The 7th Biennial Meeting of the Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology, November 25th to 27th, 2021.

INTRODUCTION

The Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology (ASGO) was inaugurated in 2008 as the expansion of the former Japan-Korea Joint Conference of Gynecologic Oncology Group to include all Asian countries with the purpose of facilitating scientific exchanges, collaborating for clinical and basic researches, providing educational opportunities for doctors from developing countries and deepening friendships among Asian members, in order to ultimately improve the standard of practice and outcomes of Asian gynecologic cancer patients [12]. Currently gynecologic oncologists from various countries have joined, with collaborations between 11 national gynecologic oncology societies in Asia.

Biennial scientific meetings had regularly been held since 2009 and had become one of the most important activities of ASGO, with increasing success and attracting larger number of participants. They have been held in Tokyo, Seoul, Kyoto, Seoul, Tokyo and Incheon, in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, respectively [345678]. The 7th Biennial Meeting was supposed to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, the first meeting with the setting outside Korea and Japan. However, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the 7th ASGO Meeting had to be the first that was held as a hybrid on-site and online meeting, with the Thai Gynecologic Cancer Society remaining as the host. The meeting was held from November 25th to 27th, 2021, with the theme “joining together towards better gynecologic cancer care”. The chair of the Steering Committee was Professor Sarikapan Wilailak and the chair of the Local Organizing Committee was Group Captain Panon Kasemsarn, the President of the Thai Gynecologic Cancer Society. The total number of registered participants was 1,654 from 40 countries, including many from outside Asia. There were 77 invited speakers and 54 chairpersons from 19 countries. The number for oral, surgical film and poster presentations were 37, 10 and 120, respectively (Table 1). Some of the sessions were pre-recorded, while some were live online sessions. The presentation files and videos are available at https://www.asgo2021.org up to 3 months after the meeting. The scientific topics are summarized in this report.

Table 1

Number of participants and presentations by country/region

Countries/regions	Participants	Presentations
		Invited speaker	Chair/co-chair	Oral	Film	Poster	Total
Thailand	1,019	9	14	4	5	42	74
Taiwan	127	4	1	1	-	2	8
Korea	122	14	9	14	1	25	63
Japan	102	15	11	6	2	13	47
India	80	3	3	3	-	15	24
Indonesia	38	-	1	-	-	10	11
China	33	7	10	5	-	10	32
Singapore	25	4	2	1	-	1	8
Philippines	22	1	-	1	-	-	2
Vietnam	14	-	-	-	-	-	-
Laos	13	-	-	-	-	-	-
United Kingdom	8	4	-	-	-	-	4
United States	8	4	-	-	1	1	6
Cambodia	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Myanmar	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Australia	3	3	-	-	-	-	3
Hong Kong	3	2	1	-	-	-	3
Algeria	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Austria	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Germany	2	2	-	-	-	-	2
Mexico	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nigeria	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peru	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Angola	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bahrain	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Denmark	1	1	-	-	-	-	1
Dominican	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Egypt	1	1	-	-	1	1	3
Iran	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Italy	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kenya	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Malaysia	1	1	1	-	-	-	2
Nepal	1	-	1	-	-	-	1
Netherland	1	-	-	1	-	-	1
Paraguay	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Saudi Arabia	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Spain	1	-	-	1	-	-	1
Sweden	1	1	-	-	-	-	1
Switzerland	1	1	-	-	-	-	1
Sri Lanka	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	1,654	77	54	37	10	120	298

OPENING CEREMONY

Professor Daisuke Aoki, the President of ASGO, delivered an opening remark, followed by opening remarks and welcome speeches from Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health of Thailand, and Group Captain Panon Kasemsarn, Chair of Local Organizing Committee.

Lifetime Achievement Awards recognizing the individuals with outstanding contributions to the field of gynecologic oncology throughout their career were presented to Professor Jonathan Ledermann (UK) and Professor Zeyi Cao (China) (Fig. 1). The tokens of appreciation were Thai traditional gilded ceramic bowls called Benjarong, which would be shipped to the recipients afterwards.

Fig. 1

Lifetime Achievement Awardee: Professor Jonathan Ledermann (UK) (A) and Professor Zeyi Cao (China) (B).

Professor Dong Hoon Suh, then Deputy Editor of the Journal of Gynecologic Oncology (JGO) announced the recipients of 2021 Best Reviewer Awards i.e. Giorgio Bogani (Italy), Ajeet Kumar Gandhi (India), and Yawana Tanapat (Thailand) and 2021 Honor Awards i.e. Xi Cheng (China), Chyong-Huey Lai (Taiwan) and Dr. Chulmin Lee (Korea) (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

Opening ceremony. (A) Professor Daisuke Aoki, President of Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology. (B) Group Captain Panon Kasemsarn, Chair of Local Organizing Committee. (C) Lifetime achievement award, Professor Jonathan Ledermann. (D) Lifetime achievement award, Professor Zeyi Cao. (E) Professor Dong Hoon Suh announced Journal of Gynecologic Oncology awards.

SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS

1. Presidential lecture

Professor Daisuke Aoki, the President of ASGO delivered a speech entitles ‘towards precision medicine in ovarian cancer: current status and future perspectives’.

2. Plenary sessions

Eleven speakers gave their lectures in 3 plenary sessions. The first plenary session addressed the current situations of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in gynecologic cancer, with Masaaki Andou discussing the current situation of MIS in endometrial cancer, Chyi-Long Lee and Joseph Ng discussing the roles of MIS in cervical cancer using laparoscopic and robotic surgery, respectively. The second plenary session updated on the optimal management of recurrent ovarian cancer, with Andreas du Bois, Jonathan Ledermann and Sook-Hee Hong talked on the role of secondary cytoreduction, PARP inhibitor maintenance and targeting DNA damage repair, respectively. The third plenary session was a joint session between ASGO and the Asia-Oceania Research Organisation in Genital Infection and Neoplasia which emphasized on the national strategies for comprehensive cervical cancer control, with perspectives from India, Korea, Thailand, Australia, and the Philippines.

3. Symposia

Twelve speakers shared their expertise in 4 symposia. The first one was pathology session clarifying what’s new in 2020 World Health Organization (WHO) classification of cervical, ovarian and uterine cancer. In the second symposium, 3 experts shared the strategies, roles and cost-utility of genetic testing in Malaysia, Singapore, and Korea. In the third symposium concerning onco-fertility, various advanced techniques for fertility preservation in women with gynecologic cancer were presented, including ovarian and uterine preservation. The fourth symposium set a stage for a debate on the future of MIS for early-stage cervical cancer, with Pedro Ramirez on the ‘final’ side and Hiroyuki Kanao on the ‘continuum’ side and Zhiqing Liang shared data from China based on national multicenter study and technology improvement.

4. Special sessions

There were 8 special sessions, including many collaborative sessions between international organizations.

1) Asian practice guidelines for gynecologic cancers. Current guidelines for management of abnormal cervical screenings, adjuvant treatment of endometrial cancer, laparoscopic surgery for cervical cancer and management of advanced ovarian cancer were discussed with special considerations for the Asian population

2) WHO session on global mission of elimination of cervical cancer. Global health care leaders in the field of women’s health including Nathalie Broutet, Acting Unit Head of WHO’s Department of Sexual Health and Reproductive Cancers, Kazunori Ochiai, President of Asia & Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (AOFOG), and Karun Kengsakul, President of the Royal Thai College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, discussed the global, regional and national strategies implemented to eliminate cervical cancer (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3

World Health Organization session: world mission on elimination of cervical cancer.

3) Shingo Fujii Medical Academy has been a favorite part of ASGO Meetings with the aim of educating young gynecologic oncologists. This year, 3 faculties from Japan gave lectures on helpful ideas, devices and precise anatomy for hysterectomy.

4) Asia Pacific Gynecologic Oncology Trials Group (APGOT) session. International research collaborations through APGOT were presented, including the discussion of how to support investigator-initiated trials. Philip Beale, Chair of Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group and Mansoor Mirza, Clinical Chair of European Network for Gynaecological Oncological Trial groups described their perspectives, activities and achievements.

5) AOFOG-ASGO session: joint committee symposium of oncology and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery with the theme entitled ‘Challenges for minimally invasive treatment on gynecologic cancers: What did we learn from global reports and what should we stand for?’ Kazunori Ochiai, President of AOFOG and Daisuke Aoki, President of ASGO delivered their opening remarks then session explored from basic concept of surgery and training to the trends and future perspectives in Asia and the US. The session ended with closing remarks from Pisake Lumbiganon, the President-elect of AOFOG (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4

Asia & Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology-Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology session: joint committee symposium of oncology and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery.

6) In major clinical research advances in gynecologic cancer in 2021, the ever popular session similar to the article of the same name in JGO, key studies of the year were reviewed, covering cervical, uterine, ovarian and other rare cancers.

7) JGO session is also a regular session in ASGO, giving lessons on research planning and methodology. This year, the speakers gave advices on how to become a big paper author, how to conduct researches using cancer registration data and warned on misconducts in medical writing.

8) ASGO-International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS) Joint session addressed the frontline surgery in ovarian cancer, the role of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, surgical quality and educational activity assessment and introduced IGCS surgical film festival.

5. Education sessions

There were 2 educational sessions. In the first one, gestational trophoblastic disease was comprehensively reviewed, from hydatidiform mole to low- and high-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. In the second educational session, current and novel strategies to optimize outcomes of concurrent chemoradiation therapy for locally advanced cervical cancer was thoroughly considered, from surgical staging, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, radiation technique to targeted therapy.

6. Tumor board

The 2 tumor board sessions comprised case discussions on the management of early and advanced endometrial cancers and cervical neuroendocrine carcinoma.

CLOSING CEREMONY

In the closing ceremony, Professor Daisuke Aoki announced the awards for 5 best oral presentations, 4 best abstracts and 5 young gynecologic oncologists. Then, the next President of ASGO, Professor Jae-Weon Kim was introduced and delivered his speech. Professor Yang Xiang introduced the next ASGO International Workshop, which will be held in Qingdao, China, in conjunction with China Medical Association’s annual meeting on gynecologic oncology, operating by Chinese Society of Gynecologic Oncology (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5

Closing ceremony. (A) Professor Jae-Weon Kim, President-elect of ASGO, received a token of appreciation from Group Captain Panon Kasemsarn, President of the Thai Gynecologic Cancer Society and Chair of local organizing committee. (B) Group photo of organizing committees. From left, Steering Committee: Kittipat Chareonkwan, Suwanit Teerasakwichaya, Sarikapan Wilailak (Chair), Jae-Weon Kim, Local Organizing Committee: Panon Kasemsarn (Chair), Jatupol Srisomboon (Scientific Committee Chair), Wichai Termrungruanglert (Secretary General), Arb-aroon Lertkhachonsuk (International Relations).

ADMINISTRATIVE AND SOCIAL EVENTS

1. ASGO Council Meeting

The 17th ASGO Council Meeting was held online on November 24th, 2021. Professor Jae-Weon Kim took over the President of ASGO from Professor Daisuke Aoki and Professor Sarikapan Wilailak was appointed as the next Vice-president. Professor Masaki Mandai was elected as President-elect. Taipei, Taiwan was chosen as the venue for the 8th Biennial Meeting in 2023. (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6

A group photo of the 17th Asia Society of Gynecologic Oncology council meeting. Front row, from left: Kung-Liahng Wang (China), Hee-Sug Ryu (Korea), Suresh Kumarasamy (Malaysia), Neerja Bhatla (India), Ikuo Konishi (Japan). Second row, from left: Yusuke Kobayashi (Japan), Daisuke Aoki (Japan), Karen Chan (Hong Kong), Dong-Hoon Suh (Korea), Masaki Mandai (Japan). Third row, from left: Toshiharu Kamura (Japan), Jeong-Yeol Park (Korea), Jae-Weon Kim (Korea), Yang Xiang (China), Sarikapan Wilailak (Thailand). Fourth row, from left: Soon-Beom Kang (Korea), Hidemichi Watari (Japan), Joo-Hyun Nam (Korea), David Tan (Singapore), Efren Domingo (Philippines). Fifth row, from left: Sug-Joon Chan (Korea), Jie Yang (China).

2. JGO Editorial Board meeting

The editorial Board Meeting of JGO arranged online on November 27th, 2021. In the year 2020, there had been 618 articles submitted and the journal’s impact factor was 4.401. Professor Jae-Weon Kim announced his stepped-down and Professor Dong Hoon Suh is appointed for the Editor-In-Chief position (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7

A group photo of Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Editorial Board Meeting. From left to right, from top to bottom: Dong Hoon Suh, Jae-Weon Kim, Rainer Kimmig, Yusuke Kobayashi, Daisuke Aoki, Kailash Narayan, Kung-Liahng Wang, Kittipat Charoenkwan, Tsukasa Baba, Sarikapan Wilailak, Kenneth Kim, Janice Kwon, Hidemichi Watari, Aikou Okamoto, Satoru Nagase, Xiaojun Chen, Giorgio Bogani, Xipeng Wang, Jihong Liu, Neerja Bhatla, Arb-aroon Lertkhachonsuk, Se Ik Kim, Jianliu Wang, Efren Domingo, David Tan, Kun Song, Hung-Cheng Lai, Yin Ling Woo, Jung-Yun Lee, Suwanit Therasakvichya, Sung-Jong Lee, Heng-Cheng Hsu, Miseon Kim, Min-Hyun Baek, Seok Ju Seong, Jean Anne Toral, Gang Chen, Amita Maheshwari, Yong Bae Kim, Yawana Tanapat.

3. Social events

Regrettably, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, receptions and banquets were not possible during the meeting. However, there was a small Honorary Dinner for the President-elect of ASGO, hosted by ASGO 2021 Steering Committee, attended by honorary Korean guests and key persons from the Local Organizing Committee (Fig. 8).

Fig. 8

Honorary dinner for the president-elect of Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology, with the steering and local organizing committee.

Please save the dates for the seventh International Workshop on Gynecologic Oncology, which will be held Qingdao, China from August 27th–28th, 2022, and the Eight Biennial Meeting which will be held in Taipei in 2023. Hopefully we will meet again in person to exchange scientific knowledge and strengthen international friendships per the ultimate aim of ASGO that is to improve the health of our gynecologic oncology patients.