For Immediate Release: November 16, 2011

Contact: Amanda Narod
571-483-1364
amanda.narod@asco.org

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Merit Awards will be presented to 20 leading oncology trainees for their important contributions to gastrointestinal cancers research. This year’s recipients will be recognized at the 2012 Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Symposium, which takes place January 19-21 in San Francisco.

“The high-quality research contributions made by these young scientists are helping to improve the lives of people living with gastrointestinal cancers around the world,” said Richard M. Goldberg, MD, chair of the 2012 GI Cancers Symposium Steering Committee. “We are honored to recognize the scientific advances of this year’s winners as well as their dedication to improving cancer care.”

The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Merit Awards are designed to promote clinical cancer research by young investigators and provide them with the opportunity to present their research at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Recipients were selected based on the scientific merit of their abstracts and will receive funding to help with travel expenses to attend the meeting.

This year’s Symposium will feature more than 650 abstracts on a variety of gastrointestinal cancers including cancers of the esophagus, stomach, hepatobiliary tract, pancreas, small bowel, colon and rectum. These cancers are diagnosed in approximately 275,000 people and are responsible for nearly 140,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.¹

• Daniel Abbott, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
  Neoadjuvant chemoradiation versus surgery first for resectable pancreatic head adenocarcinoma: An economic and outcome analysis.

• Amanda Arrington, MD, City of Hope National Medical Center
  Laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma: A single institution’s experience and oncologic outcomes of 65 consecutive patients.

• Genevieve Boland, MD, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
  Association of NCCN guideline adherence with improved survival in high-risk stage II and stage III colon cancer.

• Terence Chua, BSc Med, MB BS, University of New South Wales
  Early and long-term outcome data on 2,298 patients with pseudomyxoma peritonei of appendiceal origin treated by a strategy of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

• Sebastian De La Fuente, MD, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
  Safety and oncologic outcomes of robotic-assisted esophagogastrectomy.

• Mary Guye, MD, City of Hope National Medical Center
  The prognostic significance of extra-intestinal tumor location for primary nonmetastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

• Danielle Hari, MD, John Wayne Cancer Institute at St. Johns Health Center
  A 21-year analysis of lymph node trends in colon cancer: Do quality measures really matter?

• Alex Haynes, MD, MPH, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
  Association between delays in adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer and increased mortality.

• Melissa Labonte, MD, University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
  Use of EGF A61G polymorphism to predict overall survival in a phase III study of gemcitabine plus cetuximab versus gemcitabine in patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (SWOG 0205).

• Anna Leung, MD, John Wayne Cancer Institute at St. Johns Health Center
  Changing national trends and survival in stage IV gastric cancer.

• Lee McGhan, MB, BCh, Mayo Clinic
  Validation of a gastric cancer nomogram using a U.S. cancer registry.

• Abigail Milby, MD, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  Long-term cardiopulmonary mortality after radiation for locally advanced esophageal cancer.

• Manali Patel, MD, Stanford University Medical Center
  Seventh edition (2010) of gastric adenocarcinoma AJCC staging system: Is there room for improvement?

• Jose Pimiento, MD, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
  Low 18f-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake on positron emission tomography as a prognostic factor for stage I and II pancreatic cancer.

• Maria Russell, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
  Lymph node metastasis in patients with early pathologic T-stage rectal cancers: What does local excision leave behind?

• Heath Skinner, MD, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
  Phase I trial of radiotherapy with concurrent bevacizumab, erlotinib, and capecitabine for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC).

• Akihiro Suzuki, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
  Nomograms for prognostication of patients with esophageal and gastroesophageal carcinoma undergoing definitive chemoradiotherapy.

• Takashi Taketa, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
  Outcome of trimodality-eligible esophagogastric cancer (EC) patients who declined surgery after preoperative chemoradiation.

• Ryan Thomas, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
  Selective reoperation for locally recurrent or metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma following primary pancreatic resection.

• George Van Buren, MD, University of Pittsburgh
  Phase II trial of fixed-dose rate gemcitabine, bevacizumab, and concurrent 30 gy radiotherapy as preoperative treatment for potentially resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

 

The 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium is cosponsored by four leading medical specialty societies, including the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO).

The 2012 GI Symposium Merit Awards are supported through restricted educational grants from Amgen.

¹Cancer Facts & Figures 2011. Atlanta, GA; American Cancer Society: 2011.

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