April 2011: June 3-7, oncology professionals from across the globe will gather at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, to review the latest scientific data, examine new technologies, and connect (or re-connect) with colleagues. Registration, housing, and preliminary session information are available online at chicago2011.asco.org.

“PATIENTS PATHWAYS AND PROGRESS”

The theme of the 2011 Annual Meeting, chosen by ASCO President George W. Sledge, Jr., MD, is “Patients, Pathways, Progress.” Dr. Sledge described the theme as representing “patients first. Everything we do as a Society has, as its eventual goal, the reduction of cancer mortality and morbidity. We’re on the front line in the war against cancer.” The front line in the fight against cancer

“Pathways” refers to the molecular pathways that are becoming increasingly important in the targeted treatment of cancer, the clinical pathways that patients and their physicians follow during the course of therapy, and the research pathways through which new drugs are developed.

“Progress” celebrates the advances that have already been made in the treatment of cancer, but also notes “our future commitments to our patients through our continued passion for clinical cancer research, the increased understanding of cancer molecular biology that leads to research advances, and our strong belief that progress requires continued commitment from governments around the world to support cancer research in the lab and the clinic,” Dr. Sledge said.

CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE

Annual Meeting attendees will continue to find the sophisticated scientific presentations and comprehensive educational content that they expect from ASCO, and will also see some changes and expansions to the Meeting program.

“The scientific program highlights the latest advances in cancer biology, prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship,” said Kathy D. Miller, MD, Chair of the Scientific Program Committee. “The Committee reviews thousands of abstracts to select those of greatest interest to the oncology community. They look for those abstracts that should immediately change practice and those early studies that offer a glimpse of future advances to come.”

Abstracts selected for presentation (with the exception of late-breaking, plenary, and clinical review abstracts) will be available online May 18, 2011, at 6:00 PM EST on ASCO.org.

Clinical Trials Day
To demonstrate an enduring commitment to the value and success of oncology clinical trials, Monday, June 6, will be Clinical Trials Day at the Annual Meeting. The series of events will begin on Sunday night with a session on “Early-phase Cancer Clinical Trials: Are the Goals Therapeutic or Scientific?” A selection of sessions focused on clinical trials will be offered on Monday, including:

• The Art and Business of a Successful Early Clinical Trials Program: Academic, Private, and Industry Perspectives
• Optimizing Data Collection for Clinical Trials to Support Clinically Relevant Decisions
• Why Isn’t Cancer Research More Successful?
• Developing and Implementing More Informative Phase II Oncology Clinical Trials

The second annual Trials in Progress Poster Session (featuring open, ongoing clinical trials) will also take place on Monday morning in the Oncology Professionals Hall.

ENHANCED EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

The Annual Meeting offers a wide variety of educational opportunities for oncology professionals to learn about the latest strategies for prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, translational research, and current controversies in the field.

“The 2011 ASCO educational sessions are the perfect blend of practical information for the practicing oncologist intermixed with cutting-edge, upcoming drugs and therapeutic interventions that will move into the clinic in the next few years,” said Charles D. Blanke, MD, 2010-2011 Chair of the Cancer Education Committee.

2011 ASCO Educational Book
Approximately 70 manuscripts written by Education Session faculty will be available in the 2011 ASCO Educational Book, with select manuscripts appearing in the print edition and all manuscripts available online and on USB. Each manuscript undergoes a two-layer peer review process led by Editor-in-Chief Ramaswamy Govindan, MD, and new Associate Editor Natasha B. Leighl, MD.

Online manuscripts will be available on April 20, 2011, to ASCO members and pre-registered Meeting attendees. As in 2010, attendees also will have the option of taking a print book or a USB containing several publications, including the complete content of the 2011 ASCO Educational Book, when they arrive at the Meeting.

Joint sessions
Joint sessions are organized by Dr. Sledge and the presidents of oncologyfocused organizations around the world to present topics of interest across disciplines and specialties. Seven joint sessions featuring panel members from ASCO and sister societies will be offered in 2011:

• ASCO/American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Joint Session: Telomeres and Telomerase in Cancer
• ASCO/American Society of Hematology (ASH) Joint Session
• ASCO/Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Joint Session: Designing Trials to Test Novel Treatment Strategies for “Go” or “No Go” Decisions
• ASCO/European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Joint Session: Cancer in Low- and Middle-income Countries
• ASCO/Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) Joint Session: Breast Cancer Health Disparities: Challenges and Opportunities from an International Perspective
• ASCO/Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Joint Session: Cancer Screening—Can We See Clearly Now?
• ASCO/Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) Joint Session: Molecular Imaging in Cancer Clinical Trials

Ticketed sessions
Don’t forget to sign up for the popular Meet the Professor and Clinical Problems in Oncology ticketed sessions. This year, more Meet the Professor sessions will be offered to match the increasing demand.

Tickets can be purchased in three ways: during online registration, onsite at the Registration Desk in Hall C (North Building), or at the satellite ticketed sales desk by Room E451a/b beginning on Saturday. For more information, visit chicago2011.asco.org and select “Registration Details” and “Ticketed Sessions.” The program for nonticketed educational sessions is also available online.

eQuestions available
Educational sessions with “eQuestions” offer enhanced audience participation through the use of web and mobile technologies. At any time during the session, attendees can send questions to faculty by text (SMS), e-mail, or Twitter. Floor microphones will also be available. After a successful pilot program at the 2010 Annual Meeting, the number of sessions offering eQuestions has expanded. To find sessions offering this technology, look for the “eQuestions” designation following the session title in the Meeting Program.

NEW FOR 2011

As new technologies emerge, ASCO is constantly considering ways to improve the attendee experience at the Annual Meeting so that oncology professionals can spend more time on education and less on logistics.

When you arrive, be sure to pick up the new Friday “preview” edition of ASCO Daily News—the official newspaper distributed onsite and online at the ASCO Annual Meeting—to learn more about the Meeting and plan your Chicago visit. The paper will include a dining guide for restaurants in and around McCormick Place, plus expanded coverage of Chicago entertainment.

Mobile Meeting & easy-to-use apps
Mobile Meeting (previously known as “Podcast”) includes captured sessions from 2011 ASCO meetings. These can be accessed either by 1) podcast download or by 2) streaming video using the new iMeeting app available for iPhone or iPad. Mobile Meeting captured session content is available for purchase during registration, through the ASCO University Bookstore (university.asco.org/store), or onsite at the ASCO University Bookstore locations. The iMeeting app is free and can be downloaded by searching “ASCO” in the App Store or iTunes Store.

The iPlanner app is free and available for iPhone, iPad, Android, and BlackBerry devices. With this app, you can browse sessions in the Meeting program by date, time, speaker, and track, then add selected sessions to a personalized schedule with one touch. iPlanner syncs with the web-based ePlanner (accessible by computer), so you can make changes on either platform and know your schedule will be up to date. The app features an interactive map, allowing you to drop a pin on your session room or view an overall McCormick Place map. You can also browse the exhibitor list and locate a specific booth in the Oncology Professionals Hall. To download, search “ASCO” in the App Store, iTunes Store, or Google Marketplace.

For further information on all ASCO apps, see “ASCO Enters the App World.”

Rapid-charging stations & free WiFi
Since many attendees view Meeting resources on their smartphones, rapidcharging stations with universal chargers for portable devices are located throughout McCormick Place. A fiveminute charge will keep your phone going for the rest of the day. Free WiFi is available throughout the convention center, including all session rooms.

Interactive 3D touchscreen maps
Never get lost again while navigating McCormick Place—look for interactive touchscreen maps located in front of the Oncology Professionals Hall and throughout McCormick Place. Select a session or exhibitor on the touchscreen and a 3D map will show you exactly how to reach it. Digital signs located outside of each session room will list information about the presentations taking place in that space. Attendees who want to take in selected presentations from a large session can check the digital sign to see who is speaking at that very moment. Interactive maps of the Meeting are also available on the iPlanner app (see “Easy-to-use apps”).

New poster printing service & delivery
No more carrying a poster onto an airplane or worrying that it might get damaged before presentation—poster presenters can take advantage of a convenient new service for poster printing. At a cost comparable to national chain printing companies, a poster presenter can upload his or her poster online, choose a size and paper style, and have the poster printed and delivered to McCormick Place. Posters will be ready for pick-up in Room N231 (North Building, next to Registration). Prior to the Meeting, poster presenters will receive an e-mail with directions for using the online service, or presenters can visit Chicago2011.asco. org, select “Presenter and Faculty Resources” from left menu, then select “Poster Printing.”

Registration
Registration will be in a more centralized location this year, in Hall C (North Building).

Expanded dining options
Based on attendee feedback, healthier grab-and-go dining options, including more choices for vegetarians, will be offered in McCormick Place. Drip coffee is offered at all concession locations, which allows you to bypass the lines for specialty coffee drinks. A larger selection of dining options will be available in the Oncology Professionals Hall, as well as more food choices for less than $10.

Feedback and help
Attendees who wish to submit feedback about their surroundings—a room at an uncomfortable temperature, a spilled beverage, empty ASCO Daily News bins, etc.—during the Meeting are encouraged to send an e-mail to amhelp@asco.org so that the issue can be resolved as soon as possible.

ASCO Connectionat the ASCO Central Booth
ASCO Connection will be featured as part of the ASCO Central Booth in the Oncology Professionals Hall. Stop by to explore the magazine’s companion networking site for oncology professionals, ASCOconnection.org, and find out how you can use the platform to expand your contacts and promote your work and issues. While there, pick up our Special Edition magazine featuring the “best of” ASCO Connection interviews, features, and commentary. The first 500 visitors will also receive a free USB 4-port hub.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE MOST OF THE MEETING

With its extensive program of scientific and educational sessions, award lectures and presentations, and exhibits and posters, the Annual Meeting can be daunting. Five members shared their tips for optimizing the Meeting experience.

ASCO President George W. Sledge, Jr., MD: “The best way to approach the Annual Meeting is to plan. You can go online to create your own Meeting agenda and view abstracts. It’s also important to decide how much of the Meeting you want to commit to the educational program versus the scientific program. Those are both valuable but they serve different purposes, and an individual has to decide on the appropriate balance.”

Immediate Past President Douglas W. Blayney, MD: “Use the Online Meeting Planner. The farther ahead you prepare and use the available planning resource tools, the more valuable your experience will be.”

Michael A. Carducci, MD: “When I work with fellows, I say, ‘Try to define what it is you want to get out of the Meeting. The expectation that you’re going to hear all the best presentations or the high-line data is difficult. The Plenary Session is important and the Highlights of the Day sessions are a good way to get those overviews. If you’re going to find out the newest data, stick with scientific sessions, and if you want to get a more global feel, go to some education sessions.’”

Cathy Eng, MD: “Focus on certain sessions or certain subtypes of cancer, look at the agenda beforehand, and then peruse the abstracts well before you get to the Meeting so that you can try to learn as much as possible regarding that subject matter. If you’re too broad or unfocused, you will not benefit from the Meeting as much.”

Michael Goldstein, MD: “The Meeting, especially for people attending it for the first time, can be overwhelming. Anyone coming for the first time should set themselves limited goals— look at the program and decide what’s most important to them, and be satisfied that they’re learning something about specific areas and not feel badly that they’re missing so much, as that can be a sense of frustration, especially among young oncologists who are in training and feel they have to learn the whole field.”

Dr. Carducci and Dr. Eng also shared their experiences as oral abstract presenters during the Annual Meeting. Dr. Goldstein also contributed to a discussion of physician burnout.

—by Virginia Anderson,Senior Writer/Editor