City of Hope is one of just a handful of Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States as designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). It is here at City of Hope that more than 300 physicians and scientists and over 2,500 employees work to find the causes of and cures for cancer and other life-threatening diseases, including diabetes and HIV/AIDS. City of Hope, located on over 112 beautifully landscaped acres, has 158 licensed beds, 84 of which are devoted to bone marrow transplantation patients.

More than 290,000 volunteers and donors worldwide support City of Hope and make it possible to continue the lifesaving work done here. Nearly 20 percent of our funding comes from private support through charitable contributions.

Lung Cancer Conference 2006

December 2, 2006

Conference Location
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
Platt Conference Center Cooper Auditorium
1500 East Duarte Road
Duarte, CA 91010

Overview/Need
Chest malignancies pose the greatest morbidity and mortality rates than any other solid tumors. Each year, more people die from lung cancer than from cancers of the breast, prostate, colon and pancreas combined. In 2006, there will be 174,470 new lung cancer cases diagnosed in the United States and 162,460 lung cancer-related deaths. At the same time, the incidence esophageal cancer is rising rapidly. Now the third most commonly occurring cancer of the digestive tract and seventh leading cause of cancer related deaths, its evaluation and management is complex and often met with poor long term survival. Mesothelioma, a difficult to diagnose and treat chest malignancy is extremely debilitating and painful to the patient and likewise bodes a very poor long-term survival.

Current research provides solid evidence that many of these patients may achieve a better outcome with earlier accurate diagnosis and the implementation of appropriate well-organized multidisciplinary therapies. There is a need then for primary care and specialty physicians to be updated on the latest developments in the diagnosis, staging and treatment of these chest malignancies. This one-day multidisciplinary conference has been designed to meet this need by reviewing the current level of progress and the future directions in the multidisciplinary management of patients with mesothelioma, lung and esophageal cancers. The conference format will include didactic sessions, panel discussions, question-and-answer sessions and industry exhibits. We welcome and invite your participation and valuable contribution to our conference, Thoracic Oncology: Current Methods of Evaluation and Successful Management.

Objectives
Upon successful completion of this educational activity, participants should be better able to:

* Illustrate the evaluation of solitary pulmonary nodules,
* Discuss induction therapy for early stage NSCLC,
* Describe the management of tracheobronchial cancer,
* Define new concepts in targeted therapies for NSCLC,
* Assess STAT 3 and its role in thoracic malignancies,
* Review current trends in local and systemic treatment options for advanced NSCLC,
* Assess the role of race in the treatment of NSCLC,
* Evaluate minimally invasive surgical techniques for lung and esophageal cancers, and
* Examine surgical and nonsurgical treatment options and outcomes for the patient with mesothelioma.

Expected Results
It is the intent of our educational activity to provide physicians and allied health care providers with objective, evidence-based clinical content, which they can incorporate into their treatment strategies to improve the clinical care and outcomes for their patients with chest and esophageal malignancies.

Who Should Attend
Medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pulmonologists, thoracic surgeons, general surgeons, diagnostic radiologists, internists, family practitioners and other allied health care professionals who treat patients with chest and esophageal malignancies.

Disclosure
This activity has been planned and implemented in strict accordance with the Essential Elements and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). City of Hope takes responsibility for the content, quality and scientific integrity of this CME activity.

Prior to their participation in this City of Hope continuing medical education activity all faculty/presenters have disclosed any real or apparent vested commercial interest(s) in both those companies whose products may be discussed during the course of the activity and in those companies acting as commercial supporters of the activity. City of Hope further requires that prior to the activity faculty/presenters have disclosed their intention to discuss any off-label and/or investigational (not yet approved for any purpose) use of pharmaceuticals or medical devices. Written disclosure of faculty/presenters specific commercial relationships and/or intent to discuss off-label and/or investigational use will be provided in the activity syllabus.

Acknowledgements
This Education Program is made possible through unrestricted educational grants. All companies who support this CME activity with educational grants will be acknowledged in the conference syllabus.

Special Assistance
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, all reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate persons with disabilities at the meeting. If you have any special dietary or accommodation needs, please notify the course coordinator, Jean Kagan, at 626- 256-HOPE (4673), Ext. 65622 prior to the conference. It is important to notify us in advance of your special needs to help us better serve you.

Accreditation
City of Hope National Medical Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education (CME) for physicians. City of Hope designates this CME activity for a maximum of 7.5 Category 1 credits toward the AMA Physicians Recognition Award . Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the education activity.

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This information is reposted with thanks to City of Hope National Medical Center.