2014 World Cancer Congress

We would like to thank all organisations whom have submitted session proposals for the World Cancer Congress.

Due to a high demand from UICC Members, the online system will remain open until 31st May 2013.

UICC is thrilled to have received a high number of session proposals for the 2014 World Cancer Congress. We would like to thank everyone for their participation and engagement for what promises to be one of the most important cancer congresses in the world.

All proposals will now be reviewed by the Programme Committee. For those who did not have the time to finalize their sessions and submit a proposal, the online system will remain open until 31st May 2013. Here is your last chance to share your expertise and ideas to help us build a top-quality programme highlighting collaboration, interactivity and innovative thinking.

ABOUT UICC AND THE 2014 WORLD CANCER CONGRESS

The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) would like to invite you to contribute to the programme of the 2014 World Cancer Congress by submitting a session proposal.

This next World Cancer Congress will be held in Melbourne, Australia, from 3 - 6 December 2014 and will be hosted by Cancer Council Australia.

Building on the success of the 2012 World Cancer Congress in Montréal, Canada, UICC would like to bring your expertise on board to help us build a top-quality programme highlighting collaboration, interactivity and innovative thinking.

The World Cancer Congress is the opportunity to involve all players in the global cancer community and to contribute collectively towards achieving UICC’s mission: eliminating cancer as a life-threatening disease for future generations.

One of the key objectives of the 2014 World Cancer Congress will be to equip delegates with the tools and implements needed to effectively apply knowledge, take action at all levels and address priorities efficiently.

It is in this spirit that the event’s theme has been chosen – Joining Forces – Accelerating Progress.

UICC – a visionary campaign

UICC is committed to delivering the targets of the World Cancer Declaration through strategic partnerships involving members and other institutions interested in fighting cancer. Together we aim to save millions of lives by focusing on what needs to be done by taking the lead in:

  • Convening the global cancer control community
  • Advocacy and putting cancer on the global health agenda
  • Coordinating high-impact global programmes

UICC’s purpose is to unite the cancer community, reduce the global cancer burden, promote greater equity and integrate cancer control into the world health development and agenda.   All of which should be reflected in the Congress’ programme.

Congress audience

  • Approximately 3,000 delegates representing the entire spectrum of the global cancer control community from over 100 countries participate.

2014 WORLD CANCER CONGRESS - PROGRAMME OUTLINE

The programme is divided into four tracks, and as such, proposed sessions should be aligned with at least one of them, as described below:

Track 1 – Cancer prevention and screening

The standard definition of primary and secondary prevention sets the scope for this track; methods targeting behavioural risk factors as well as underlying factors such as social and economic disadvantage will be explored in these sessions. Tobacco control is a vital and specialised aspect of cancer control, and is an established field with knowledge and experience that can be transferred to other risk factors. Including tobacco control in a broader sense will facilitate an important exchange between participants with the goal of improving prevention outcomes for all risk factors.

Track 2 – Cancer diagnosis and treatment

There are common themes in cancer diagnosis and treatment throughout the world. In any context, there is work underway to ensure that delays to diagnosis are minimized. There is also a common need to create the best patient experience possible, including measures to minimize the negative side-effects of treatment, and consideration of patients' social, spiritual, and psychological needs throughout the cancer journey. There are also unprecedented scientific and clinical advances in the understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In high resource contexts, careful consideration needs to be given to how to prioritize the new diagnostic tests and treatments. In addition, there are many affordable and feasible treatment options that remain under-utilized in the developing world because adequate systems for delivery have not been put in place. 

Track 3 - After active treatment: cancer survivorship and palliative care 

This track will explore in depth what ‘survivorship’ means to people affected by cancer, what they want and need, how the health system can meet those needs, and what survivors themselves can contribute. It also recognizes that over one third of patients die within 5 years of a diagnosis (even in the most advanced health systems), dying, and thus humane methods to ease the psychological and physical burden of impending death will be explored, as well the challenges (and benefits) of an early introduction of palliative care into the patient’s journey. In terms of equity, giving palliation and pain control importance helps address the inequity arising in resource-constrained countries where end of life interventions are often all that can be offered.

Track 4: Cancer control systems

Systems solutions are a priority for those who wish to make an impact at a community level to improve the access to care. A broad definition of the term ‘system’ will be used to allow for the discussion of issues, and solutions for improving national, regional and local health systems including an understanding of system performance. Surveillance systems, including cancer registries, and population risk factor monitoring will be a key focus, as will how to advocate for the cancer cause, creating an infrastructure around fundraising and the distribution of resources. Health delivery systems, including primary, acute and post acute services and how these can be reshaped to meet the growing cancer burden or be adapted to translate to new environments will also be of interest.

CALL FOR SESSIONS

A.   Process and deadlines

  1. The deadline to submit session proposals is Friday 3rd May 2013 at 24h00 CET.
  2. Call for sessions: all session proposals will be submitted for review to the2014 World Cancer Congress Programme Committee. The Committee will work with session organisers to constitute an attractive and balanced programme. This may include accepting sessions as originally proposed or working with session organisers to combine one or more proposals. All session organisers should be notified by 14 June 2013. The preliminary programme will be released online on the World Cancer Congress website from mid-July 2013.
  3. Call for abstracts: abstracts constitute an important part of the programme content. UICC will launch its ‘Call for abstracts’ on 2 September 2013. Abstract submitters will have until 12 March 2014 to finalise their submission online. These abstracts will be reviewed by an international panel of experts, and the highest ranked abstracts will be offered either oral and/or poster presentations at the Congress.

It is only for the ’Call for sessions’ that you are now kindly invited to share with us your proposals using the online form below.

 B.   Guidelines

1.   Session topics

  • All session proposals have to be submitted through the online system
  • Incomplete proposals may not be reviewed.
  • Each proposed session should be coordinated by a ‘Session organiser’ who will be acting as the main liaison between UICC and the session speakers.
  • The session organiser should be prepared to contact the proposed speakers to align the programme.
  • A proposed topic should be relevant to an issue that is of global interest and not pertinent to one institution only.
  • Cross-country and cross-organisation collaboration is recommended. If you wish to contact experts from other organisations, a listing of UICC member organisations may be found here: UICC Members
  • The proposed session should be aligned with at least one of the proposed tracks and should be in line with the Congress overarching theme.
  • Sessions will be delivered in English only. No simultaneous translation will be available onsite.
  • Topics already proposed in past World Cancer Congresses should demonstrate a significant update and/or progress since the last presentation, and important enough to be presented at the next World Cancer Congress.
  • Session organisers are recommended to incorporate content that will arm participating delegates with interesting tools that they will be able to take away with them and share upon their return from the Congress.
  • Sessions should focus largely at prioritising interaction with the audience
  • Innovative ideas that fit in the selected themes are highly encouraged
  • When you are filling in your session proposal form, you will be asked to select a preferred ‘Session format’:
    • Symposium
    • Interactive discussion panel
    • ‘How to’... session
    • The big sCreen

2.   Speakers

  • Each session format has a limited number of speakers.
  • A chair can also take a speaker role within the same session.
  • Proposed speakers should be aware that their names have been put forward by the session organiser, as well as be available to attend the Congress should the proposal be accepted by the Programme Committee.
  • Proposed speakers should be contacted by the session organiser 
  • Each speaker (or chair) must have a good command of English.
  • UICC will not provide any funding or honorarium for proposed speakers. Funding is very limited and exceptional requests for educational grants should be made in writing to UICC only after the session has been accepted.
  • Speakers and chairs (only one chair per session) will have their Congress registration fees waived and will need to register before a given deadline to benefit from the registration waiver.