No oncologist should miss this year's historic Symposium focusing on the clinical data points that are transforming the art of oncology care
 
PLAINSBORO, N.J. (August 12, 2015) – An agenda focusing on the most relevant advances in cancer care through virtually all cancer types was released today for the upcoming 33rd Annual Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium: Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow^®, the historic multi-tumor CME-certified symposium. Accredited by leading oncology and hematology CME provider Physicians' Education Resource^®, LLC (PER^®), this year's national meeting will take place November 4-6 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.
 
"There has never been a more exciting or challenging time to treat cancer," said Phil Talamo, vice president, independent medical education and operations at PER. "We are truly proud of the agenda for this year's Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium: Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow. Some of the most reputable oncology experts in the world will be presenting data and providing their own perspectives on the clinical advances in treatment. And by focusing on these clinical data points that are literally transforming the art of oncology care we are being true to our goal of highlighting ‘Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow.' No oncologist should miss this conference."
 
"From personalizing therapy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), to treating colorectal cancer beyond progression, to exploring combinations and mechanisms of the immunologic checkpoint blockade, this year's historic three-day symposium will offer oncologists and hematologists the latest and most relevant information on the rapidly changing cancer care landscape," said conference co-chair Dr. Edward Ambinder, clinical professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology and Oncological Sciences at Mount Sinai Hospital.
 
Attendees can earn a maximum of 23 American Medical Association PRA Category 1 continuing education credits, noted conference co-chair Dr. Franco Muggia, the Anne Murnick Cogan and David H. Cogan Professor of Oncology, NYU Langone Medical Center. Every year, he added, the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium, the premier gathering of oncologists and hematologists in the Northeast, updates over 2,000 oncologists, oncology nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals on the latest developments across a wide range of therapeutic categories and tumor types.
 
This year's meeting will include nearly five hours of hematology content to be co-moderated by Dr. Ola Landgren, chief of myeloma service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Dr. Susan O'Brien, associate director for clinical science at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and medical director of the Sue and Ralph Stern Center for Cancer Clinical Trials and Research at UC Irvine Health. Key topics will include personalizing therapy in CLL with the use of novel agents, treating relapsed disease across hematologic subtypes and exploring new mechanisms of treatment in multiple myeloma. Additionally, a featured presentation will address the emerging role of immunotherapy in hematology.
 
The first day of the Symposium will also feature three hours on gastric cancers, including a two-hour segment on interpreting the latest advancements in colorectal cancers, such as treating beyond progression, moderated by Dr. John Marshall, clinical director of oncology for Georgetown University Hospital and associate director for clinical care of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
 
This year's Greenspan Lecture will be showcased on Thursday morning in the Future of Immuno-Oncology segment. It will feature Dr. Jedd Wolchok, chief, Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service, and Lloyd J. Old Chair for Clinical Investigation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, on the topic of Immunologic Checkpoint Blockade by Exploring Combinations and Mechanisms. This segment will be rounded out by Dr. Roy Herbst from the Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, who will discuss the promise of immunotherapy in treating lung cancers, the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.
 
On Friday morning, the section on lung cancers, expanded this year to nearly three full hours, will cover all aspects of chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. This session will be co-moderated by Drs. Naiyer Rizvi, Chandra Belani and Roman Perez-Soler. This year's lung cancer agenda will include presentations from some of the most well-known expert faculty in thoracic oncology, including Drs. Mark Socinski, Mark Kris, Corey Langer, Thomas Lynch, Heather Wakelee and Suresh Ramalingam, all of whom will provide updates on the clinical data that are expanding at an unprecedented pace.
 
Additionally, the cutaneous malignancies focus will cover the rapidly expanding data in melanoma and basal cell carcinoma, moderated by Dr. Jason Luke, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. As part of the program, Drs. Jeff Weber and Omid Hamid will talk about the latest findings on best selecting and utilizing targeted therapies and immunotherapies throughout treatment.
 
"To develop this strong agenda, we tapped into the deep knowledge and insights of many of the world's leading oncologists, who agreed to serve as the steering committee for the Symposium," Talamo said. The six-member expert steering committee of the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium: Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow includes Landgren, Marshall and Luke, as well as Dr. Naiyer Rizvi, director of thoracic oncology and director of immunotherapeutics at Columbia University Medical Center; William K. Oh, chief of hematology and medical oncology and professor of medicine and urology at Mount Sinai Hospital and Dr. Kimberly Blackwell, professor of medicine, assistant professor of radiation oncology and director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Duke University School of Medicine.
 
Also contributing their expertise in developing this year's agenda were long time Symposium contributors Drs. Kanti R. Rai, Chandra P. Belani and Harold J. Burstein.
 
About PER
Accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, PER is the "go-to" resource for live and online activities focusing on oncology and hematology. PER provides high-quality, evidence-based CME-certified activities featuring leading national and international faculty with a focus on practice-changing advances and standards of care in treatment and disease management. These activities also include topics on emerging strategies currently under investigation, supportive care, diagnosis and staging, prevention, screening and early detection and practice management. PER serves the oncology healthcare community, including physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists. PER is part of the Plainsboro, N.J.-based Michael J. Hennessy Associates, Inc. (MJH) family of businesses. Learn more at www.gotoper.com and www.mjhassoc.com.
 
 
About the Chemotherapy Foundation
The Chemotherapy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization founded in 1968 and dedicated to the control, cure, and prevention of cancer through innovative medical therapies. The Foundation provides crucial seed money to gifted researchers at institutions in the greater New York City area to start groundbreaking work designed to facilitate breakthrough science. By combining aggressive research with professional education and implementation, the Foundation's programs are widely recognized in oncology for their significant contributions to improved patient care, disease management and survival. Learn more at http://chemotherapyfoundation.com/.
 
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Media Contacts for PER:
Becky Taylor, 609-240-6886, [email protected]
Robert Walker, 609-378-3730, [email protected]