ISGIO’s Role in the Global Advancement of GI Oncology: Will We be Ready for the Future?

摘要

As the world’s population expands, the need for GI oncologists will become critical. Unless new paradigms of clinical research are explored, the prospects of making important inroads in curing disease seem remote. What steps can ISGIO take to ensure that the future needs of GI oncology are met and patient access to quality care ensured? ISGIO President Al B. Benson, III believes the Society needs to start planning now and reveals some of his ideas for Society initiatives. Fundamentally, the field of gastrointestinal (GI) oncology represents an intricate, multidisciplinary approach to managing a highly complex disease spectrum. As such, ISGIO needs to engage all the disciplines; which includes, but is not limited to, medical oncologists, gastroenterologists, radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists, pathologists, interventional radiologists, laboratory scientists, and those who focus on experimental imaging. And we as a society have our work cut out for us, since GI cancers account for approximately 20% of all newly diagnosed cancers annually. Worldwide, colorectal and gastric cancers rank third and fourth, respectively, among the five most commonly diagnosed malignancies. As we look at GI oncology on a global scale, however, it soon becomes apparent that we are faced with a serious shortage of GI oncologists, especially medical oncologists. As the world’s population expands, and as the elderly population continues to grow, the need for oncologists, particularly GI oncologists, will become critical. We must begin to address the ongoing and impending paucity of oncologists by developing recruitment strategies. The question is what steps can we take, as an international Society, to ensure that the future needs of GI oncology are met and patient access to quality care improved? A goal I have for this year is to at least begin the process of developing a global multidisciplinary mentorship program that will reach out to and engage junior faculty and oncology fellows. These young professionals represent the future of GI oncology and ISGIO is uniquely positioned to speak to them. I envision a focused worldwide participatory initiative, spearheaded by ISGIO, that would be sustained. A successful recruitment/mentorship program requires structure which in part must identify the needs (which clearly exist), and encourage constructive interaction between junior and more senior GI oncologists on a continuum. Nurturing successful academic GI oncology careers would be an important goal. If we commit ourselves to encouraging worldwide development of GI oncology in terms of mentoring and recruiting junior members, and if we want to have an influence on the direction of GI research as a Society, we will require a vehicle for projecting our mission goals. Gastrointestinal Cancer Research is a potentially powerful Society resource, and we as members need to encourage junior faculty to contribute to GCR as part of our commitment to the future. Moreover, we should urge all GI oncology disciplines to lend their voices to the Society’s official journal and submit manuscripts on topics from their unique perspectives. The journal should help showcase the need for new paradigms of investigation if we are going to make important inroads in treatment across the spectrum of GI cancers. Pancreatic cancer represents an excellent example of a disease where there have been no appreciable treatment advances over the years, and where a focus on gaining a better understanding of human biology is paramount. GCR can encourage the submission of articles exploring innovative new strategies including new paradigms of clinical research. We should also encourage such presentations at our meetings. I invite readers to submit other commentaries to GCR on matters critical to GI oncology, including legislative issues, discussions of research directions, and ethical considerations, as examples. Investigators are encouraged to consider how we, as an international GI oncology group, can carve out areas where we might make major contributions and exert influence in areas of concern to our specialty. Is there a need worldwide to address critical issues that could be presented to governments or health organizations? I mention that as I recall a trip that Rich Goldberg and I made to London to attend a symposium discussing cancer in Africa. The purpose of the meeting was to address the impending crisis and raise awareness of the cancer burden in Africa where cancer incidence is growing with inadequate cancercare services. As a worldwide Society, we should hear discussions about the state of GI cancer care across the globe including incidence, screening, access, treatment, and research initiatives. ISGIO should also consider potential partnerships with other societies centered around GI cancer issues where appropriate. We clearly want to develop our own, unique activities and initiatives that will define our mission. Creating a recruitment and mentoring progr