Author Archives: International Gynecologic Cancer Society

IGCS 2021 Industry Supported Sessions

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IGCS 2021 Industry Supported Symposia

 

How Cemiplimab is EMPOWERING change in the management of recurrent cervix cancer

Funded with a grant from Regeneron.

 

Mirvetuximab Soravtansine, an Antibody-Drug Conjugate Targeting the Folate Receptor for Women with Ovarian Cancer

 

New Perspectives in Ovarian Cancer: Current Paradigm and Long-term Benefits of PARPi Therapy

 

Solutions to Address Missed Opportunities for Genetic Testing Globally

 

The Evolution of NGS for Gynecologic Malignancies: Delivering for Future for More Precise Treatment

 

The evolving treatment of landscape of gynecological tumors

Patient Advocate Travel Fund GOG

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Mary “Dicey” Scroggins is a 24-year ovarian cancer survivor and health activist who has made a significant impact to transforming the standard of care in gynecologic oncology by being the voice to patients.

For many years Dicey attended The GOG Board of Directors as an ex officio member representing the patient voice and guiding the GOG to better serve their patients. Most recently she served in a similar capacity of advocacy for URM for IGCS. The GOG will be forever grateful for the incredible impact Dicey for her service, engagement and cancer survivor perspective as the Chair of the Legacy GOG Patient Advocacy Committee.

To honor and continue Dicey’s legacy, the GOG is thrilled to announce the Mary “Dicey” Scroggins Travel Fund that will offer travel reimbursement for up to two patient advocates to attend the NRG Oncology 2022 Semiannual February Meeting and the GOG Foundation, Inc. meeting.

Application Deadline is November 15, 2021. 

Learn more

IJGC Journal Club

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IJGC Journal Club, in collaboration with IGCS and ESGO

The November article for discussion and journal club date will be posted here when it becomes available. View recordings of journal club discussions below.

IJGC Podcasts

IJGC Podcasts features short interview segments with leading experts discussing the latest research in their respective areas. 

Select episodes are available in other languages including Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian, and Russian.

Previously Recorded Journal Club Discussions

Membership Renewal 2022

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Thank you for being a valued member of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society. On behalf of the IGCS leadership, we want to thank you in advance for renewing your commitment to our mission by renewing your IGCS membership for 2022.
 
As a core principle, the concept of global health equity is embedded in the IGCS mission and is reflected in the breadth of our membership and the design and implementation of our programs. With over 3,000 members from low-, middle-, and high-income countries around the globe, IGCS has purposefully developed an inclusive membership framework that encourages interaction and growth across diverse social, political, and health care systems.
 
By renewing your membership, you are supporting and indicating that our programmatic mission to deliver education and training and spread public awareness of gynecologic cancers worldwide resonates with you. 
Renew my IGCS Membership
2022 IGCS Membership Benefits Include:
  • Year-round education planned by the IGCS Education Committee
  • Surgical Education
  • Pathology Corner
  • Radiation Oncology Education (new in 2022)
  • Breast Disease Education (new in 2022)
  • Palliative Care Certificate Program (Preinvasive Cervix Disease and Nursing coming soon)
  • Collaborative initiatives with industry that provide clinical applications of current data from clinical trials
  • Online subscription to the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer
  • Reduced rates to the 2022 IGCS Annual Global Meeting in New York
  • Professional development opportunities for young clinicians and researchers joining the Early Career Research & Publications Network
  • International Mentor positions and opportunities to contribute to IGCS’s educational programs
  • Voting rights and eligibility for volunteer leadership positions (Council elections to be held in 2022)
  • Access to the online member community (Social Link) and directory, connecting you to IGCS members around the world
  • Discounted subscription to Wolters Kluwer UpToDate® (coming in 2022)
  • Access to AAGL’s SurgeryU with over 1200 surgical videos to educate gynecologic surgeons of all levels on minimally invasive surgical techniques.
  • Advocacy network and programming for survivor-patients and caregivers.
Helpful Information:
  • If you do not remember your password, you can click the "lost password" link on the sign-in page or email us for help.
  • The preferred method of payment is online by credit card. However, if you need to pay your dues in a different payment form or require additional documentation, please email rosie.stephans@igcs.org.
  • Renew your membership for 1, 2, or 3 years and receive a discount when you chose to renew for multiple years.
  • Please make sure to review your contact information before you submit your payment.

IGCS values your participation and commitment to the society, and we thank you for your continued membership. If you have any questions or comments regarding your IGCS membership or the society, please do not hesitate to email us at mary.eiken@igcs.org or robert.coleman@usoncology.com.

Sincerely,

Mary Eiken, MS
IGCS CEO
Robert Coleman, MD
IGCS President

Surgical Film Festival

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Film Festival Information     

The Surgical Film Festival dedicated to Ultra-Radical Procedures was held October 8, 2021.
 
The link to view the festival will be available soon in the Education Portal.
 
For questions, please email education@igcs.org

Co-Chairs

Vance Broach
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
USA
Reitan Ribeiro
Erasto Gaertner Hospital
Brazil

IGCS surgical film festivals are organized by Vance Broach, Surgical Education Lead of the IGCS Education Committee.

Course Outline

Lateral extended endopelvic ressections
David Cibula, MD 

Vascular bypass for a sarcoma
Kara Long Roche, MD & Kimberly Dessources, MD

Robotic exenteration with an endoscopic double barreled wet colostomy
Mario Leitao, MD

Complete abdominal Peritonectomy
Houssein El Hajj, MD

Robotic Assisted Pelvic Exenteration in a Radiated Field
Payam Kashi, MD

Speakers

David Cibula
Charles University and General Hospital
Czech Republic
Kara Long Roche
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
USA
Kimberly Dessources
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
USA
Mario Leitao
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
USA
Houssein El Hajj
Centre Oscar Lambret
France
Payam Kashi
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
USA

Strategic Alliance Highlight – Kazakhstan

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IGCS has purposefully developed an inclusive membership framework that encourages interaction and growth across diverse social, political, and health care systems. A large part of our membership is comprised of Strategic Alliance Partners - regional and international groups who represent the diversity of clinicians and researchers dedicated to caring for women affected by gynecologic cancers. 
 
As part of the IGCS alliance, regional organizations have joined forces with other alliance groups and members across the globe, increasing our ability to share resources and find solutions to issues facing gynecologic cancer patients and professionals around the world.

IGCS is grateful for our strong Strategic Alliance Partnerships that bring us one step closer to our goal of achieving global heath equity. Each month we will highlight a partnership, beginning with the Association of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

This month's Strategic Alliance Partnership focus is on Kazakhstan (pop. 18 million), Kyrgyzstan (6 million), and Tajikistan (9 million). These countries are progressive in the care and treatment of gynecologic cancers but are not without their challenges. Their partnership with IGCS only strengthens their education and care for women with gynecologic cancer. IGCS is so proud of the alliance with Kazakhstan and is very excited to highlight this flourishing partnership and we are grateful for their willingness to include Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

IGCS spoke with Dilyara Kaidarova and Raikhan Bolatbekova, Kazakhstan leadership, a few questions to better explain their Strategic Alliance Partnership with IGCS.
 

What regions are included in your Strategic Alliance?
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

How long have you been a Strategic Alliance Partner?
For four years. In the Fall of 2017, IGCS CEO, Mary Eiken met with the Kazakhstan Cancer Society in Central Asia. Sophia Michaelson, Executive Director, American Eurasian Cancer Alliance, and the entire organization were instrumental in making this partnership flourish. There has been a successful partnership ever since. 

How many members are in your organization?
Kazakhstan has 47 members, Kyrgyzstan has 12 members and Tajikistan has 15 members, totaling 74 members.

What is the greatest impact of being an IGCS Strategic Alliance Partner?
The greatest impact of being a Strategic Alliance Partner with IGCS is the commitment IGCS shows day in and day out to advance the treatment of gynecologic cancer. Our partnership is making a difference in the lives of women afflicted with gynecologic cancer. The goal of our partnership is to improve access to quality cancer services globally through the international collaboration and the creation of a research platform in the women cancer care.

What is the most considerable benefit to your community’s members by being an IGCS Strategic Alliance Partner?
The resources IGCS provides our community is unmatched, the global network, educational opportunities, mentorship and training programs and the Annual Global Meeting are all reasons why our partnership continues to benefit our community. Since 2017 Kazakhstan has participated in over 40 tumor boards and didactics in the framework in Project ECHO. 

Dr. Taha Completes IGCS Curriculum

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Congratulations to Dr. Mohammed Taha Hussein Alsayed from the Women's Wellness and Research Center in Qatar for successfully completing the IGCS Gynecologic Oncology Global Curriculum & Mentorship Program!

Dr. Mohammed Taha Hussein Alsayed
Women’s Wellness and Research Centre, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
 
“Thanks to IGCS for supporting the IGCS fellowship program in Qatar. This kind of training was impossible in our hospital two years ago, and now that I have completed the fellowship program, I will be able to deliver better service to women with gynecological malignancies. Thanks to Dr. Vivek, Dr. Herod and Dr. Afaf for their support the last two years, and thanks to IGCS team member, Susan Ralph, for all her hard work that made everything run easy and smooth.”

The IGCS Global Curriculum was established in 2017 under the leadership of then-President, Michael Quinn. It is a comprehensive two-year education and training program designed for regions around the world that do not currently have formal training in gynecologic oncology. Click here to learn more about the program.

Congratulations to Dr. Taha on achieving this important milestone. Many thanks to the local and international mentors for their support and guidance.

Local Mentors & Faculty

Women’s Wellness and Research Centre, Hamad Medical Corporation
Doha, Qatar

Dr. Jonathan Herod

Local Mentor

Dr. Afaf Al-Ansari

Local Mentor

Dr. Hilal Al-Rifai

Medical Director

Dr. Moayyad

Chair of Gynecology

International Mentors

Dr. Vivek Arora

Australia

Dr. Herod, Local Mentor, congratulates Dr. Taha:
"There have been few achievements in my long and varied career that have given me greater pleasure than seeing our first Gynecologic Oncology Fellow in Qatar complete his training in the IGCS Global Curriculum. Dr Taha has been an excellent Fellow and his commitment to his training has been exceptional. It is certain that all of our team have also benefitted greatly from our involvement with the training program and we would not have been able to progress as a team in the manner we have over the past few years without the support of the IGCS."
Volunteer to Support IGCS Mentorship & Training Programs
We are always looking for volunteer leaders of all disciplines to support our mentorship and training programs. If you are interested in becoming a mentor or contributing to our virtual tumor boards, please contact Susan Ralph at susan.ralph@igcs.org.

Dicey Celebrates 25th Survivorship Year

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Dicey Scroggins -
25 Year Ovarian Cancer Survivorship Anniversary

In honor of Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, we'd like to take this opportunity to highlight some of our advocacy programs and celebrate Mary "Dicey" Scroggins, the IGCS Director of Global Outreach & Engagement who celebrated her 25th ovarian cancer survivorship anniversary on September 19th. 

On September 19, 2021, Dicey celebrated her 25th year surviving ovarian cancer. Many of you are well aware that Dicey is an extraordinary woman, notorious for her activism and a fervent advocate for global health equity, particularly women affected by gynecologic cancers. Dicey is also a recent survivor of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) - she is currently in recovery from a bone marrow transplant. She would like everyone to know that she is doing well and can’t wait to get back to her advocacy work. She often tells us how much she enjoys her work and even now, she is actively involved in planning the 2021 Advocacy Summit taking place in the next several weeks.

Since early 2019, Dicey has been leading IGCS’ patient advocacy and community outreach efforts as the society’s first Director of Global Outreach and Engagement. In just three short years, she has completely transformed IGCS’s advocacy programs and relationships through educational programming, network and relationship building, recognition, and communication.

She is also a writer, producer, and founding partner in Pinkie Hugs, LLC - a mother-daughter writing and film production firm specializing in social justice-focused documentaries.

She is a co-founder of In My Sister’s Care (an organization focused on improving gynecologic cancer awareness and care for medically underserved women and on eliminating health disparities), and a co-chair of the Advocacy Special Interest Group for the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer. The recipient of the 2016 AACR Distinguished Public Service Award, Dicey is a member of NCI’s “Community Engagement in Genomics” Working Group and the Director of Advocacy and International Engagement for the “Globe-athon to End Women’s Cancers.”

Her activism is driven by a commitment to global health equity which is shared by the leadership of the IGCS. As one of the authors on the working group charged to write the IGCS Global Health Equity Statement, Dicey’s vision and passion is evident in what is now the driving force behind everything that our society stands for.

IGCS President, Dr. Robert Coleman has said that Dicey is a fountain of ideas and we have been fortunate to have her take the lead in conceptualizing and developing IGCS’s advocacy programs. She sees the big picture while having intimate knowledge of survivor-patient needs.

Mary Eiken, IGCS CEO, has known Dicey for many years feels "knowing Dicey for me has been life changing. Every day I learn more and more from her, she is a true champion for patients and their caregivers and a trusted friend. Thank you Dicey for joining our team at IGCS and giving patients a voice.”
 
Congratulations on 25 years of survivorship. 

IGCS Advocacy Programs

Advocacy Survivor-Caregiver Summit

The Annual Survivor-Caregiver Summit is a 4-hour virtual event that covers everything that gynecologic cancer survivors, caregivers, and advocates need to know. Experts explain the basics of gynecologic cancers and patient rights to increase literacy and empower women with knowledge. Survivorship is discussed as part of the continuum of care with a focus on quality of life. Examples of the power of patient advocacy in action are shared and attendees are encouraged to chat and join the IGCS network for continued support.

 

Patient Perspectives Roundtable Series

First held in May 2020, each 60- to 90-minute virtual session covers a specific topic important to gynecologic cancer patient communities maneuvering through the health and cancer care system during and after COVID-19. The roundtables include key opinion leaders and patients-caregivers.

The most recent roundtable topic was a focus on Survivorship/Quality of Life and Patient Reported Outcomes and the next roundtable to be held later this year will focus on Global Health Equity: Conversation to Implementation. The roundtables are free to the public and recordings can be viewed here.

Distinguished Advocacy Award

In 2019, IGCS instituted a new award – the Distinguished Advocacy Award. This award recognizes advocates and/or advocacy organizations that provide active, dedicated service to patients/survivors, families, and caregivers—on a local, regional, or international level—and persistently engage in the fight against gynecologic and other cancers. View the recipients and their inspiring stories.

International Gynecologic Cancer Advocacy Network

IGCS has a vision to build a network; a noncompetitive global linkage of gynecologic cancer advocacy organizations and individual advocates—from every region and every income and resource setting—that partner and collaborate in achieving best outcomes for all gynecologic cancer patients.

While the network structure takes shape, we encourage those interested in joining such a network to join our Global Advocacy Network Facebook group. All are welcome: advocates, patient-survivors, family members, caregivers, and health care professionals. This is a place for advocates to gather and build a supportive community to share experiences.

IJGC Editorial Fellowship

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IJGC Editorial Fellowship is
Now Accepting Applications

The Editorial Team at the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer is offering two 5-month Editorial Internships from February-June 2022 and July-November 2022 for all those interested in learning about the processing of manuscript submission, peer-review analysis, revisions, and ultimately production and publication, as well as journal management and strategy.

This experience will match the Editorial Fellow with the Editor-in-Chief, and together they will work to assure for a very positive and productive learning experience.

Fellowship Objectives
During their appointment, fellows will gain experience in peer review processing, proposal/manuscript development, medical journal production, working with authors, editorial board management, and implementing a strategic vision plan. The objectives of the project are:

  • Increase interest in “editorial” and other publication-related activities for trainees and fellows
  • Increase understanding and participation in the IJGC review process
  • Tighten the relationship between the “new” generation of gynecological oncologists and more experienced generations
  • Increase the visibility of IJGC among younger gynecological oncologists

Fellowship Activities
The Fellows will participate in manuscript decisions, strategic planning for the journal, editorial team conference calls, social media planning and strategy, and the journal’s annual meeting. In addition, the fellow will work on special projects based on personal areas of interest and the needs of the IJGC and Editor-in-Chief expectations. Fellows will develop the skills to further their own research careers and effect change in the quality of medical research. Examples of activities undertaken during the Fellowship might include the following:

  • Serve as Editorial Fellow for 5 months.
  • Peer review of manuscripts and consult with the Editor-in-Chief on peer review
  • Learn how electronic manuscript review systems work
  • Be involved in the final decision of selected manuscripts together with the Editor-in-Chief
  • Participate in monthly Associate Editors telephone conference calls
  • Participate in all meetings of the Editors during the annual meetings of IJGC as per candidate’s availability
  • Recruit trainees as reviewers as determined by the Editor-in-Chief
  • Develop online initiatives (depending on the needs)
  • Prepare and participate in IJGC’s monthly Twitter Journal Club, IJGC mentors’ podcast, and discuss questions with the Editor-in-Chief about questions suitable for the weekly podcasts. Assist the Social Media Editor with promotion of the journal through Facebook and Twitter, including posting from the @IJGCfellows Twitter account
  • Assist with developing content by identifying potential authors and topics for invited articles, such as Review Articles, Clinical Trials, Corners of the World, and Podcasts
  • Final report to the Editor-in-Chief demonstrate what was learned during the program

Ideal Candidate
The IJGC Editorial Fellowship is designed for a junior faculty or fellow who wishes to build skills and gain experience through active participation in the IJGC editorial team.

Ideally, all Fellows will attend the IGCS and/or ESGO 2022 meetings (funding not available). During the meeting, Fellows will attend the IJGC Editorial Board meeting, write meeting summaries about important sessions, record interviews with speakers, and promote the meeting and the journal on social media through the @IJGCfellows Twitter account.

Candidates must have documented interest in gynecologic oncology, such as:

  • fellowship/residency in oncological gynecology, radiotherapy or medical oncology (completed or in progress)
  • work in an oncology center
  • documented publishing experience
  • involvement in past IGCS, IGCS Early Career Network, ESGO, or ENYGO activities is an advantage

Applications
To apply, candidate should send:

  • CV (maximum 2 pages)
  • Letter of interest (one page, please be as specific as possible in detailing the reason for interest in the Editorial Fellowship and how it would benefit to you)
  • Letter of recommendation from the Head of the Department or from an ESGO or IGCS Member with a statement of protected time for the performance of the fellowship functions
  • List of publications or performed reviews
  • Proof of proficiency in English is absolutely necessary

Applications should be sent to ijgc@jjeditorial.com by September 30th, 2021, with the subject line “IJGC Editorial Fellowship Application.”

Application Timeline
Applications will open on September 1 to September 30, 2021. Interviews will be held between October 1 and October 31, 2021. Fellows will be selected by October 31, 2021.

Selection Process:
The Editor-in-Chief will evaluate the applications and select 5 individuals to become Fellows. The decision is final without right of appeal.