Plans for ISGIO's Fourth Annual GI Oncology Conference Under Way

■ PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION OF THE FOURTH ANNUAL MEETING OF the International Society of Gastrointestinal Oncology are nearing completion, and this years’ program is shaping up to be even more engaging and informative than previous offerings. Distinguished thought leaders and clinical researchers from the United States, Japan, France, and other European countries will convene September 27 through 29 in Philadelphia to address current topics ranging from basic science to clinical therapeutics in GI oncology. More than 500 attendees are expected at this years’ conference, and current registration figures suggest that the international audience at ISGIO 2007 will likely surpass that of previous meetings. Individual sessions at the 2007 Gastrointestinal Oncology Conference will address specific GI tumor types, with one session dedicated to “emerging science,” which will focus on new molecular pathways and targeted drugs and other novel technologies with potential clinical application in GI cancers. The meeting forum includes didactic presentations, discussion-provoking case studies, and interactive question-and-answer sessions using a computerized keypad audience response system, which address many clinical challenges in the GI oncology arena. The multidisciplinary panel discussions within each session are particularly relevant given the increasing complexities of current treatment options. Four corporate-sponsored satellite symposia will also be held this year, at which new data and potential changes in current care standards will be discussed. Titles of some of these symposia are, “Future Directions in the Management Paradigm for Hepatocellular Carcinoma,” which includes presentation of the international phase III trial of sorafenib in hepatocellular cancer (see ASCO News on page 5); “mTOR Pathways and Their Relationship to Gastrointestinal Cancer”; and “Current Advances in Colon and Gastric Cancer Therapy.” The preliminary scientific program for the conference appears on page 6. Registration information and program updates are available on ISGIO’s web site