IGCA : Introduction

Invitation for 8th International Gastric Cancer Congress

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Colleagues

I would like to invite you to the 8th International Gastric Cancer Congress, which, by the decision of the International Gastric Cancer Association (IGCA), will take place in Krakow, Poland, from 10th - 13th June, 2009.

Both the time and location of the Congress are special.

The Congress will coincide with the 130th anniversary of the first partial gastric resection performed on a patient with cancer. The operation was performed by Jules-Emile Pean on April 9th 1879. The following years saw two more cancer related gastric resections; performed by Ludwik Rydygier on 16th November 1880, and by Theodor Billroth on 29th January 1881.

In 1882, Jan Mikulicz-Radecki successfully diagnosed and described gastric cancer by employing, for the first time in history, a gastroscope of his own construction. He maintained that it would be the best method of diagnosing gastric cancer.

These four pioneers of gastric cancer surgery shall accompany us throughout the congress, having been portrayed on the official congress poster, designed by one of Krakow's leading graphic artists.

Some of these events happened in Krakow, a city of great scientific and cultural traditions and an important scientific centre of the time. You will find more information about Krakow included with this invitation pack.

The turn of the 19th and 20 th century saw the dawn of the golden age of surgery. This was due to general and local anaesthesia and the understanding of the principles of asepsis and antisepsis, making it possible to carry out safer operations. And it was then that the basic assumptions and clinical guidelines for dealing with the majority of surgically treated diseases, including gastric cancer, were formulated. Further improvements in the operative therapy of gastric cancer were determined by progress in diagnostic methods, which allowed for more precise and effective surgical treatment. In fact, it became the only method of treating gastric cancer. Of course, the modernisation of equipment and materials is very dynamic, and lasers, ultrasonic knives, staplers, robotics etc. and the development of endoscopy and laparoscopy in turn led to the introduction of minimally invasive methods of surgical treatment. The surgery of gastric cancer achieved an intellectual and technological peak,however, this was not reflected in the results of treatment of gastric cancer patients. They are still unsatisfactory, far below expectations. From the perspective of my 50 years as a physician, during which I have applied all presently used surgical methods of treatment of cancer, I am obliged to say that the patient's body simply cannot be wounded any further. We must admit it humbly - as far as the surgical treatment of malignant cancer is concerned we have reached the limit.

New solutions must be sought. The present development of medicine spreads in many directions. Immunology and physiopathology have reached the level of molecular biology. Molecular biology and genetics, in turn, allow for the insertion of genetic material into an organism with the purpose of achieving a therapeutic effect - genetic therapy. It is now possible to isolate and transfect cancerous cells, then to select stable transfected cells and prepare an autovaccine. It is also possible to cultivate isolated cancerous cells from blood and bone marrow, facilitating research into the mechanisms of metastasis and the development of effective antimetastatic drugs. The basic sciences have powerful tools at their disposal, genomics and proteomics with micro-arrays amongst them. Further progress in these fields will certainly enable us to identify clinically significant biomarkers of gastric cancer and the indivisualisation of therapy for optimum efficacy.

Bearing in mind all of the above, it is evident that the battle against cancer is currently waged both in the operating theatre and the laboratory.

The resolve to face these ambitious and truly formidable challenges dictates the following invitation: we warmly encourage active participation in this Congress, not only by surgeons, pathologists, epidemiologists and radiologists but also clinical oncologists, molecular biologists, and immunologists. We hope that such a deep, interdisciplinary discussion will result in new ideas, which will enable us to make real progress in treating gastric cancer.

We therefore are pleased to invite you to Krakow, to the 8th International Gastric Cancer Congress,

Tadeusz Popiela, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S.
President
8th International Gastric Cancer Congress