March 2009
From the President
It is my great privilege to serve as the
President of the International Gynecologic
Cancer Society for the next two years, and I
look forward to working with many of you
to continue to strengthen and expand our
society. Our organization is stronger than
Jonathan S. Berek,
MD, MMS
ever, with over 1700 members from more than
80 countries, including physicians and nurses
from the specialties of gynecologic oncology, medical oncology,
radiation oncology, pathology and others, whose primary focus is
the treatment and research of cancers unique to women.
Our recent meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, was an enormous
success. The scientific program, organized by Dr. Wui-Jin Koh
and his committee, was truly outstanding, with a broad range
of excellent presentations and abstracts that well reflected
the breadth and depth of our Society and its membership.
Thanks to Dr. Pornsom Hutacharern and her colleagues on the
Local Organizing Committee, the activities were an exciting
representation of the culture and heritage of Thailand. We are
all grateful to the many individuals who contributed to the great
success of our biennial meeting.
I would like to extend special recognition to Dr. Ignace Vergote,
who with great finesse, served as our President for the prior two
years. During his tenure, our Society grew by over ten percent,
our Journal increased its circulation and gained a new publisher,
a new strategic plan was implemented, our regional meetings
and our traveling fellowships expanded. Other kudos to Dr. Ted
Trimble, Chair of our Education Committee, and to Dr. Vesna Kesic
and Dr. Adriana Bermudez for their superb contributions to the
expansion of our educational programs. I am grateful to have
Dr. Michael Bookman and Ms. Erica Riley, who effectively manage
the operations of the IGCS, and our elected officers and Council
members, who represent our constituency. Please take an extra
moment to browse our expanded website that has been so well
done by Dr. Bookman.
Our Journal, the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer,
co-sponsored by the European Society of Gynecologic Oncology,
has recently undergone a change of publisher and editorship.
In the latter part of last year, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins of
Wolters Kluwer became our publishers, and we look forward to
a sustained and beneficial relationship with them. Dr. Uzi Beller
became the new Editor-in-Chief, and Dr. Gillian Thomas, the
Associate Editor-in-Chief, and we wish them and their new team
of Senior Editors our very best for a successful future.
Although we face enormous economic challenges worldwide,
our Society’s current fiscal situation is sound, and we have wisely
invested our reserves in very conservative accounts in order
to protect our assets. Recent circumstances have also lead
to the cancellation of one of our regional meetings in South
America, although we remain optimistic that we will be able to
reorganize a meeting there as the economy improves. At this
time, we are planning to move ahead with all other meetings and
commitments, paying strict attention to budgetary matters.
Thanks to all of our Society members for your important
contribution to the care of women with cancer throughout the
world. I hope that you, your families, friends and patients, have a
healthy and productive year.
Jonathan S. Berek, MD, MMS
In this issue
From the President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Remembering Eve Wiltshaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Avall-Lundqvist New IGCS Newsletter Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
News from the Office of Educational Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
IGCS-ISGyP Collaboration Announced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Journal News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
IGCS-12 Bangkok Recap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
IGCS Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Gynecologic Oncology Training at Groote Schuur . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Travel Grants & Traveling Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Thanks to Donors & Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Welcome New Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Fellowship, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center . . . . . . . . . . . 12
IGCS • PO Box 6387, Louisville • KY 40206, USA • Voice: 1-(502)-891-4575 • FAX: 1-(502)-891- 4576
adminoffice@igcs.org • www.igcs.org | Elizabeth Avall-Lundqvist, MD, PhD, Editor
Avall-Lundqvist New IGCS
Newsletter Editor
Remembering Eve
Wiltshaw
Dr. Eve Wiltshaw was one of the
pioneers of Medical Oncology, and
her work dates back to the 1950s,
when she worked in the Institute
on the development of some of
the very first chemotherapeutic
agents. She was involved in
many tumour types, including
leukaemia, lymphoma, melanoma
Dr. Eve Wiltshaw
and paediatric oncology, but it was
her work in sarcoma and ovarian
cancer for which she is best remembered. She demonstrated
the activity of cisplatin, and then, carboplatin in ovarian cancer
and established their role as the standard of care for this
disease. She and her colleagues created the Sarcoma Unit at
the Royal Marsden Hospital in the late1970s, and this was one
of the first specialist multidisciplinary teams caring for patients
with cancer.
She received many accolades and awards during her career,
including an honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of
Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She was awarded an OBE and was
President of the International Gynaecological Cancer Society.
Eve was utterly committed to clinical research and the welfare
of her patients. Eve was something of an individualist, who
never curried favour with the medical establishment, and
had an unnerving habitat of speaking her mind, sometimes
rather bluntly. She was greatly respected and engendered
huge affection among the nurses and junior medical staff who
worked with her.
Martin E. Gore, MD
Membership Renewal 2009
Remember to renew your membership for 2009. If you
have questions or need assistance, do not hesitate
to get in touch with the Administrative Office at
adminoffice@igcs.org.
www.igcs.org
The IGCS Newsletter is issued twice
a year and highlights recent and
upcoming events in the Society.
Elisabeth Avall-Lundqvist, Sweden, has
now taken over as Newsletter Editor
after Adriana Bermudéz, Argentina,
who is acknowledged for her great
work with the Newsletter since 2004.
Elisabeth Avall-Lundqvist,
Contributions from members are
MD, PhD
welcome. Please send them to the
Administrative Office at adminoffice@igcs.org.
Thanks to Outgoing Officers and
Council Members…
The IGCS would like to extend its gratitude to the Officers and
Council Members who finished their terms at the Bangkok
Meeting. We appreciate their hard work and commitment.
Officers:
Dr. Michael Friedlander
Dr. Adriana Bermudez
Dr. Michael A. Quinn
Past President
Vice-President
Secretary-Treasurer
Council Members:
Dr. Lynette A. Denny
Dr. Wui-Jin Koh
Dr. Jaime Prat
Dr. Edward L. Trimble
… and Welcome to Incoming and Returning Officers and
Council Members
Officers:
Dr. Jonathan S. Berek
Dr. Shingo Fujii
Dr. Ignace Vergote
Dr. Elisabeth Avall-Lundqvist
Dr. Nicoletta Colombo
Dr. Richard R. Barakat
President
President Elect
Past President
Vice-President
Secretary-Treasurer
Secretary-Treasurer Elect
Council Members:
Dr. Carien Creutzberg
Dr. Gerald Gitsch
Dr. Martin E. Gore
Dr. Walter Gotlieb
Dr. Soon-Beom Kang
Dr. Vesna Kesic
Dr. Robert J. Kurman
Dr. Karl C. Podratz
Dr. Satoru Sagae
Dr. Elvio Silva
Dr. Edward L. Trimble
Ms. Katy Weare
2
News from the Office of Educational Resources
Over the last few months, our primary focus has been to
collect and share lecture materials from the Bangkok Meeting.
Thus far, we have assembled over 160 slide presentations
(PowerPoint) that are accessible for viewing on-line. We are
very fortunate that so many speakers were willing to share
their slides for educational purposes. In most cases, the size of
the presentation was minimized to facilitate on-line sharing. I
think that the award for the largest presentation (greater than
70 MB) belongs to a pathologist, and we were able to reduce
the size to under 5 MB without image distortion.
In addition, based on suggestions from IGCS Council, we also
established an audio-video webcasting library for key lectures.
This was accomplished with support from MulitWebcast,
and they have continued to add new lectures on a weekly
basis. Finally, we have abstracts for the meeting collected in a
database that can be searched by topic, free text, and author.
All of these resources are directly linked from the Bangkok
meeting page.
(http://www.igcs.org/meetings/bankok08.html)
The Bangkok meeting also included a number of first-time
presentations of new data from major phase III trials, which
is an exciting perspective for IGCS. Among these were the
AGO-GCIG trial of paclitaxel and carboplatin with or without
gemcitabine (AGO-OVAR-9) in advanced-stage ovarian
cancer, which was presented by Dr. Andreas du Bois, and the
EORTC-NCIC study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, in patients
with bulky stage III-C or stage IV ovarian cancer, which was
presented by Dr. Ignace Vergote. After the meeting, a press
release was circulated on behalf of IGCS, and several medical
news media sites prepared reports about the neoadjuvant trial.
A number of educational sessions in Bangkok included
surgical videos. These files are quite large and not practical for
distribution on our current site. However, I would appreciate
some guidance from IGCS Members regarding access to this
material, and perhaps we can make plans for future meetings.
Some of the videos do not include narration or text, and would
need to be packaged with the actual audio lecture. Perhaps a
DVD would be the most practical solution.
On a new initiative, I am pleased to report that IGCS has
joined with the Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) in
a collaborative agreement to share web and educational
www.igcs.org
resources to support both
organizations. The first step in
this process was the creation and
linking of GCIG web content, which
is currently accessible through the
IGCS site at (http://www.gcig.igcs.
org). We hope to follow shortly with
interactive case discussions and
information about key clinical trials
in gynecologic cancer, both historical
and ongoing.
Michael A. Bookman, MD
We are also busy working with
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), the new publisher for
the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer (IJGC). IGCS
Members will have direct access to IJGC through the IGCS site,
and this should be available by March 2009. In addition, we
are collaborating with the Education Committee and the new
Editors-in-Chief (Uzi Beller and Gillian Thomas) to have a more
integrated presentation to support Journal Club and Tumor
Board over the next few months.
Finally, I am pleased to note that there have been some
technical upgrades to the IGCS site, supporting more rapid
page display and faster searching for content. Member login
is also faster, and you will stay on the current page, rather than
returning to the home page after login. You can also look
up your username and password by providing a valid email
address. While not perfect, these are constructive changes. If
you have any suggestions or problems with any of our web
resources, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Michael A. Bookman, MD
Director, Office of Educational Resources
Host Institutions Needed
The IGCS Travelling Scholars Program is an important
educational activity of the Society and its success is totally
dependent on IGCS members’ willingness to host the
scholars at their Institutions. Periods of study range from
one to six months. If you are interested in hosting an IGCS
Traveling Scholar, please contact the Administrative Office at
adminoffice@igcs.org.
3
IGCS-ISGyP Collaboration Announced
The International Gynecological Cancer Society (IGCS) and the
International Society of Gynecological Pathologists (ISGyP) are
pleased to announce a cooperative relationship between the
two societies. Dr. Shingo Fujii, President Elect of the IGCS, will
serve as the IGCS representative to the Executive Committee
of ISGyP; Dr. Elvio Silva, President of ISGyP, will serve as ISGyP
representative to the Council of the IGCS.
Uzi Beller and Gillian Thomas,
New Editor-in-Chief and Associate
Editor-in-Chief for IJGC
Purpose:
• To work more closely together on gynecological cancer
and to facilitate the global exchange of knowledge in this
area.
• To incorporate pathology into multidisciplinary curricula
for education and training in developing countries.
• To collaborate on new strategies and programs to attract
educational grants from industry in order to better support
educational activities.
• To pursue all of the above while maintaining intact each
society’s identity and principles, including their respective
journals and specific activities.
Objectives:
ISGyP is involved in all IGCS activities related to pathology:
• IGCS Biennial International Meeting: Pathology Symposium and all pathology contents throughout the meeting.
• Multidisciplinary workshops/meetings in developing
countries to encourage active participation of local ISGyP
members.
• IGCS website Interactive Tumor Board (every 3 months),
supervision of the pathology contents.
• The “Pathology Corner” at the Int J Gynecol Cancer, review
of controversial topics.
Active participation of an IGCS member at the ISGyP annual
companion meeting, if appropriate.
• IGCS is involved in all ISGyP activities related to clinical
activities and translational research.
• ISGyP International Meetings will have an IGCS member on
the scientific committee.
• The Journal of ISGyP will have at least one IGCS clinical
member on the editorial board.
• Multidisciplinary workshops/meetings of ISGyP in developing countries to encourage active participation and
membership of IGCS.
• ISGyP website, direct link to IGCS website.
www.igcs.org
Uzi Beller, Israel, and Gillian Thomas,
Canada, have been appointed as the new
Editor-in-Chief and new Associate Editorin-Chief of The International Journal of
Gynecological Cancer, the official Journal
of IGCS and ESGO. The IGCS extends its
gratitude to John J. Kavanagh, Editorin-Chief from 2001-2008.
The Councils of the two Societies
wish to include Society Members in
the editorial process of the Journal
and have developed an IJGC Reviewer Incentive
Program. A call for applications for new reviewers will soon be
posted on the web site (www.igcs.org/journal).
To submit manuscripts go to: http://www.editorialmanager.
com/igc/. Nurses are encouraged to submit manuscripts.
Direct access to full-text content for IGCS Members:
http.://www.igcs.org/journal/accessIJGC.html.
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, New
Publisher of the Journal
The new publisher for the International Journal of Gynecological
Cancer is Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
4
IGCS-12 Bangkok Recap
2,456; 89; truly numbers worth celebrating!
From October 25 to October 28, 2009, a total
of 2,456 registered individuals from 89
countries attended the largest ever biennial
meeting of the International Gynecologic
Cancer Society, in Bangkok, Thailand. The level
Wui-Jin Koh, MD
of participation from so many nations clearly
indicates the singular interest in the IGCS as a
vibrant scientific and educational organization and attests to the
broad support it has created in forwarding its mission of “uniting
the globe in the fight against gynecologic cancer.”
standard for the management of selected patients with advanced
ovarian cancer.
In addition to the 28 plenary papers, there were approximately
120 other abstracts selected for oral delivery and over 1100
displayed posters. Nearly 100 invited speakers contributed
their time and expertise in various forums, including a half-day,
in-depth ‘Presidential’ course on cervical neoplasia, state-ofthe-art sessions on endometrial and ovarian cancers, satellite
symposia, tumor boards and interactive topics, and meetthe-professor gatherings. Thanks to the generosity of these
speakers, many of these discussions are available as webcasts
or PowerPoint slide sets, downloadable to all IGCS members
through our website at http://www.igcs.org. On behalf of the
Scientific Program Committee, I wish to express my sincere
gratitude to each and every presenter and participant for their
individual and collective contribution to the success of the
IGCS-12 Meeting.
With the tremendous number, range, and depth of
submissions, selection of awards for “best” presentations is a
most difficult task. Many are deserving, and all contributors are
to be congratulated. Nonetheless, the Program Committee is
pleased to recognize the following:
continued on page 6
Many aspects of the IGCS-12 Meeting remain memorable.
We are thankful for the gracious hospitality of our Thai hosts
and their arrangements for excellent social, cultural and
culinary events. We enjoyed the warmth, colors, and vitality of
Bangkok. We met old friends and made new acquaintances.
We appreciated the energy and enthusiasm of all the
participants and the dialogues that form the basis for fresh
collaborative efforts in learning, research and clinical practice.
Above all, the primary purpose of the IGCS biennial meeting is in
the presentation of contemporary and cutting-edge information
and in the fostering of scientific and educational interchange.
In this regard, I believe that the IGCS-12 Meeting was extremely
successful, thanks to the contribution of all attendees. Presented
during the Plenary Sessions of the Conference were results from
eight different randomized multi-center clinical trials. While all
were highly meritorious, of particular note was the talk given by
Ignace Vergote and colleagues, entitled “EORTC-GCG/NCIC-CTG
randomized trial comparing primary debunking surgery with
neoadjuvant chemotherapy in stage IIIC-IV ovarian, fallopian tube
and peritoneal cancer (OVCA).” This seminal trial establishes a
www.igcs.org
Multiple Educational Resources from
the 12th Biennial Meeting in Bangkok
are now available to IGCS Members
1. Go to http://www.igcs.org and log in with your IGCS Username
and password
2. Click on one of the links for the Bangkok Meeting, or use this
link below:
http://www.igcs.org/meetings/bangkok08html
3.
Select any of the following resources (free for IGCS Members):
• Access to Webcasts of key lectures
• full-text access to all Abstracts
• Lecture slide Presentations
Note: If you do not see the specific Webcast or Lecture that
you are looking for, check back in a few days, as more
are being added. Please contact the IGCS Office of
Educational Resources with any specific questions.
5
continued from page 5
IGCS-12 Plenary Presentation Award
Loop electrosurgical excision of the cervix and subsequent risk
for spontaneous pre-term delivery: a population-based study
of singleton deliveries during a nine-year period. B Noehr, A
Jensen, K Frederiksen, A Tabor, S Krüger Kjaer. (Denmark)
IGCS-12 Basic/Translational Science Presentation Award
Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation in cervical cancer
identifies LMX1A as a tumor suppressor involved in cancer
invasion. H-C Lai, C-Y Liu, R-L Huang, H-C Wang, Y-W Lin.
(Taiwan)
IGCS-12 Award for Presentation by a
Fellow/Trainee/Young Investigator
Study of the diagnostic efficacy of ‘real-time’ optical coherence
tomography as an adjunct to VIA in managing cervical
neoplasia. N Rasool, N Wulan, S Belinson, J Belinson, C
Wang, X Rong, W Zhang, Y Zhu, B Yang, N Tresser, M Mohr, R
Wu. (USA & China)
IGCS-12 Poster Presentation Award
Optimal integration of 3D-Sonography and MRI in
gynecological brachytherapy (GYN BT) image-guided
individual planning. V Titova, N Kharchenko, J Kreynina, N
Sergeev, L Shevchenko, A Shipilova. (Russian Federation)
A little more than four months have passed since the IGCS-12
Meeting in Bangkok. Much has changed in the world since, and
there are constant reminders of the unpredictability of seemingly
established programs and institutions. However, the goal and
mission of the IGCS remain steadfast, as we seek to fulfill the
charge of “uniting the globe in the fight against gynecologic
cancer.” The best is yet to come, and I look forward to seeing
all of you in a superb IGCS-13 meeting, led by Jonathan Berek,
Richard Barakat, and Lukas Rob, in Prague in 2010.
Wui-Jin Koh, MD
IGCS-12 Scientific Program Chair
www.igcs.org
6
www.igcs.org
7
Gynecologic Oncology Training at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town
The good news of my selection for
the Gynaecology Oncology Training
Program in South Africa under the
supervision of Professor Lynette Denny
came on February 16, 2008. My sincere
and profound gratitude goes to the
IGCS for granting me a full scholarship
for the training. This provided me the
opportunity to further my knowledge
and skill in the management of women
Dr. Christian C. Makwe
with preinvasive and invasive genital
tract lesion/malignancy, especially
cervical cancer, the most common genital tract malignancy, and
a major cause of death of women in my country. I was excited
and prepared to start the training program immediately, but this
was delayed by the visa application process.
I arrived at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, on May 1,
2008, a public holiday, with Professor Denny waiting in her
departmental office to welcome me. She had made all the
necessary arrangements for my pleasurable stay in Cape Town.
I lived in a comfortable, fully furnished apartment that was
within walking distance from the Hospital.
My training commenced immediately with a detailed
description of the unit’s daily activities and departmental
academic activities. There are two Colposcopy Clinics every
week (Mondays and Fridays) and occasionally a third one
on Wednesday because of the high patient turnover, a
Gynaecology Outpatient Clinic, an Operating Theatre Day, a
Combined Assessment Clinic, an Ovarian Clinic and a Radiation
Clinic. The oncology unit programs and activities were
designed to make maximum use of the available time during
daily working hours.
Monday morning started with a Consultant Ward Round,
followed immediately by the Gynaecology Outpatient Clinic,
which served as the first contact with patients with suspected
or confirmed gynaecological malignancy/lesion referred
from other primary or secondary health facilities. I saw at
least two to three new patients each clinic and reviewed all
cases with the gynaecology oncologist. Monday afternoon
was Colposcopy Clinic and also, once a month, Vulva Clinic.
There are four colposcopy rooms, two of which had electrosurgical machines for loop electro-surgical excision procedure
of high-grade cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia. An average
of 40 patients is seen during each clinic session. I observed 40
www.igcs.org
cases of colposcopy, performed 15 cases under supervision,
and personally performed another 30. After observing 10 cases
of large loop excision of the transformation zone, I performed
14 such procedures.
Tuesday is Operating Theatre Day, and an average of five
major/oncology surgeries are performed weekly in addition to
the minor cases, such as cold knife cone biopsy, hysteroscopy,
cystoscopy, laparoscopy, cautery and/or laser excision of
genital warts and excision of vulval intra-epithelial neoplasia.
A total of 49 major/oncology surgeries were performed,
including three Wertheim hysterectomies for early stage
cervical cancer, which I assisted in. Other cases included
surgery for endometrial cancer, ovarian cancers and vulva
cancer. I performed five abdominal hysterectomies and one
vaginal hysterectomy after assisting in several. I assisted in ten
out of the sixteen CO2 laser for treatment of vulva warts and
performed one under supervision.
Wednesday’s activity begins with a pathology meeting in
the morning. This meeting is attended by gynaecological
oncologists and radiation oncologists, both in academic and
private health institutions, with the histopathologist serving
as the host. The patient’s clinical history, physical examination,
and intra-operative surgical findings are correlated with
the histopathological diagnoses, and decisions on further
treatment modalities are made. The Combined Assessment
Clinic follows immediately after the pathology meeting and
is attended by the radiation oncologists and gynaecological
oncologists. Patients with gynaecological malignancies
are counselled on their diagnosis and treatment options
and are given the opportunity to ask questions about their
management. They are involved in every step of the decisionmaking process. Informed consent is obtained for those
requiring further treatment such as chemotherapy and/or
radiotherapy. Patients’ hopes are kept alive by the reassurance
of available treatment options. Those patients with terminal
disease are offered palliative care and, when necessary, are
referred to various Hospices easily accessible to them. The
doses of chemotherapy and radiation are calculated after
clinical evaluation and review of laboratory results. Radiation
sites are marked after computerized tomography scans. The
radiation is administered on Wednesday, and chemotherapy
is given the next day in the outpatient clinic or the ward,
depending on the regimen.
continued on page 9
8
continued from page 8
Thursday is Ovarian Clinic. Patient’s response to treatment is
monitored clinically, radiologically and/or biochemically, using
tumour markers, and therapy is adjusted appropriately where
necessary. Radiation Clinic is held on Thursday afternoon and
is attended by women who are currently on radiotherapy
or women on long-term followup after treatment with
radiotherapy. The aim is to detect early and late complications
of radiotherapy or recurrent disease. The complications
included dermatitis, cystitis, proctitis, gyneatresia, colonic
stricture and fistulae (vesical and rectal).
The unit’s teaching rounds are conducted Mondays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays; other opportunities to learn
included Friday morning ward round on high-risk obstetrics
and the departmental seminars on Thursday and Friday
afternoons. Other interesting academic activities included
the oncology group meetings to review the protocol for the
treatment of gynaecological malignancies, the Bi-annual Joint
Radiology-Gynaecology Oncology Meeting held at Wild Fig
restaurant, the HPV Vaccine Launch by Merck in Cape Town,
and the research methodology course organised by the
department of Medicine, University of Cape Town.
During the training program I have greatly improved
my skills in colposcopy and large loop excision of the
transformation zone (LLETZ) for the treatment of pre-invasive
lesions of the cervix. I have also learned the importance
of pathology reviews, thromboprophylaxis and the use of
prophylactic antibiotics in Gynae-oncology, and the need for
a multidisciplinary approach in the management of patients
with gynaecological malignancies.
During my stay, I visited various tourist sites in Cape Town and
came to appreciate the beauty of South Africa and her people.
I promise to set up a functional colposcopy unit and train other
doctors in colposcopy and LLETZ as this will help in reducing
the high incidence of cervical cancer in my country. I also
wish to express my sincere appreciation to Professor Lynette
Denny for her personal interest, support and encouragement.
Books, journals and other educational materials were made
available to facilitate learning. I am also grateful to the other
members of Professor Denny’s team for their cooperation and
support during my training, as they all made it a memorable
experience.
The IGCS is pleased to be able to provide support for this
program through a generous grant from Johnson & Johnson.
www.igcs.org
Traveling Scholar Reports Available at the
Web Site
Reports about their experiences by the following Traveling
Scholars can be found at www.igcs.org.
Ms. Agboola O. Abosede........................................................Nigeria
Dr. Victorino C. Garcia, Jr........................................................Philippines
Dr. A.P. Manjunath....................................................................India
Dr. Catherine N. Nyongesa....................................................Kenya
Dr. C.A. Okonkwo......................................................................Nigeria
Dr. Thomas Samuel Ram........................................................India
Dr. Suniti Rawal.........................................................................Nepal
Dr. Cagatay Taskiran................................................................Turkey
Dr. Anitha Thomas....................................................................India
Travel Grants Awarded
This year, ten IGCS members from countries designated as Low
Income Economies by the World Bank were selected to receive
IGCS Travel Grants. They received $1,000 to help defray travel
and accommodation expenses to attend the 12th Biennial
Meeting of the IGCS in Bangkok. The grants were awarded to:
Dr. Uttamchand Bafna............................................................India
Dr. Sushil Giri..............................................................................India
Dr. Kamlesh Mishra..................................................................India
Dr. Adekunle Oguntayo.........................................................Nigeria
Dr. Abraham Peedicayil..........................................................India
Dr. Usha Rani Poli.....................................................................India
Dr. Shalini Rajaram...................................................................India
Dr. Modupeola Samaila..........................................................Nigeria
Dr. Ghazna Siddiqui.................................................................Pakistan
Dr. Kirushna K. Subramanian................................................India
Criteria for selection included the submission of a complete
application including: a letter of support from department
head or chair, current dues status, length of IGCS membership
and acceptance of an abstract for presentation at the Bangkok
meeting.
Reports from the Travel Grant recipients can be found at
www.igcs.org.
9
Upcoming Global Events
Nov. 21-22, 2009 – Japan
Japan Society of Gynecologic Oncology, 48th Congress of JSGO
Nov. 11-14, 2009 – Tanzania
AORTIC, 7th International Meeting
Oct. 11-14, 2009 – Serbia
European Society of Gynecological Oncology, 16th International
Meeting
Sept. 16-19, 2009 – Italy
Society of European Robotic Gynaecological Surgery
First European Symposium on Robotic Gynaecological Surgery
July 10-12, 2009 – Japan
Japan Society of Gynecologic Oncology
47th Congress of JSGO
May 28-30, 2009 – Hungary
National Institute of Oncology
3rd Operating Theatre Course on Gynecologic Cancer Surgery
May 16-17, 2009 – United States
James Graham Brown Cancer Center
2nd Annual Advanced Upper Abdominal & Bowel Cadaver Surgery
Course
Apr. 30-May 2, 2009 – Canada
Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of Canada,
GOC’s 9th Annual CPD Meeting: Embracing New Evidence:
Meeting the Challenge
Upcoming Biennial IGCS Meetings
2014 Meeting Site Chosen
The IGCS Council is pleased to announce that the Fifteenth
Meeting of the IGCS will take place in Melbourne, Australia.
October 23-26, 2010
13th Biennial Meeting of the IGCS, Prague, Czech Republic
2012
14th Biennial Meeting of the IGCS, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Brazil Meeting May 2009 Cancellation
It is with deepest regret that Council announces the upcoming
Brazil meeting planned for May 2009 has been cancelled
due to the worldwide economic situation. Promotion of
educational activities through supporting Regional Meetings
is a central mission of IGCS. The Society will work hard to
continue this mission and return as soon as possible with a
new time schedule.
www.igcs.org
The IGCS would like to thank the following members who
made gifts to the Society Funds during 2008. Donations
are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Development
Fund
Ansink, A.
Bitterman, P.
Boll, D.
Bookman, M.A.
Brioschi, P-A.
Chan, K.K.
Chishima, F.
Chow, S-N.
Djapardy, S.S.
Fracasso, P.
Fujii, S.
Hachisuga, T.
Hammond, I.
Heintz, A.P.M.
Kagabu, T.
Kamura, T.
Kaplanis, K.
Kasamatsu, T.
Kashimura, M.
Kashimura, Y.
Kiguchi, K.
Kim, S-J.
Lai, C-H.
Lee, E.S.
Lee, K.W.
Lee, S-J.
Matsumoto, K.
Method, M. W.
Milross, C.
Miyagi, E.
Nagai, Y.
Nycum, L.R.
Ono, A.
Petersen, R.
Rome, R.M.
Sahil, M.F.
Satoh, T.
Schwartz, P.E.
Scudder, S.
Takeuchi, S.
Thomas, G.
Trimble, E.L.
Vergote, I.
Weare, K.
Yamauchi, K.
Yu, V. Y-S.
Dues
Sponsorship
Bazzett, L.
Bryson, S.C.P.
Capurro, I.
Capstick, V.
Chan, K.K.
Chishima, F.
Eddy, G.
Fons, G.
Frederickson, H.L.
Fujiwara, K.
Gallup, D.
Hacker, N.F.
Hammond, I.
Hanzal, E.
Hoskins, W.J.
Kaern, J.
Kagabu, T.
Kamura, T.
Kasamatsu, T.
Kashimura, Y.
Kiguchi, K.
Kim, C.
Kiyozuka, Y.
Kjolhede, P.
Lavery, B.
Lee, K.W.
Lee, S-J.
Lee, S-Y.
Look, K.Y.
Massuger, L.
Matsumoto, K.
Method, M.W.
Milross, C.
Miyagi, E.
Nagai, Y.
Nycum, L.R.
Ogino, M.
Ono, A.
Otsuka, I.
Park, C-H.
Quinn, M.A.
Re, A.
Reynolds, K.
Rodich, L.
Rome, R.M.
Sagae, S.
Schwartz, P.E.
Scott, I.V.
Speiser, P.
Takeuchi, S.
Tamussino, K.
Terzakis, E.
Trimble, E.L.
Tsunoda, H.
Van der Veldean, J.
Verheijen, R.
Vermorken, J.B.
Weare, K.
Yang, Y-C.
Regional Workshops and Meetings
During 2008 IGCS has supported Regional Workshops in
Guatemala, Buenos Aires, El Salvador, Mexico, Turkey, Iran,
Egypt and Jordan. Thank you all IGCS members who participated
as speakers and a special thank you to Drs. Vesna Kesic and
Adriana Bermúdez who co-organized the workshops.
Are YOU interested in participating in IGCS sponsored meetings
as speaker? Join the IGCS Speakers’ Bureau (http://www.igcs.org/
meetings/regionalMeetings/regionalMeetings.html). Complete the
form and return via email to adminoffice@igcs.org.
The IGCS would like to express its deepest
gratitude for donations from:
Lilly Australia
Schering Plough Australia
Schering Plough US
The Society welcomes its
new corporate members:
GloxoSmithKline
Sanofi-Aventis
10
Welcome New Members
Dr. Mohamad K. Abdel-Hadi
Mrs. Agboola Oluwaseun Abosede
Mrs. Reema Abu-Safat
Dr. Adebiyi Adesiyun
Dr. Isaac F. Adewole
Dr. Sandeep Agarwal
Dr. Anita Agrawal
Dr. Parul Agrawal
Dr. Hari Mohan Agrawal
Dr. Olufemi Akinsanya
Ms. Esther T. Aladekomo
Dr. Rouba Ali Fehmi
Dr. Zaid Al-Wahab
Dr. Yoichi Aoki
Dr. Alejandro M. Aragona
Dr. Yasuyuki Asakawa
Dr. Melahat Atasever
Dr. Masoud Azodi
Dr. Tsukasa Baba
Dr. Syuzanna Babloyan
Dr. K. Sateesh Babu
Dr. Selvamani Backianathan
Dr. Jeong Hoon Bae
Dr. Balaji Balasubramanian
Dr. Ian Bambury
Dr. Manikkam Banumathy
Dr. Sally E. Baron-Hay
Dr. Aida J. Bautista
Dr. Philip Beale
Dr. Aliya Begum
Dr. Yehuda Ben-David
Dr. Tugan Bese
Dr. Ruchi Bhargava
Mr. Amit Bhatia
Dr. Neerja Bhatla
Dr. Gouri Shankar Bhattacharyya
Mr. Shashi Bhushan
Dr. Andrzej Bienkiewicz
Dr. Michael J. Birrer
Dr. Lubomir Bodnar
Dr. James R. Bosscher
Dr. William H. Bradley
Dr. Richard Ronald Cacho
Dr. Stephen Cannistra
Dr. Mihai Capilna
Dr. Michael E. Carney
Dr. Hsiu-Ping Chang
Ms. Yuan-yuan Chang
Dr. Tengiz Charkviani
Dr. Dana Chase
Dr. Yi-Jen Chen
Dr. Mildred R. Chernofsky
Dr. George Chkuaseli
Dr. Hyun-Il Choi
Dr. David Cibula
Dr. Artan Como
Dr. Martin Cordova Lopez
Dr. Christopher J. Darus
Dr. Judith de Waard
Dr. Yancho Stefanov Delchev
Dr. Stephen DePasquale
Dr. Pawel Derlatka
Dr. Ava Desai
Dr. Elena Dunaeva
Dr. Yasuhiko Ebina
Ms. Judith M. Eddy
Dr. Jens Einenkel
Dr. Alaa A. Elbendary
Dr. Karim Elmasry
Dr. Serkan Erkanli
Dr. Mariano Etchepareborda
Dr. Jay Arnold F. Famador
Dr. Rhonda Farrell
www.igcs.org
Dr. Gerald Feuer
Dr. Evelyn Fleming
Dr. Mazen Abu Freij
Dr. Atsuya Fujito
Dr. Khadra A. Galaal
Dr. Mary M. Gallenberg
Dr. Antoaneta Stefanova Gancheva
Dr. Yunong Gao
Dr. Victorino C. Garcia
Dr. Rochelle L. Garcia
Dr. Ruben A. Garcia
Dr. Ruchi Garg
Dr. Sharad A. Ghamande
Dr. Raed Gharaibeh
Dr. Sarita Ghimire
Dr. Charles Gillham
Dr. Sushil K. Giri
Dr. Francisco A. Gonzalez-Avila
Dr. Fernando R. Gorosito
Dr. Bobbie S. Gostout
Dr. Bhupesh K. Goyal
Dr. Jacek Grabowski
Dr. Jean Gregoire
Dr. Alfred Guirguis
Dr. Kiran Gurkan
Dr. Philip Haddad
Dr. Michael J. Halaska
Dr. Daisuke Hamaguchi
Dr. Parviz Hanjani
Dr. Mark G. Hanly
Dr. Linda Harel
Dr. Roopa Hariprasad
Dr. Sandra S. Hatch
Dr. Sladana Hatosevic
Dr. Fernando Hidalgo
Dr. Georgios Hilaris
Dr. Kung-Chu Ho
Dr. Karen Houck
Dr. Wanyi Huang
Dr. Gloria S. Huang
Dr. Chia-Yen Huang
Dr. Sarah Hughes
Dr. Erdin Ilter
Dr. Noriyuki Inaba
Dr. Takuy Inoue
Dr. Suttida Intharaburan
Dr. Tea Ioseliani
Dr. Maysoo Iraki
Dr. Ghazali Bin Ismail
Dr. Geraldine M. Jacobson
Dr. Maja Janevska
Dr. Amitabh Jena
Dr. Dae-Hoo Jeong
Dr. ChulHoi Jeong
Dr. Peter R. Johnson
Dr. Elizabeth Joseph
Dr. Rama Joshi
Dr. Deepak N. Kapoor
Dr. Firuza Karimova
Dr. Kazimierz Karolewski
Dr. Tomas Kazlauskas
Dr. Peigi Ke
Dr. Tanaka Kenichi
Dr. Sarah D. Khaidirman
Dr. Pearly Yoke Lim Khaw
Dr. Ezzeldin A. Khorshid
Dr. Wongyu Kim
Dr. Mil Young Kim
Dr. Ki-Tae Kim
Dr. Janice N. Kim
Dr. Sungyob Kim
Dr. Marina Kisdeva
Dr. Elene Kobiashvili
Dr. Atsumi Kojima
Dr. Dor Mohammad Kordi Tamandani
Dr. Julia M. Kreynina
Dr. Anju Kumari Rani
Dr. Antonio A.C. Lagoa
Dr. Hung-Cheng Lai
Dr. Lisa Laird
Prof. Dr. Bjorn Lampe
Dr Fabio M. Landim
Dr. Maria Jimena Lange
Dr. Susie Lau
Dr. Milijana Lazovic
Dr. Tien Le
Dr. Chul-Mi Lee
Dr. Paula Lee
Dr. Jae-Kwan Lee
Dr. Hsueh Ni Lee
Dr. Kyung-Bo Lee
Dr. Mario M. Leitao, Jr.
Prof. Hua Li
Dr. Jan Lielinski
Dr. Paul S. Lin
Dr. Feng-Yuan Liu
Dr. Salvatore J. LoCoco
Dr. Marta Ihorivna Lomnytska
Dr. Teri A. Longacre
Dr. Christopher V. Lutman
Dr. Umesh M. Mahantshetty
Dr. Christian C. Makwe
Dr. Janusz Marcickiewicz
Dr. Andrea Mariani
Dr. Janina Markowska
Dr. Gonzalo Martinez
Dr. Arnulfo Martinez-Chapa
Dr. Koji Matsumoto
Dr. Colleen C. McCormick
Dr. Michael T. McHale
Dr. Eric Andre Megevand
Dr. Stase Melaikiene
Dr. Jan Willem Mens
Dr. Ann Merriman
Ms. Samantha J. Micklefield
Dr. Cesar A. Mimbela
Dr. Kamlesh Mishra
Dr. Jacqueline Morgan
Dr. Carolyn Y. Muller
Dr. David G. Mutch
Dr. Hans A. Nagar
Dr. Helene T. Nagel
Dr. Giovanni B. Nardelli
Dr. Usha Nath
Dr. Sergey Nespryadko
Dr. Nicolas Chopin
Dr. Florian Alexandru Nicula
Dr. Yuzuru Niibe
Dr. Akin-Tunde A. Odukogbe
Dr. Madoka Ogawa
Dr. Daiki Ogishima
Dr. Dejan Ognjenovik
Dr. Adekunle Oguntayo
Dr. Kate O’Hanlan
Dr. Chukwunwendu A. Okonkwo
Dr. Olayinka B. Olaniyan
Dr. Nurudeen K. Onaolapo
Dr. Yoshitaka Onishi
Dr. Jorge Pablo Orezzoli
Dr. Mauro Orlando
Dr. Gitte Ortoft
Dr. Janet Osborne
Dr. Cleber Otofuji
Ms. Julin U Ozonu
Dr. Benjamin C. Ozumba
Dr Enis Ozyar
Dr. Puchong Padungsutt
Dr. Maria Alejandra Palomino
Dr. Luis Rene Pareja Franco
Dr. Pooja N. Patel
Dr. Nikhilesh G. Patil
Dr. Rashmi Patnayak
Dr. Jeerichuda Pattamadilok
Dr. Keechila Pavithran
Dr. Abraham Peedicayil
Dr. Tanja B. Pejovic
Dr. Miriam B. Perrotta
Dr. Utake O. Peters
Dr. Radosveta J. Petkova
Dr. Ilda Peza
Ms. Shannon Philp
Prof. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong
Dr. Marek Pluta
Dr. Usha Poli
Dr. Fredric V. Price
Dr. Mihai Pricop
Dr. Heru Priyanto
Dr. Henny M.A.R. Putri
Dr. Jiantai T. Qiu
Dr. Pengpeng Qu
Dr. Shalini Rajaram
Dr. Chrishanthi I. Rajasooriyar
Dr. Jelka Rajovic
Dr. Jiany Rao
Dr. Jegajeeva S. Rao
Dr. Imam Rasjidi
Dr. Suniti J. Rawal
Dr. Jose Carlo Reyes
Dr. Lucia I. Rodich
Dr. Jorge Alexander Rodriguez
Gallego
Dr. Phillip Y. Roland
Dr. George V. Rolea
Dr. Daniela Rosa
Dr. Jacob Rotmensch
Dr. Thomas Rutherford
Dr. Takanori Sakamoto
Dr. Jesus San Miguel-Hernandez
Dr. Nakako Okada Sato
Dr. Kathleen M. Schmeler
Dr. Achim Schneider
Dr. Petra Scholtzova
Dr. Samer Schuman
Dr. Giuseppe Scibilia
Prof. Jalid Sehouli
Dr. Jeffrey Seidman
Dr. P. K. Sekharan
Dr. Kentaro Sekiyama
Dr. Fatemeh Shandiz
Dr. Usha Sharma
Dr. Shantanu Sharma
Dr. Masako Shida
Dr. Takako Shimada
Dr. Kyung Hwan Shin
Dr. Eliza Shrestha
Dr. Premalatha T. Siddartha
Dr. Ghazna Siddiqui
Dr. Elvio Guillermo Silva
Dr. Tayup Simsek
Dr. Piksi Singh
Dr. Tul Sittisomwong
Dr. Brian M. Slomovitz
Dr. Waclaw Smiertka
Dr. Leon C. Snyman
Ms. Kathryn A. Solka
Dr. S. P. Somashekhar
Dr. Jae-Yun Song
Dr. Orlando Alejandro Sosa
Dr. Monique A. Spillman
Dr. Radhika Srinivasan
Dr. Christopher B. Steer
Dr. Eric Steiner
Dr. Pamela J.B. Stone
Dr. Zorica Stosilyovic
Dr. Kirushna Kumar K. Subramanian
Dr. Maros Suchanek
Dr. Norihiro Sugino
Dr. Dong-Soo Suh
Dr. Danny Svane
Dr. Valentin Svintsitsky
Dr. Rebecca A. Szabo
Dr. Hee Taiping
Dr. Nobuhiro Takeshima
Dr. Kaustav Talapatra
Dr. Annie Tan
Dr. Cagatay Taskiran
Dr. Shahila Tayib
Ms. Susan Vogt Temple
Yasuhisa Terao
Dr. Anitha Thomas
Dr. Manpreet S. Tiwana
Dr. Ekrem C. Tok
Dr. Hideki Tomizawa
Dr. Hemant Balkrishna Tongaonkar
Dr. Audrey Tran
Ka-Yu Tse
Dr. Hiroshi Tsuda
Dr. Audrey Tieko Tsunoda
Dr. Josh C. Tunca
Dr. Takashi Uehara
Dr. Saida Umarova
Dr. Turhan Uslu
Dr. Daiva Vaitkiene
Dr. Mehrnaz Valadan
Dr. Philippe Van Trappen
Dr. Timothy J. Vanderkwaak
Dr. Toon VanGorp
Mehmet Ali Vardar
A. Mahes Varia
Dr. Michelle M. Vaughan
Dr. Aurora N. Velasquez
Dr. Jasper K. Verguts
Dr. Leen Verleye
Dr. Sheela Verma
Dr. Johan Vervliet
Dr. Nelson Vespa
Dr. Vicknesh Visvalingam
Dr. Akila N. Viswanathan
Dr. Bori Vranes
Dr. Jasminka Vukcevic
Dr. Njoroge G. Waithaka
Dr. Lin Wang
Dr. Chun-Chieh Wang
Dr. Tomoo Waseda
Ms. Katy Weare
Dr. Haleigh A. Werner
Dr. A. James White
Dr. P.O. Witteveen
Dr. Judith K. Wolf
Dr. Sum K. Wong
Dr. Uatarzyna Woocik-Krowiranda
Dr. Mingrong Xi
Dr. Shahla Yazdani Charati
Dr. Yoshihito Yokoyama
Dr. HangJo Yoo
Dr. Man-Soo Yoon
Dr. Mojgan Karimi Zarchi
Dr. Moises Zeferino
Dr. Ping Zhang
Dr. Bin Zhao
Dr. Dragan Zikic
Dr. Stanojevic Zorica
11
INTERNATIONAL
GYNECOLOGIC
ONCOLOGY FELLOWSHIP,
Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center
Program Description
The Gynecology Service offers a two-year international
gynecologic oncology fellowship to fully trained gynecologists
from outside the United States who desire further training in
gynecologic-oncology.
The program is designed to afford the trainee a solid
experience in gynecologic-oncology surgery and patient
management. The fellow is responsible for preoperative and
postoperative patient care and will perform surgical procedures
under the direction of an attending surgeon. Fellows will
participate in resident instruction as well as in the outpatient
clinics, rounds, lectures and treatment planning conferences.
The two-year fellowship comprises 16 months of on-service
patient care on the gynecologic oncology service. Other
surgical rotations in which the fellow acts as the primary
surgical assistant to the attending surgeon include: colorectal,
two months; general surgical oncology, one month; and
urology, one month. The remaining months are spent on
radiation oncology (one month) with three months of elective
time. The international fellow may choose what elective
rotations to take, including medical-oncology, pathology,
radiology, intensive care, clinical research and other areas of
interest. The fellow will have three weeks of vacation per year.
Has Your Email Address Changed?
Please be sure the IGCS Administrative Office has your
correct email address. Just send a message to adminoffice@
igcs.org with your correct email address and any changes in
contact details.
www.igcs.org
Eligibility
Candidates must be graduates of a recognized foreign medical
school and have completed an obstetrics and gynecology
residency training program in their country. The candidate
must have a clear interest and commitment in expanding his or
her expertise in gynecologic-oncology.
The candidate must have passed the USMLE examinations or
any equivalent and hold a valid ECFMG certificate. Selected
candidates must qualify for and obtain a limited permit
to practice medicine from the New York State Education
Department in accordance with its requirements.
Number of positions: one every other year (next available
position starts July 2010).
How to Apply
Completed applications and curriculum vitae should be
returned by June 30th of the year prior to the July 1st start date.
Three letters of recommendation will be required. Interviews
for selected candidates will be held in July and/or August.
Requests for applications or additional information about the
fellowship program should be directed to:
Dennis Chi, M.D.
Program Director, Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship
Department of Surgery/ Gynecology Service
1275 York Avenue
New York, NY 10065
212-639-7537
212-717-3169
chid@mskcc.org
Applications Being Accepted for
Travelling Scholarships (Regular and
Asia/Pacific)
The IGCS Travelling Scholars Program is intended to enable
physicians (IGCS members) from developing countries to
obtain post-graduate training at qualified Gynecologic
Oncology Centers. For an application and more information
go to http://www.igcs.org/fellowships/travelScholars.html.
12