This is the sixth year for the European Breast Cancer Conference, which will run through April 19.
Medicalnewstoday.com called the conference "The most exciting breast cancer conference in Europe, it is the only one that involves all the major players in breast cancer."
The conference will focus on clinical research, detection, prevention and risk determination, local and regional treatment, prognostication, systemic treatment and prediction of optimal treatment allocation, new therapeutic modalities and breast cancer management issues.
One in eight women faces a lifetime risk of developing breast cancer in Germany, reported DW-World.de.
The Robert Koch Institute in Berlin reported that mortality rates went down from 40 percent to 32 percent in just three years, from 2001 to 2004.
Experts attribute the decreasing statistics to early detection of breast cancers, DW-World.de said. More women are being diagnosed earlier and cancerous cells are being eliminated before spreading through the lymph nodes to the bloodstream and vital organs.
European countries, led by Germany, are increasingly becoming active in promoting breast cancer awareness among its people through corporate sponsorships, media blitzes and celebrity endorsements.
Recently, Germany's Health Minister Ulla Schmidt launched a nationwide mammography screening program that is free-of-charge for women from 50 to 69.
Once a woman turns 50, the program sends her an invitation every two years to take part in a free screening at the nearest mammography center. Mammography services will be brought to her if she lives in a remote area.
