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The Interventional Oncology Calendar for 2014
ASCO GI concluded in San Francisco with several highlights and included the first randomized study to show improved overall survival for patients with metastatic pancreas cancer treated with immunotherapy. This was a phase II clinical trial where the combination of two anticancer vaccines (CRS-207 added to GVAX Pancreas) improved survival in patients with metastatic pancreas cancer.Andrew S. Kennedy, director, Radiation Oncology Research at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, and the lead investigator from the landmark MORE (Metastatic colorectal cancer liver metastases Outcomes after Radio Embolization) study, released new findings confirming that standard laboratory tests are a valuable tool for predicting patient outcomes prior to Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT).
The 2014 interventional oncology conference season started here in Miami at the CIO meeting between January 18 and 20 at the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. Course director Shaun Samuels and guest course directors Rob Lewandowski and Fred Lee put together another successful program with a combination of lectures, “how-tos,” sessions, and tumor boards along with an interactive audience response.
March brings SIR to San Diego, the annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiologists, which will dedicate a significant part of the meeting to IO. This is followed by GEST in San Francisco and WCIO in New York in May featuring an in-depth agenda, and abstract sessions that promise to be engaging and cutting edge.They also offer grant support to IR fellows in training, which is a wonderful opportunity for trainees to attend these meetings to learn about and/or be updated about IO.
It’s interesting to note that Miami the city that starts the IO season with CIO, also closes out the season with our own Synergy meeting. Synergy 2014 is scheduled this year between November 14 and 16 at the Eden Roc hotel in Miami Beach with several exciting changes planned, including expanding the meeting from the usual two-and-a-half-day format. For the first time Synergy is joining hands with the Miami Cancer Meeting (MCM), a veteran oncology meeting in South Florida that just concluded its 12th year. Course directors Luis E. Raez and Caio Max Rocha Lima, oncologists who believe strongly in the multidisciplinary model in cancer care, will bring the best of MCM to Synergy 2014 and also highlight what to expect from MCM 2015.
So what do all these educational choices mean to a budding fellow in training or a practicing interventional oncologist? To me, they are a testament to the growth of interventional oncology as a specialty and serve the critical need for up-to-date information. They will serve to spotlight the tremendous work that is being done and enhance the standing and reputation of our specialty.
As the year rolls on IO 360 will feature invited blogs from several of our editorial board members across several disciplines keeping with the key purpose of IO 360 as a site that provides comprehensive information across specialties involved in cancer care.
Onward to SIR.
Raj Narayanan, MD
