A Letter From Dr. William Rilling - Passing the Baton
Dear Colleagues,
I would like to open this message with a warm thank you to all the attendees, supporters, organizers, faculty, staff and other volunteers who helped make our SIO2021 Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting a success. More than 500 professionals in the interventional oncology community gathered virtually this month to hear lectures from over 145 physicians worldwide, sharing the latest data and advances in IO achieved across the globe. While we were unable to gather in person, I hope you were as impressed as I was with the content of the meeting. In my experience, the best scientific meetings provide energy and momentum to the attendees and I believe SIO 2021 did just that.
Reflecting on this last year, SIO made significant progress in realizing our vision to advance IO as the fourth pillar of cancer therapy. Through research and educational efforts, some of SIO's efforts this year included:
- SIO NCCN Task Force submitted recommendation to 10 panels:
- Adult Cancer Pain
- Breast Cancer
- Cancer-Associated Venous Thromboembolic Disease
- Colorectal Cancer
- Hepatobilliary
- Kidney Cancer
- Lung Cancer
- Neuroendrocrine
- Palliative Care
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma
- Through our NCI Cooperative Groups, developed three trial concepts now in consideration within ECOG-ACRIN
- Finalized a clinical trial Call for Proposals soliciting protocols for Lipiodol transarterial chemoembolization
- Began the launch funding phase for ACCLAIM, a Phase II study of microwave ablation confirmation
- Offered over 15 free IO community virtual education opportunities, including several free CME options for SIO members
- Executed two new virtual master classes – Y90: Your Guide to Radioembolization Master Class and Liver Directed Therapy Master Class
As we move into this new year, I encourage you to take a few minutes to renew your SIO membership and reconnect with this community. The Society of Interventional Oncology is supporting important efforts that drive the IO field forward, but we cannot reach our goals alone.
I am pleased to pass the baton of SIO leadership to fellow colleague and friend Matthew Callstrom, MD, PhD. I look forward to supporting Matt’s tenure as SIO President as he helps continue these efforts and harnesses the amazing energy and enthusiasm of the IO community.
Warm Regards,
William Rilling, MD, FSIR
SIO Immediate Past President, Board of Directors
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