More than 3,000 delegates expected in Barcelona 28 June – 1 July for the leading forum for GI cancer professionals from 95+ countries; 25th annual Congress bolstered by partnerships with AMMF, CCF, CIRSE, DiCE, EORTC, ESDO, PALTOWN.

MALVERN, Pa. — HMP Global’s World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer received a record-breaking, 500-plus GI oncology research abstract submissions for its 2023 meeting, where more than 3,000 delegates will have access to hundreds of clinical trial results that can immediately be implemented into their practice.

The 25th World GI Congress will be held 28 June – 1 July at the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona, and will bring together thousands of oncology, pathology, and hepatology experts, clinicians, and surgeons, as well as clinical researchers from more than 95 countries to share pioneering research on new approaches and best practices in treating patients with cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.

This year’s 500-plus abstract submissions represent the highest number submitted to World GI in recent memory, and nearly 450 posters will be presented on-site. Kelly Jackson, Executive Director of Education, HMP Education (a subsidiary of HMP Global), said that in addition to the usual large number of colorectal abstracts this year, World GI will also feature many abstracts in biliary tract and pancreatic cancer for oral presentation, as well as late-breaking abstracts focused on pancreatic, gastric, esophageal, and colorectal cancers.

“Some of the abstracts this year show practice-changing results that are being presented for the first time at the World GI Congress,” said Dr. Eric Van Cutsem, professor and Division Head of Digestive Oncology at the University of Leuven, and University Hospitals Gasthuisberg in Leuven, Belgium, and founding chair of the World GI Congress. “The COVID-19 lockdowns were a barrier that halted many clinical studies, but research is now returning to normalcy, and we are seeing an increase in the number of abstracts. World GI offers delegates the unique opportunity not only to hear the oral presentations and view posters, but also to network with and ask questions of the researchers.”

Submitted abstracts go through rigorous review, with the Scientific Committee Chairs — Dr. Van Cutsem, MD, PhD, Josep Tabernero, MD, PhD, and Michael Ducreux, MD, PhD — and at least three committee members reviewing each submission. If not selected for oral presentation, all abstracts are considered for poster presentation during the Congress. Oral presentations include a discussion to talk about how the findings can be taken into real-world practice.

Abstracts selected in the Poster and Poster Discussion categories will be published to the Annals of Oncology website on 27 June, and all selected abstracts will be published to the Annals of Oncology website on 1 July.

This year, the World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer is presenting five Travel Grant awards to investigators from developing nations indicated in the 2023 World Bank List of Economies as Lower-Middle Income Economies. The 2023 Developing Nations Travel Award Winners are Asmaa Ellaithy of Egypt, Seyed Alireza Javadinia of Iran, Veronika Rozhkova of Ukraine, Akhil Santhosh of India, and Monica Reddy Yallala of India.

The Congress is also presenting three Young Investigator Awards to first-author candidates under the age of 40 who submit abstracts considered deserving of recognition. This year’s Young Investigator Award Winners include Verona Conca of Italy, and Michael White and Muhammad Danyal Ahsan, both of the United States. All honorees will be recognized during the 25th Anniversary Celebration Reception and Travel Grant and Young Investigator Award Ceremony, to be held 19:30 – 20:30 CEST Thursday, 29 June.

2023 Scientific Programme

The 2023 World GI scientific program will feature didactic lectures, tandem talks, debates, keynote lectures, case discussions, and selected abstract presentations, examining a range of gastrointestinal malignancies through a mix of dynamic education and exchange. Bolstering the World GI Congress this year are partnerships with AMMF – The Cholangiocarcinoma Charity, the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (CCF), Digestive Cancers Europe (DiCE), the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), European Society of Digestive Oncology (ESDO), PALTOWN/COLONTOWN, and the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) and Next Research.

“For 25 years, the World GI Congress has been the foundation for sharing the most advanced research and innovations impacting the field of GI oncology,” said Dan Lowrie, President, Oncology, Gastroenterology, & Autoimmune, HMP Education. “All delegates will have the opportunity to learn, debate, discuss, and network in this very active scientific field where recent progress has led to improvements in patient outcomes.”

Scientific Programme topics include pancreatic and  biliary tract cancers, hepatocellular carcinoma, esophageal  and gastric cancers, case discussions, GI cancer in the elderly-challenges and prospects, emerging targets in GI cancer, rectal cancer, adjuvant and neoadjuvant treatment of colon cancer, immune mechanisms and microbiome in GI tumors, predicting and managing rare toxicities in patients with GI cancers, artificial intelligence in GI oncology, surgical advances in GI oncology, metastatic colorectal cancer, abstracts presented on these topics, and more.

For more information or to register, visit worldgicancer.com.

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