Collaboration and Inspiration at Heart of Society of Surgical Oncology Meeting
More than 80 countries represented by hundreds of surgical oncologists visited Tampa to take part in the Society of Surgical Oncology conference. The annual gathering at the convention center gives surgeons who specialize in cancer care a chance to attend educational sessions and discover disease-site specific content and programming specifically for advanced practice providers.
Jonathan Zager, MD, a surgical oncologist in the Cutaneous Oncology Department at Moffitt Cancer Center, says he’s lobbied for the conference to come to Tampa for at least a decade and is thrilled with the success it’s had already.
“What this does is it brings surgical oncologists and others involved in cancer care, specifically cancer surgery, together,” Zager said. “There are abstracts presented in poster talks or invited talks and Moffitt has a huge involvement. And it’s not just cutaneous, but Moffitt is represented across all cancer types, GI, breast, sarcoma – so many are represented here through the different talks and presentations.”
Zager is a co-author on several of the presentations and he was invited to speak specifically on the topic of percutaneous hepatic perfusion, or PHP.
Unlike traditional chemotherapy that circulates throughout the entire body, PHP uses a series of catheters and balloons to isolate the liver from the body’s circulatory system allowing for high dose chemotherapy to be delivered directly to that organ. The blood is collected as it exits the liver and filtered outside the body via bypass to remove any remaining chemo.
Moffitt treated the first PHP patient on the phase 3 trial and was a crucial player in getting the procedure U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
“I will be giving up-to-date results and real-world information about where we are with PHP this weekend,” said Zager, who is part of several different committees within the Society of Surgical Oncologists. “I also take pride in our fellows and research fellows giving several cutaneous focused talks – and that’s not to take away from the other programs represented here as well.”
Oncology surgeons from around the globe attend this conference annually as do advanced practice providers who work alongside surgical oncologists. Attendees have access to talks and presentations from world-renowned experts that not only educate but inspire those in the field of surgical oncology.
“We leave this conference with changes in ideas on how to manage diseases, new techniques, new technology and new approaches,” Zager said. “We of course don’t go in with blindfolds on but there are always presentations and the reveal of data that we anticipate that affirms our thoughts and beliefs and inclinations on clinical trial results.”
This is the first time the Society of Surgical Oncology has held its conference in Tampa, and Zager says the organization is planning to return in 2028.
