Approximately 40,000 oncology professionals from around the world gathered June 3-7, 2022—both in-person in Chicago and virtually—to share the latest clinical cancer advances in every area of cancer research at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. This event was especially exciting for the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center because one of their cancer leaders, Everett Vokes, MD, FASCO, was front and center of the meeting as President for the 2021-2022 term.
Vokes is an internationally renowned expert in the treatment of head and neck and lung cancers. He is the John E. Ultmann Professor, chair of the Department of Medicine, and physician-in-chief at the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences. He has served in many leadership roles within ASCO.
In addition to being an ASCO Fellow, he is past chair of the Annual Meeting Education Committee, Annual Meeting Scientific Program Committee, a member of the Conquer Cancer Development and Fundraising Committee, and the Cancer.Net Editorial Board. He served as an elected member of the ASCO Nominating Committee, and on the Board of Directors from 2009-2012.
He joins other prestigious faculty from the University of Chicago who have served as ASCO Presidents over the past several decades, including the late John E. Ultmann, MD, Samuel Hellman, MD, FASCO, Harvey M. Golomb, MD, and Richard Schilsky, MD.
Every ASCO President has the honor of deciding the overall theme for the program. Vokes chose “Advancing Equitable Cancer Care Through Innovation” to urge the oncology community across the globe to work together to bring down barriers to access and make cancer care more equitable, convenient and efficient for patients worldwide.
In the spirit of global collaboration, the Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Department of Medicine hosted a group of 30 international oncologists from several cancer specialties as part of the ASCO International Development and Education Award (IDEA) program for two days immediately following the ASCO meeting. The IDEA program supports the professional development of early-career oncologists from low- and middle-income countries. In addition to attending the ASCO meeting, the visiting oncologists came to Hyde Park had the opportunity to attend lectures, shadow hematology/oncology physicians in the clinic, and meet with cancer faculty and fellows.
The ASCO 2022 Annual Meeting provided an international platform for UChicago Medicine physicians and researchers to share the latest discoveries in clinical oncology that contribute to the best care for patients everywhere. More than 86 presentations by UChicago Medicine faculty and trainees were featured, including education, poster, oral abstract and other sessions.
Originally reported in The Forefront on June 15,2022