The Global Embolization Symposium and Technologies (GEST) Meeting: An Interview With Jafar Golzarian, MD

Jafar Golzarian, MD, is professor of radiology at the University of Minnesota Department of Diagnostic Radiology. Dr. Golzarian reports no related disclosures.

The Global Embolization Symposium and Technologies (GEST) aims to provide attendees with timely and relevant practice information on embolotherapy, cancer, and endovascular therapy. The meeting first took place in 2007 in Barcelona, Spain. Interventional Oncology 360 spoke with course director Jafar Golzarian, MD, from the University of Minnesota, about the meeting as it applies to interventional oncology clinicians.

Q: How has the content of the GEST meeting evolved over time?

A: The program has grown from mostly focusing on embolization to focusing on all of embolization and all of oncology. GEST is well-known with the way it covers education but also has become a place where all the new developments and innovations in embolization and IO are discussed. The great number of scientific abstracts submitted this year is a testimony to this evolution.

Q: How has the attendance at the meeting increased over the years?

A: In our first year we were expecting only 200 to 300 registrants, but we had 700, and in 2008 and 2009 we grew to 1,000 participants. Two years ago in New York we had our biggest meeting with 1,200 participants. 

Q: In what locations has the meeting taken place?

A: Our second meeting was also in Barcelona. Since then the meeting has taken place in Paris, San Francisco, New York, and Prague. 

Q: Do you think there’s a benefit to offering the meeting internationally as well as in the United States?

A: There is a benefit to having a global meeting. When we held the meeting in Europe, the country that was most represented was the United States. Then when we were in New York we had about half of the registrations coming from outside the United States. So GEST is a very global meeting. We have the largest number of non-American speakers and Asian speakers then any other meeting in interventional radiology. There are attendees who have a hard time traveling from Eastern Europe to the United States, which is why we have held the meeting in Europe.

Q: Is there a theme or a general focus for this year’s event?

A: There isn’t necessarily a topical theme, but there is an interactive educational focus: instead of giving big talks of 20 minutes, we cut the talks shorter so that they address practical or developmental questions and encourage discussion and debate. The meeting is also organized from basic to advanced techniques. 

What we will do a little more this year is cover new developments in embolization oncology, with a focus on gastric embolization for weight loss and prostatic artery embolization in benign prostate hyperplasia. We will have a lot of audience interaction with a panel on liver-directed therapies, and also we have expanded our hands-on offerings to all of the materials that are available including particles, coils, plugs, liquid embolics and ablation devices.

Q: As far as attendees, what specialties generally attend?

A: We have a variety of specialties that attend, but the majority of our participants are interventional radiologists.

Q: What specialties are represented among the faculty?

A: The faculty is a mix of interventional radiologists and oncologists, medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, urologists, gastroenterologists, and bariatric surgeons. 

Q: Are there any topics or presentations that you’re particularly excited about this year?

A:I am personally very interested in the bariatric embolization topic and very excited about the interactive sessions on prostate and liver-directed therapies. Another thing that is really our brand is the master class. The master class includes demonstration of materials by a few experts along with a panel of experts who discuss their experience with the different materials that are presented. 

So from a remote room the device experts manipulate different devices, similar to a live case shown into the plenary room so that attendees can ask questions and interact. This year the master class is going to be very prominent and we will demonstrate almost everything we use, including all of the embolization devices from coils to plugs, all of the ablation devices, all the particles, and all the liquid embolics. 

Q: What would you say is the biggest draw for interventional oncology (IO) clinicians to attend GEST?

A: Although embolotherapy has much wider reach and indications than IO, most of the IO procedures we perform, such as transarterial chemoembolization and Yttrium-90 radioembolization are in the field of embolization. GEST has always covered IO, and this year we will have the most comprehensive IO content that we have offered to date. But the most valuable draw for interventional radiologists is the wealth of information brought by a very broad and international faculty. The meeting is very interactive and facilitates learning from each other in a very friendly environment.

Q: Is there any other important point about the meeting you’d like to share

A: I will say it is a serious meeting but attendees and faculty don’t take themselves too seriously. I think it’s important to encourage a collegial atmosphere with a lot of interaction. GEST is a well-rounded program on embolization oncology with extremely diverse international faculty. I think that is what really makes our meeting unique. We certainly have some well-known faculty but also we have people that can bring something new – those who publish as well as those who come from other countries with different experiences like Japan, Korea, China, and European countries and can share their different practices, and that’s the aspect that participants love the most.

Suggested citation: Ford J. The Global Embolization Symposium and Technologies (GEST) meeting: an interview with Jafar Golzarian, MD. Intervent Oncol 360. 2014;2(4):E17-E19.

Disclosure: Dr. Golzarian reports no related disclosures.