CONGRESS NEWS

European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2012

From September 29^th till October 2^nd, Vienna formed the spectacular background for the annual meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). It was the third time that Vienna played host to the ESMO Congress, with previous congresses taking place in 1996 and 2004. However, this years’ edition proved to be the biggest and best congress yet with an astonishing 16,394 delegates from all over the world. Given the vast amount of data presented at ESMO 2012, this report does not aim to summarise the entire meeting, but will focus on ten important take-home messages from the meeting, presented during one of the presidential or proffered paper sessions. All abstracts presented during ESMO 2012 can be consulted at http://abstracts.webges.com/esmo2012/myitinerary. (BELG J MED ONCOL 2012;6:176–180)

The 3rd European Lung Cancer Conference

From April 18^th till April 21^st, the third European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) was hosted in Geneva. Over the past few years, the ELCC has become the reference event in Europe for professionals treating patients with lung cancer. The third edition of this exciting meeting provided a comprehensive multidisciplinary overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge in thoracic malignancies, covering different aspects such as prevention, screening, early diagnosis, treatment modalities and the result of translational and clinical research. The meeting attracted over 1,500 attendees from all over the world. This report does not pretend to summarise the entire meeting but simply aims at discussing some important take-home messages from the congress. (BELG J MED ONCOL 2012;6:136–139)

The 6th International Conference on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Issues in Cancer

It has become a tradition to hold the biennial International Conference on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Issues in Cancer (ICTHIC) in Bergamo. Bergamo is a quiet town in Northern Italy located on a hilltop beyond the Alps. Over 700 physicians with different backgrounds but the same interest attended the meeting this year from April 20th to April 22nd. The meeting provides a unique opportunity for reviewing the different molecular and clinical findings on thrombosis and haemostasis issues in cancer and for updating the guidelines on prophylaxis and treatment of Venous Thrombo-Embolic Events (VTE) in cancer patients. This congress report covers several key topics: duration of prophylaxis in cancer patients undergoing surgery, prevention in medical cancer patients, type and duration of VTE treatment in cancer patients, place of the newer anti-thrombotic agents in cancer patients and survival advantage of Low-Weight Molecular Heparins (LWMH). (BELG J MED ONCOL 2012;6:140–143)

The 8th European Breast Cancer Conference

From the 21^st till the 24^th of March, Vienna formed the spectacular background for the 8^th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC). The EBCC was jointly organised by the EORTC, EUSOMA and EUROPA DONNA and welcomed over 3500 participants. This report does not pretend to summarise the entire meeting but aims at discussing the most important take-home messages from the congress. (Belg J Med Oncol 2011;6:106–108)

The 34th San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

From the 6^th – 10^th of December, San Antonio, TX was again transformed into the world’s capital in the fight against breast cancer. The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) were the joint organisers of this 34^th edition of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This year’s meeting attracted nearly 8,000 participants from over 90 countries and again proved to be the number 1 breast cancer meeting in the world. This report does not aim to summarise the entire meeting but aims at discussing the highlights of the meeting. (BELG J MED ONCOL 2011;6:73–76)

The 2011 International Society of Geriatric Oncology Meeting

SIOG, the international organisation of geriatric oncology, organised its annual congress this year in Paris. Over 300 health care workers from all over the world participated in this meeting.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2012;6:37)