Roswell Park Sponsors First Western NY & Southern Ontario Kidney Cancer Symposium

BUFFALO, NY —Internationally renowned scientists, urologists and oncologists will convene October 8-9, 2010 at Barton Hill Hotel & Spa in Lewiston, NY for the first Western New York & Southern Ontario Kidney Cancer Symposium. The two-day conference, organized and sponsored by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, will highlight new findings regarding the biology of kidney cancer, as well as promising therapeutic interventions.

“Given the advances in surgical techniques for treatment of kidney cancer over the last decade and the range of new treatment options for advanced disease, we felt this was an opportune and really important time to bring together leading scholars to advance conversations about kidney cancer care and research,” said Roberto Pili, MD, Chief of the Genitourinary Section, Co-leader of the Genitourinary Program in the Department of Medicine and Professor of Oncology at Roswell Park.

Program chairs are Dr. Pili and Edward Messing, MD, Winfield W. Scott Chair in Urology at the University of Rochester’s Wilmot Cancer Center. Among the 15 distinguished faculty members who will deliver papers at the Symposium are:

• Michael Atkins, MD, Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, “Mechanisms of Resistance to Antiangiogenic Treatments”
• Robert Figlin, MD, FACP, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, “Challenges in the Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma”
• Michael Jewett, MD, University of Toronto, “Management of Small Renal Lesions”
• Thomas Schwaab, MD, PhD, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, “Partial Nephrectomy: Surgical Standard of Care?”

The Symposium will also feature panel discussions on drug development and surgical and medical management of renal cell carcinoma.

“In sponsoring this Symposium, Roswell Park took the initiative to create a unique opportunity for our colleagues in the region to discuss the status of kidney cancer research and management,” Dr. Pili noted. “The presenters and moderators we’ve lined up are some truly creative, thoughtful scholars in laboratory and clinical research, and I’m eager to hear their updates.”

The Western New York & Southern Ontario Kidney Cancer Symposium is intended for scientists and health care providers including urologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and primary care physicians. The cost of attending the full two-day conference, including the Friday night dinner, is $139 for physicians until September 30, and $159 after that date. Online registration and additional pricing options are available at www.roswellpark.edu/cmeconferences, and interested parties may also call (716) 845-8686 for more information.

The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit Roswell Park’s website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email AskRoswell@Roswellpark.org.