Meeting the cancer challenges of the next decade
The unified approach
Building on the successes of the ECCO meetings, the first jointly organised congress ECCO 15 – ESMO 34 last September 2009 in Berlin marked an occasion of many ‘firsts’ – a new phase, a new day for European oncology.
With a record 15,000 participants, 26 different tracks devised by over 100 experts, 600 invited speakers and more abstracts and late breaking data presented than ever before, as well as the views of every discipline put together in a truly multidisciplinary forum, this congress represented an important milestone in progressing oncology as a whole.
The meeting provided a platform for the exchange of ideas and the advancement of multidisciplinary interplay in Europe, comprehensively addressing the challenges facing patients with cancer and those caring for them. A special Oncopolicy Track was incorporated throughout the Scientific Programme creating strategies to strengthen European policy on cancer through planned and sustained interaction with EU policy-makers, ensuring that cancer remains at the top of the EU agenda.
The Presidential Session, held on Monday 21st September, marked the launch of this new Track – an essential element of joint ECCO – ESMO congresses to come - and provided a forum for stakeholders to discuss the latest initiatives to structure the cancer community and respond to the challenge of cancer in Europe. Topics included the European Partnership for Action against Cancer and the launch of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences under the auspices of ECCO.
As an outcome, a report has been produced entitled, “The unified approach: meeting the cancer challenges of the next decade”. This article will be published shortly in Molecular Oncology (Mol. 2010 Feb; 4(1):1-8).
To achieve its policy objectives ECCO will continue to connect all stakeholders to work together in ‘unison’ at both the scientific and political levels, in order to speak with a single voice on wider policy issues throughout Europe, for instance by organising an annual Oncopolicy Forum.
For all ECCO Public Affairs initiatives and the latest news as well as upcoming information about the next joint ECCO ESMO congress, ECCO 16 - ESMO 36 on 23 – 27 September 2011 in Stockholm, we invite you to regularly visit the ECCO website at
www.ecco-org.eu
Kind regards,
Ingrid van den Neucker, ECCO Public Affairs Manager
Edel Fitzgerald, ECCO Public Affairs Administrator
