAY ONE

Friday, 13 November

  • Educational workshop
  • Registration
  • Welcome reception & Conference dinner

DAY TWO

Saturday, 14 November

  • Scientific meeting
  • International faculty
  • Free paper presentations
  • Industry exhibition
  • Annual general meeting
  • Prize giving

Why attend?

Learn from internationally recognised experts while engaging with colleagues from across Southern Africa's breast healthcare community.

  • Evidence-based scientific sessions
  • International keynote speakers
  • Local expert faculty
  • Free paper presentations
  • Multidisciplinary panel discussions
  • Practical clinical updates
  • Networking opportunities

Whether your focus is surgery, radiology, pathology, oncology or nursing, the programme provides relevant, practical learning that supports better patient care.

International Faculty

Each year BIGOSA welcomes internationally recognised clinicians and researchers to share global perspectives and emerging best practice.

Prof Nadia Harbeck

Director of the Breast Center and Center for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer at LMU University Hospital, Munich, and Chair for Conservative Oncology at its Department of OB&GYN.

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Prof Thorsten Kühn

Head of the Breast Centre at Die Filderklinik in Filderstadt and Senior Consultant at the University of Ulm Breast Centre. Prof Kühn has held leadership roles in the German Breast Group (GBG), the German Working Group for Gynaecologic Oncology (AGO and AGO-B), and is founding member and Chairman of EUBREAST – the European Breast Cancer Research Association of Surgical Trialists

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Prof Philip Poortmans

Former President of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO). He previously held senior leadership roles at Radboud University Medical Centre and Institut Curie

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Prof JJ Tabane

Professor of Communications at UNISA School of Business Leadership and Adjunct Professor of Media Studies at the University of Botswana.

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Scientific Programme

The programme combines keynote presentations, multidisciplinary panel discussions, free paper sessions, educational workshops and case-based learning.

  • Breast Surgery
  • Medical Oncology
  • Radiation Oncology
  • Breast Imaging
  • Pathology
  • Multidisciplinary Decision Making
  • Clinical Research
  • Emerging Therapies
  • Ethics & Leadership
Download the full programme

Call for Abstracts

BIGOSA welcomes submissions from researchers, clinicians and healthcare professionals wishing to present original research, clinical innovation and practical experience.

All submissions undergo peer review, with selected abstracts presented during the Annual Scientific Meeting.

Abstract Submission Deadline

31 July 2026

Submissions are now closed for 2026.

Registration

Registration for the Annual Scientific Meeting includes:

  • Access to the full scientific programme
  • Educational workshops (where applicable)
  • Industry exhibition
  • Conference networking events
  • Annual BIGOSA Membership

13–14 November 2026

Secure your space

Registration is handled by the meeting organiser, K.I.T. Group – African Agenda.
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Fees are listed in full on the Membership page.

Sponsorship & Exhibition

The BIGOSA Annual Scientific Meeting provides organisations with an opportunity to engage directly with Southern Africa's multidisciplinary breast healthcare community.

Opportunities include:

  • Access to the full scientific programme
  • Educational workshops (where applicable)
  • Industry exhibition
  • Conference networking events
  • Annual BIGOSA Membership
Contact us for sponsorship opportunities

Beyond the Annual Congress

BIGOSA continues to expand its educational offering through webinars, specialist workshops and professional development initiatives held throughout the year.

 

Future events and educational opportunities will be published here as they become available.

Talk to the Congress Secretariat

For congress registration, abstract submissions or sponsorship enquiries, our team is here to help.

Talk to the Congress Secretariat

K.I.T. Group – African Agenda
info@bigosa.co.za · +27 (0)21 683 2934

Prof Nadia Harbeck

MD, PhD Presented by AstraZeneca

Director of the Breast Center and Center for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer at LMU University Hospital, Munich, and Chair for Conservative Oncology at its Department of OB&GYN

Prof Harbeck is the current Chair of the ESMO Early Breast Cancer Faculty and served as ESMO Director of Education and ESMO Executive Board member (2023–2025).

She is a member of the German AGO expert panel, co-director of the West German Study Group, and a principal investigator or steering committee member of numerous international breast cancer trials.

With over 780 peer-reviewed publications (h-index 103) and recognition as a Highly Cited Researcher from 2021 to 2024, she is among the most influential clinical researchers in breast oncology worldwide. She is the recipient of the 2025 Bavarian Order of Merit, the 2023 German Cancer Award, and the 2020 ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award.

Prof Thorsten Kühn

Head of the Breast Centre at Die Filderklinik in Filderstadt and Senior Consultant at the University of Ulm Breast Centre.

One of Germany’s leading breast cancer specialists, with more than 30 years of experience in gynaecology, breast surgery, and breast cancer research.

Prof Kühn has held leadership roles in the German Breast Group (GBG), the German Working Group for Gynaecologic Oncology (AGO and AGO-B), and is founding member and Chairman of EUBREAST – the European Breast Cancer Research Association of Surgical Trialists

He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, contributed to Germany’s national S3 Breast Cancer Guideline, and has been consistently recognised among Germany’s top breast cancer specialists by FOCUS magazine (2007–2025) and stern magazine (2024–2025).

Prof Philip Poortmans

Presented by the Sceales Antrobus Cancer Research Trust

Radiation Oncologist at Iridium Netwerk and Associate Professor at the University of Antwerp

Radiation Oncologist at Iridium Netwerk and Associate Professor at the University of Antwerp, with a career spanning more than three decades across Belgium, the Netherlands, and France.

Prof Poortmans is a former President of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO). He previously held senior leadership roles at Radboud University Medical Centre and Institut Curie, where he was appointed Marie Curie Professor at Paris Science & Lettres University.

Widely recognised for his expertise in breast cancer, clinical trial quality assurance, and multidisciplinary cancer care, he has authored hundreds of scientific publications and continues to play an active role in advancing global oncology collaboration.

Prof JJ Tabane

Ethics Session

Professor of Communications at UNISA School of Business Leadership and Adjunct Professor of Media Studies at the University of Botswana

 A strategist, governance expert, and media figure with over three decades of experience spanning government, corporate affairs, and academia, Prof Tabane brings a uniquely cross-disciplinary perspective to the congress’s ethics session – Patients, power and accountability: the ethics of building equitable breast cancer care.

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