ESSO 2008 – 14th Congress of the European Society of Surgical Oncology

10 - 12 September 2008, The Hague, The Netherlands

Over 3 days, the conference discussed the main organ-related cancer types.  The Programme included a daily keynote lecture of common interest and symposia on important generic topics such as follow-up, the volume/outcome debate, how to deal with a complete response, as well as major organ-related topics.  On the final day, there was an exciting educational programme including teaching lectures and a full spectrum of educational activities. 

The multidisciplinary approach towards cancer was key in the programme but highlights on surgical aspects from a theoretical and a technical point of view was also given an important visibility.  Further, there was plenty of time for interactive communication and discussion, both formally and informally with key experts. 

The social programme was extremely successful. The welcome reception at the Municipal Museum in presence of the Vice-Mayor of The Hague, wich was generously sponsoring the event, attracted 300 delegates who could take this opportunity to visit the museum collections. The Congress dinner - a Beach Party evening in Scheveningen - offered participating delegates a great occasion to interact in a relaxing and friendly atmosphere.

For those of you who were present in The Hague, we hope you enjoyed the scientific programme, the social events and the city and we look forward to meeting you again in Bordeaux in 2010. To those of you who could not make it in The Hague, we invite you to already book the dates of the next ESSO Congress and will be delighted to welcome you in Bordeaux in two years from now for the 15th Congress of the European Society of Surgical Oncology on 15-17 September 2010.

As part of ESSO online educational programme, posters presented at the Congress are now available in a pdf format from the ESSO website educational section.

Click here to access the online learning webpage directly.

ESSO 2008 best poster awards

On the occasion of the ESSO 2008 Congres in The Hague, the ESSO Education Committee conferred to the following presenters the ESSO best poster award:  

Dr. Takahashi Norio (Japan)
Experimental studies on reconstruction mechanism of rat lymphatic tracts after total iliac lymphadenectomy and identification and characterization of rat lymphatic endothelial cells in vitro
 Poster 287

Dr. Gabriel Liberale (Belgium) Role of multidisciplinary meeting in the treatment decision making of patients with gastro-intestinal cancer: results of a prospective study
 poster 375

Dr. Leonid Petrov (Russia)
The role of pelvic exenteration for treatment of locally advanced recurrent rectal cancer
 poster 260

 

The awards were conferred during the closing session of the Congress by the Conference Chair, Professor Cornelis van de Velde. Each awardee will receive a prize money of 500 €.

 

 

61 countries were represented at the Congress, including a large representation of non-European countries such as Brazil, USA, Thailand, Japan, India, etc.

The growing interest of the ESSO Congress beyond the European borders makes it a truly international event, and we trust it will continue to develop in the future.