SSO 2016: Federal 'Moonshot' Fight Against Cancer Means More Resources for Surgical Oncology Professionals
The 69th Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Annual Cancer Symposium, being held March 2–5 in Boston, will include featured lecturers with ties to the recently announced White House “moonshot” initiative to cure cancer—a proposed $1 billion in spending on cancer research over the next 2 years.
Vice President Joe Biden formally launched the initiative by talking with doctors and researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, home of SSO President Jeffrey A. Drebin, MD, PhD, The John Rhea Barton Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania.
“It’s an honor to have had Vice President Biden choose the University of Pennsylvania as the site to launch this important initiative,” Dr. Drebin said. “The Vice President’s drive to secure more than $1 billion in federal funding for cancer research means that the surgical oncology professionals gathering at SSO 2016 in Boston and other researchers around the country will have more of the resources and support they need to really make an impact. The proposed spending for cancer research is significant, and much of what will be discussed and debated at SSO 2016 will be reflective of this. I’m particularly looking forward to this year’s Annual Cancer Symposium and participating in these critical conversations.”
Featured Lectures
The University of Pennsylvania caught Mr. Biden’s attention because of its work with immunotherapy—a treatment that in the Vice President’s eyes could be “revolutionary.” Immunotherapy plays an important role at SSO 2016, and another of the featured lecturers will focus on the subject. Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, Chief of Surgery at the National Cancer Institute, will present the James Ewing Lecture, “T Cells as a Drug for the Treatment of Human Cancer.” Dr. Rosenberg pioneered the development of effective immunotherapies and gene therapies for patients with advanced cancers.
Drs. Drebin and Rosenberg will be joined by two more renowned surgical oncology leaders as featured lecturers. Dr. José Baselga, MD, PhD, President of the American Association for Cancer Research and Physician-in-Chief and Chief Medical Officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, will deliver “Bringing Precision Cancer Medicine Forward” as the John Wayne Clinical Research Lecturer. David A. Tuveson, MD, PhD, Professor and Director of the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, will present “Pancreatic Models and Medicine" as the American Cancer Society/SSO Basic Science Lecturer.
About the Conference
“Health-care professionals and academic practitioners from all surgical oncology specialties have long relied on the SSO Annual Cancer Symposium to gain advanced knowledge and engage and interact with the latest developments in surgical oncology,” Dr. Drebin said.
SSO 2016 will draw more than 1,700 surgical oncologists, researchers, and other oncology health-care professionals from around the world. Presentations will focus on the latest cancer research and discoveries, advancements in government funding for research, and exploring the treatments of tomorrow that can be applied to today’s surgical patients with solid tumor cancers. In addition to the featured lectures, the conference is offering four Pre-Meeting Workshops, two sessions of The Great Debates, two plenary sessions, nine parallel sessions, 14 symposia, more than 400 compelling poster sessions, late-breaking videos, and an array of networking opportunities.
To learn more about these featured lecturers and SSO 2016, visit sso2016.org.
The content in this post has not been reviewed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) and does not necessarily reflect the ideas and opinions of ASCO®.
