The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world’s leading association of cancer physicians, is holding its 2010 annual meeting in Chicago from June 4-8. This international organization works to further the education of physicians regarding cancer cures and prevention. The organization’s expert panels develop recommendations and guidelines for specific areas of cancer care, using publications, journals and websites. The society also works toward educating Congress, the media and the general public about the role each play in enabling patients to receive high- quality cancer care.
A prominent topic at this year’s conference is malignant mesothelioma research and development. This rare cancer of the lining of the lungs, stomach and heart, which prevents organs from rubbing against one another, is quick-spreading and generally caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma disease is often lethal because it is detected in advanced stages, leaving patients with only a one or two year life expectancy, depending on the location of the disease.
One reason that mesothelioma is so difficult to detect is because symptoms don’t appear until the disease has progressed into later stages, and early symptoms can be misinterpreted as part of a less serious ailment. If the cancer continues to spread without being properly diagnosed and receiving immediate treatment, surgery eventually becomes impossible and other treatments lose effectiveness. ASCO’s annual meeting will help spread information about this largely lethal cancer, including information on the development of a mesothelioma prognosis and guidelines for mesothelioma surgery.
In addition, the conference, which attracts over 30,000 attendees, will feature many different types of sessions. Education sessions address the most crucial and detailed information that is of particular interest to the majority of attendees. The Poster and Oral sessions allow exhibitors to explain their abstracts using visuals, such as PowerPoint presentations and posters.
The Clinical problems in Oncology and Meet the Professor sessions and Clinical Science Symposia allow audience participation in group discussions about how the ASCO and its associates can work to solve current problems in cancer care and prevention and are also useful in determining what aspects of cancer care must be researched in the future.
Finally, the Special and Planetary sessions present awards to the writers of the most useful and prominent abstracts and allow the winners to display their work. Many of the abstracts to be presented at the annual meeting can currently be found online. Those that will not be presented can be found distribution bins onsite.
More information on ASCO and its annual meeting can be found at https://pod51000.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=1053c5935dab4d0380f15d7e1e57eb92&URL=http%3a%2f%2fchicago2010.asco.org%2fHome.aspx, in addition to details on planning meetings, reserving accommodation and registering for the event.
More information on mesothelioma and ASCO developments can be found on ASCO’s website (http://www.asco.org/) and in publications such as The Journal of Clinical Oncology, the Journal of Oncology Practice and Cancer.net.
