A news story is described as late-breaking if it happens so rapidly that the editorial staff of a newspaper cannot keep up with it, such as when a major storm or other catastrophe threatens to disrupt the normal flow of business. The term is also used for breaking developments in sports and entertainment events. Television news programs usually have special break-ins to cover such events, and radio stations may interrupt their regular programming with emergency weather or other updates.

In the medical world, an abstract that is considered late-breaking reports data that became available for public dissemination after the general abstract submission deadline. The data should be novel and significantly advance the field, rather than merely confirming or extending existing research. The presenting authors must explain how the data came into their possession after the abstract submission deadline and why the study merits special consideration as a late-breaking abstract.

Although most of the original research presented at a meeting is neither particularly new nor clinically significant, some studies are critical to current practice. Such studies can be mechanistic, hypothesis generating, or help set the stage for future clinical application. These are the kind of studies that are generally presented as late-breaking abstracts at scientific meetings and, for that reason, they often get a lot of attention.

While recognizing the intrinsic value of Late Breakers, it is worthwhile to consider whether the pendulum has swung too far. Having a separate category for these abstracts can obscure the importance of other important original research and make it harder to judge the quality of that work. It can also give the Late Breakers a greater degree of credibility than they deserve, as they are often heavily hyped.