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Dear Colleagues and Friends,

It is a tremendous honor to begin my term as President of IGCS. I have great respect for what this society has accomplished, what membership means to so many of us, and the responsibility of helping guide its next chapter.

I've seen firsthand what becomes possible when we build relationships across borders. A connection between colleagues can grow into a partnership between institutions. An exchange of ideas can lead to new opportunities for education or research. And when these efforts translate into stronger healthcare systems and better care for patients, we see the true impact of our global community.

We've given this phenomenon a name: the IGCS Effect. I know many of you have your own stories about how being part of this society has had an effect on you, maybe personally and/or professionally and how IGCS has made a difference in your careers, institutions, or communities. We’d love to hear them and will invite you to share throughout the coming year.

My responsibility as President is to build on what we've accomplished together and help extend the IGCS Effect even further. With that in mind, I want to focus on three priorities over the next two years.

Strengthening Our Multidisciplinary Community

Advancing gynecologic oncology has never been the work of one specialty alone. IGCS has made tremendous progress in strengthening multidisciplinary engagement, particularly in medical oncology, radiation oncology, and pathology. I want to build on that momentum by welcoming more radiologists, biostatisticians, researchers, and other specialists whose expertise can enrich our community and advance our field.

Through our professional society, we can create even more opportunities to grow professionally, strengthen organizational partnerships and advance the study of gynecologic cancers. In fact, I've enrolled in IGCS's new Pathology Certificate Program myself, and I'm looking forward to it.

We all have something to teach, something to learn, and something to contribute.

Connecting More of the World

IGCS has built an incredible global network, but there are still many opportunities to strengthen our connections with colleagues and professional societies around the world. I'm excited about the relationships we're building in Latin America, North Africa, and the Middle East, and the opportunities ahead in Central and East Asia, including China.

Strong partnerships are built on mutual respect and a willingness to learn from one another. By working with professional societies and supporting local leadership, we can share expertise, create new opportunities for our members, and accomplish more together.

One of the great privileges of serving as IGCS President is the opportunity to travel, meet colleagues, and represent our global membership. I love seeing firsthand the incredible work happening in different countries, and we've even started a fun new social media series, "Where in the World Is Dr. Abu-Rustum?" I hope you'll follow along as I visit colleagues and share some of these experiences with our IGCS community.

Recognizing Expertise and Creating New Opportunities

Around the world, many experienced physicians are caring for women with gynecologic cancers in healthcare systems without formal specialty credentialing pathways or disease specific guidelines that are adapted to the available resources. Their expertise and contributions deserve recognition.

I believe IGCS has an opportunity to work with professional societies around the world to develop meaningful pathways for recognizing qualified practitioners, supporting professional standards, facilitating the developing regional adapted cancer specific guidelines based on available resources and opening doors for continued growth. This is an exciting direction for our society, with the potential to recognize the expertise that already exists in our global community and create new opportunities for future generations.

Around the world, many experienced physicians are caring for women with gynecologic cancers in healthcare systems without formal specialty credentialing pathways or disease specific guidelines that are adapted to the available resources. Their expertise and contributions deserve recognition.

I believe IGCS has an opportunity to work with professional societies around the world to develop meaningful pathways for recognizing qualified practitioners, supporting professional standards, facilitating the developing regional adapted cancer specific guidelines based on available resources and opening doors for continued growth. This is an exciting direction for our society, with the potential to recognize the expertise that already exists in our global community and create new opportunities for future generations.

Warm regards,

Nadeem Abu-Rustum, MD
President, International Gynecologic Cancer Society
2026–2028