Multidisciplinary, international, the latest clinical and translational research. These are terms used by Program Committee Chair Mitchell Posner, MD, to describe the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium to take place January 20-22 at the Moscone West building in San Francisco. Asked to name the most compelling reason for someone to attend this meeting, Dr. Posner replied, "It provides the most up-to-date scientific and clinical advances in the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer-it marries the science to the clinical management of patients."

ASCO joins its Symposium cosponsors, the American Gastroenterological Association Institute, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, and the Society of Surgical Oncology in inviting professionals interested in GI cancers to attend the 2011 Symposium.

Interaction among Participants a Hallmark

Audience participation in sessions: The Program Committee has created a meeting structure that features ongoing opportunities for attendees to network, share experiences, and ask questions and provide feedback about the relevance of the material to clinical management. More educational sessions than ever will include audience interaction technology, through either audience response systems to poll the attendees about key areas, or e-Q&A, which allows participants to submit text or e-mail questions and comments.

Tumor board: Professor David Cunningham of The Royal Marsden Hospital, London, will chair the case presentation, "How Should Histology Influence the Selection of Treatment in Esophageal Cancer?" A multidisciplinary panel including a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, and a surgeon will discuss two cases contrasting the management of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

Meet the Professor: The Symposium will have two Meet the Professor sessions, where four different topics will be presented concurrently. On Friday morning, session options will be transplantation in hepatocellular cancer, chemoradiation therapy and the role of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in pancreatic cancer, treatment of carcinoma of the anal canal, and treatment options for GI stromal tumor (GIST). Friday afternoon offerings are chemoprevention for colorectal cancer, imaging for esophageal cancer, adjuvant therapy in cholangiocarcinoma, and GIST (repeated from the morning).

Research Integrated with Multispecialty Clinical Guidance

If submissions from the last 3 years' symposia are any guide, researchers will submit close to 600 abstracts for consideration by the Symposium's review committee. (As The ASCO Post went to press, abstract submissions were still open.) From these submissions, the Symposium's poster sessions and abstract oral presentations will present the most cutting-edge and relevant research.

In the educational sessions, faculty from around the world will present discussion-based sessions covering prevention, screening, diagnosis, translational research, and multidisciplinary treatment of GI cancers. Each of the three days of the Symposium focuses on specific types of GI cancers:

• January 20: esophagus and stomach
• January 21: pancreas, small bowel, and hepatobiliary tract
• January 22: colon and rectum

The Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium is the premier meeting for professionals in this field. Dr. Posner noted, "There are very few places where you can gather the world's experts who are focused on the treatment and optimization of management of GI cancers. For those who care for patients, it's the perfect forum for interacting with your colleagues and learning about present and future strategies."

For more information and to register for the Symposium, visit www.gicasym.org/2011. ■

© 2010. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.