The American Society for Radiation Oncology has received 2,874 abstracts, the most ever, for the Annual Meeting, which will be held in September in San Francisco. Almost 60 percent (1,681) are from the United States, followed by 575 from Asia; 171 from Canada; 54 from Germany; and 31 from the United Kingdom.
The scientific presentations, ASTRO notes, are expected to include four plenary papers; 360 oral presentations; 1,862 posters; and 144 digital posters in approximately 50 educational sessions. The meeting will have 20 disease-site tracks and topics including radiation biology, radiation physics, palliative care, patient safety, and patient-reported outcomes.
Approximately 11,000 attendees are expected, including oncologists from all disciplines, medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists, radiation oncology nurses and nurse practitioners, biologists, physician assistants, practice administrators, industry representatives, and other health care professionals from around the world.
ASTRO President Bruce G. Haffty, MD, FASTRO, a radiation oncologist specializing in breast cancer, has chosen the meeting theme of "Targeting Cancer: Technology and Biology." The Presidential Symposium, "Local-regional Management of Breast Cancer: A Changing Paradigm," will feature Jay R. Harris, MD, FASTRO, and Thomas A. Buchholz, MD, FASTRO, to highlight recent practice-changing landmark studies and current developments in the local-regional management of breast cancer.
Three keynote speakers will address a range of topics including oncologic imaging, biology and targeting in oncology, and human error and safety concerns:
* Hedvig Hricak, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center;
* Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, Director of the University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center; and
* Sidney Dekker, PhD, Professor in the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.