OVERVIEW

Community Practice Connections: 3rd Annual School of Gastrointestinal Oncology (SOGO) is organized by Physicians' Education Resource LLC (PER) and will be held from Jun 30, 2018 - Jun 30, 2019.

The target audience for this medical event is directed toward oncologists and gastroenterologists whose primary practice focus is GI cancers, and who intend to reinforce their knowledge base and expand their expertise in GI diagnosis, risk stratification, personalization of care, and best practices for multidisciplinary communication. Participants will be primarily oncologists, gastroenterologists, or fellows in training whose practice requires mastery and a critical understanding of the fundamental principles, pivotal published studies, and emerging information on the pathogenesis and management of GI cancers. This CME Conference has been approved for a maximum of 1.5 Credits.

Description:
Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are some of the most complex solid tumors to treat owing to their heterogeneity. Optimized patient care requires a high level of interdisciplinary cooperation. In this online activity, focused on expert interviews, you will engage with renowned surgical and medical experts, John Marshall, MD, Michael A. Choti, MD, Michael J. Pishvaian, MD, PhD, and Robin Sommers, DNP, ANP, AOCNP; gain insight into recommended treatment options; and consider the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and surgical decision making necessary to manage patients with GI malignancies. The content and interviews are based on presentations delivered in April 2018 at the 3rd Annual School of Gastrointestinal Oncology (SOGO).

For busy oncologists focused on the daily management of complex patients with GI malignancies, this activity provides you with a unique opportunity to gain a multidisciplinary perspective to apply to the patient-care setting.

Below are some clinical pearls and highlights from the activity:
• Despite treatment advances, pancreatic cancer is associated with a relatively poor outcome for most patients. Research findings, such as those from the ESPAC-4 trial showing benefit of adjuvant treatment with gemcitabine plus capecitabine, are changing the standard of care for patients.
• Genomic testing and tumor prognostic markers in GI malignancies are providing oncologists with comprehensive and detailed information, but applying the findings to the context of the individual patient and determining which mutations are actionable requires enhanced clinical education and skill.
• Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors provides survival benefits, but toxicities associated with treatment need to be carefully managed. Employing strategies to mitigate the risks may encourage adherence to treatment for some patients.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this activity, you should be able to:
• Describe the patient- and tumor-related prognostic markers important to the stratification of risk and clinical decision making in managing patients with GI malignancies
• Use pivotal trial evidence to inform multidisciplinary clinical decision making in the personalized management of advanced forms of GI cancers
• Assess strategies to proactively plan for, prevent, and mitigate predictable toxicities associated with therapies used to treat GI tumors
• Apply emerging clinical trial data to manage cases in the context of evolving treatment paradigms for GI cancers
• Faculty, Staff, and Planners' Disclosures