Date
February 25 to 27, 2010

Location
City of Hope
Cooper-Platt
Conference Center

Overview
This year over a quarter of a million Americans will receive a diagnosis of some form of gastrointestinal cancer. Heterogeneous in nature, they encompass cancers of the esophagus, gallbladder, liver, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, large intestine (colon) and rectum. Their individual management presents disparate and complex clinical problems.

Designed by experts in the field of gastrointestinal oncology, our program will profile and discuss the recent strides in the prevention, early detection and treatment of the patient with a  gastrointestinal cancer. Ever recognizing that patient outcome is best improved through the implementation of an integrated multidisciplinary team approach, our faculty will address the impact of genetic risk assessment, newer detection and screening techniques, the innovative minimally invasive surgical approach to individual gastrointestinal cancers, and the impact of novel targeted therapies and more effective chemotherapy on the gastrointestinal cancer complex of tumors. Controversies in key areas will be examined and changes in treatment paradigms will be described. Conference instructional formats will include lectures, Q & A sessions, panel discussions, syllabus, electronically facilitated interactive case discussions between faculty and conference attendees, and industry exhibits. We welcome your participation and invite your valuable contribution to our conference.

Upon successful completion of this conference, participants should be able to:

• Describe advances in techniques and technologies now employed to diagnose gastrointestinal cancers
• Identify epidemiological factors and hereditary syndromes associated with gastrointestinal cancers
• Demonstrate the use of Minimally Invasive Surgical (MIS) techniques in the management of gastrointestinal cancers
• Examine recent advances in both novel targeted and more standard chemotherapeutic therapies for gastrointestinal cancers
• Review role of chemoradiation as treatment for cancers of the esophagus, colon and rectum
• Apply current guidelines into colorectal cancer screening
• Profile and discuss use of hepatic artery infusion in treatment of liver tumors
• Compare and contrast standard vs. evolving therapies for management of colon cancer with peritoneal metastases
• Devise effective multidisciplinary approaches to the treatment of
  gastrointestinal cancers