The Society’sinternational reachcontinues to grow.We now have morethan 10,000 non-U.S.–based members,approximately one-third of theSociety’s total membership. In addition,more than half of all Annual Meetingattendees hail from non-U.S. locations.
High-profile meetings—such as theUnited Nations’ 2011 conference onnon-communicable diseases—havehelped make the world aware that theglobal burden of cancer is growingalong with vast disparities in care bothhere and abroad. The World HealthOrganization projects a 70% increasein new cancer cases by 2030—with amajority occurring in developing countrieswhere outcomes remain bleak.
ASCO has long been active in the internationalarena, and earlier this year,took its commitment a step further byannouncing the expansion of ASCOInternational, with its goal of doublingprograms to improve global cancercare. In our cover story, wetake a closer look at new and expandedinitiatives, including a growing rosterof multidisciplinary courses, trainingfor nonspecialists, workshops forresearchers, advanced cancer courses,volunteer and mentoring opportunities,and awards and grants designed toinspire the next generation.
To add a personal perspective, Dr.Monica Malik discusses the currentstate of cancer care in India and theimpact that ASCO’s Leadership DevelopmentProgram and the Conquer CancerFoundation of ASCO’s InternationalDevelopment and Education Awardhave had on her career, and in turn,her ability to help improve cancer carein her region.
ASCO President Dr. Clifford Hudis alsoexpands on his theme of “Science andSociety” with his commentary on hisrecent participation in the JapaneseSociety of Medical Oncology’s AnnualMeeting. In particular, hefocuses on the inspiration he took fromthe collaborative progress made tohelp rebuild the meeting’s host city—Sendai—an area heavily damaged bythe 2011 tsunamis. He suggests that ifscience and society can be united torebuild after a disaster, the two forcescan work together to improve treatmentsand outcomes for patients withcancer.
We also feature a not-to-be-misseddiscussion on the ongoing debate onadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stage II colon cancer, featuringviewpoints from Dr. Daniel Haller, whowrites from the perspective of a medicaloncologist, and Dr. Nicholas Petrelli,who contributes a surgical oncologist’sperspective.
Members also weigh in on thecurrent debate on the word “cancer,”and whether or not it should be usedto describe premalignant conditionsand indolent lesions of epithelial origin. I encourage you to jointhis debate by commenting directly on the article, or you can emailus your comments at ascoconnection@asco.org.
As always, thank you for reading.
Reprinted from the November 2013 ASCO Connection ‘From the Editor’ column.
High-profile meetings—such as theUnited Nations’ 2011 conference onnon-communicable diseases—havehelped make the world aware that theglobal burden of cancer is growingalong with vast disparities in care bothhere and abroad. The World HealthOrganization projects a 70% increasein new cancer cases by 2030—with amajority occurring in developing countrieswhere outcomes remain bleak.
ASCO has long been active in the internationalarena, and earlier this year,took its commitment a step further byannouncing the expansion of ASCOInternational, with its goal of doublingprograms to improve global cancercare. In our cover story, wetake a closer look at new and expandedinitiatives, including a growing rosterof multidisciplinary courses, trainingfor nonspecialists, workshops forresearchers, advanced cancer courses,volunteer and mentoring opportunities,and awards and grants designed toinspire the next generation.
To add a personal perspective, Dr.Monica Malik discusses the currentstate of cancer care in India and theimpact that ASCO’s Leadership DevelopmentProgram and the Conquer CancerFoundation of ASCO’s InternationalDevelopment and Education Awardhave had on her career, and in turn,her ability to help improve cancer carein her region.
ASCO President Dr. Clifford Hudis alsoexpands on his theme of “Science andSociety” with his commentary on hisrecent participation in the JapaneseSociety of Medical Oncology’s AnnualMeeting. In particular, hefocuses on the inspiration he took fromthe collaborative progress made tohelp rebuild the meeting’s host city—Sendai—an area heavily damaged bythe 2011 tsunamis. He suggests that ifscience and society can be united torebuild after a disaster, the two forcescan work together to improve treatmentsand outcomes for patients withcancer.
We also feature a not-to-be-misseddiscussion on the ongoing debate onadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with stage II colon cancer, featuringviewpoints from Dr. Daniel Haller, whowrites from the perspective of a medicaloncologist, and Dr. Nicholas Petrelli,who contributes a surgical oncologist’sperspective.
Members also weigh in on thecurrent debate on the word “cancer,”and whether or not it should be usedto describe premalignant conditionsand indolent lesions of epithelial origin. I encourage you to jointhis debate by commenting directly on the article, or you can emailus your comments at ascoconnection@asco.org.
As always, thank you for reading.
Reprinted from the November 2013 ASCO Connection ‘From the Editor’ column.
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