13–16 November 2023

Dr Dmitri Shek

Western Sydney Local Health District and Western Sydney University, NSW Australia

The AGITG ASM 2022 was a unique opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues across the APAC. Due to Covid-19 pandemic this was the first face-to-face conference for me in the last three years. Presenting a poster and receiving a feedback from the experts in the field of GI oncology is extremely helpful for the future career development. I especially enjoyed sessions about New Concepts and Breakout Sessions on mCRC. It was great to listen/see presentations by prominent scientists like Chris Karapetis and to get familiar with current major hurdles in GI oncology. Finally, the Gala Dinner was brilliantly organised and the food was awesome. Thank you AGITG for the great conference and I am looking forward to the next ASM in New Zealand.

Dr Oliver Piercey

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Melbourne Australia

The 2020 ASM was my first experience of AGITG. Overall, I found it be a wonderful experience and would highly recommend it to others. It had a well balanced mix of educational sessions covering a variety of disciplines, a chance to hear about current and future local clinical trials, as well as giving junior researchers and trainees a chance to share their research.  This year, the meeting was run virtually. I found as both a presenter and a participant at the meeting that the organisers did a fantastic job of running the meeting smoothly. If you are interested in GI cancers, you will definitely find the AGITG ASM to be a good opportunity for learning and collaborating with others in the field.

Dr Natalie Collier

Liverpool Cancer Therapy Centre, NSW Australia

I attended my first AGITG ASM in 2020, which was condensed into a one-day virtual meeting. Despite the change in format, the passion and collegiality of AGITG just flowed through the online platform. It was both impressive and educational to hear of AGITG trial updates and successes, particularly during these current challenging times. I presented at the New Concepts Symposium and was honoured to receive the runner-up award, along with extremely valuable feedback which will help to shape and progress my trial concept. I look forward to joining many more ASMs in the future, and would highly recommend it, especially to those early on in their research career for encouragement and inspiration.​

A/Prof Jeanne Tie

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Melbourne Australia

The New Concept Symposium is one of the most rewarding aspect of the AGITG ASM, both as an applicant and as an audience. I have learned a great deal by submitting a new concept proposal for the inaugural AGITG Virtual ASM 2020. I find the statistical review and feedback from the scientific faculty invaluable, and has strengthened my skillset as a clinician researcher. It was encouraging and reassuring to know that my proposal is well received before embarking on the more challenging task of actually conducting the study. I would encourage all budding and established researchers to submit a New Concept for future ASM.

A/Prof Manisha Palta

Duke University School of Medicine, USA

The AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting was nothing sort of exceptional. There is true multi-disciplinary integration with medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, and the clinical trial portfolio of the AGITG is impressive. Attending this meeting was an excellent experience and I look forward to future opportunities to attend.

Prof Stephen J Wigmore

Regius Professor of Cinical Surgery

University of Edinburgh

The AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting was a really welcoming environment to discuss advances in treatment of GI cancers. I very much liked the interdisciplinary approach with oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeon clinical nurse specialists, allied health and client groups all well represented. This meant that there was holistic approach to most discussions. The trial portfolio that the members of AGITG have put together was very impressive and well structured and I liked that the members clearly felt invested in the delivery of good quality trials. The international and local speakers were all excellent and the social programme was very entertaining. All in all a great experience that I look forward to repeating!

Prof Sharlene Gill

Medical Oncologist

BC Cancer Centre-Vancouver

I highly recommend the AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting.  During my participation in the 2019 meeting in Adelaide, I was very impressed by the level of engagement and interaction among the attendees and with the faculty.   The quality of the presentations, and expertise within the group contributed to high quality scientific sessions.   I also commend the meeting organizers who created a perfect balance of education, interactive dialogues on clinical trial design and development, and social networking.   If you are involved in the care of patients with GI cancers, you will find the AGITG ASM to be a highly rewarding investment of your time.

Dr Simon Wilkins

Senior Research Fellow

Cabrini Monash University

Malvern, VIC , Australia

Last August I attended my first AGITG ASM. The conference in Adelaide was a great, well-organised-meeting with excellent international and domestic speakers discussing numerous aspects of colorectal cancer, the microbiome, molecular targets, pancreatic cancer, and current clinical trials. I was thrilled to win the Best of Fast Forward talks which were rapid-fire 3 minutes talks on our poster presentations. I look forward to attending next year’s meeting in Melbourne.

Naomi Knoblauch

Hunter Medical Research Institute

Newcastle, NSW

This was my second AGITG ASM and I was not disappointed.  The quality and relevance of the Study Coordinator sessions was exceptional and provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the unique challenges of trial conduct at sites. I was thrilled also to accept the Outstanding Site ward on behalf of my colleagues in the Medical Oncology Clinical Trials Unit at Calvary Mater Newcastle. The recognition of the contribution of individual trial sites is a wonderful initiative and I encourage all to apply.

Sally Dean

Clinical Trial Coordinator

Newcastle Private Hospital

Australia

“I attended the AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting in 2019 for the first time, and found the meeting provided an excellent opportunity to network, especially with other study coordinators.  The meeting was well organised, while the program contained engaging and highly informative sessions. I thoroughly enjoyed the AGITG ASM, finding it interesting and highly relevant for study coordinators.  I look forward to attending many more meetings.”

Dr Mark McGregor

Clinical Research Fellow

Medical Oncology

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

South Australia

“This was my first AGITG meeting and I found it to be a great experience. There was a wide range of topics and expert speakers across surgical and oncological specialties with excellent interactive sessions. The New Concepts Symposium was a great opportunity to present clinical trial proposals and receive real-time feedback, with a clear pathway for further collaboration and development of protocols to get trial ideas off the ground. I will definitely be back for future meetings.”

Prof Christian Jobin

Gatorade Trust Professor of Medicine
Program Co-leader Cancer Therapeutics and Host Response
University of Florida, Department of Medicine
Division of Gastroenterology

“It was my first experience at the AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting and although I typically do not attend clinical meetings, I was impressed by the quality of this meeting, both with content and expertise of attendees and faculties.  The level of participation from attendees during the “question-answer” period was outstanding and made the meeting very interactive. I had numerous and fruitful interaction with attendees and faculties not only during breaks and hallway encounter but during dinners and receptions. In summary, I was “sold” on this meeting because of both high quality content, expertise of participants and high level of interaction. I highly recommend it.”

Prof Florian Lordick

Direktor Universitäres Krebszentrum Leipzig

“AGITG-2019 was one of the most inspiring GI Cancer experiences I have ever joined. We had lots of discussions and interaction between invited faculty, which was outstanding, and an exceptionally motivated audience. The team from AGITG additionally made it a special experience with their hospitality and perfect organization. I can recommend everyone with an interest in GI cancer treatment and clinical research to join the next AGITG meetings.”

Dr Matthew Burge

Medical Oncologist
Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital

Winner of the 2014 Best New Concept Award and recipient of the 2016 Innovation Grant for the MONARCC Study: A randomised Phase II study of panitumumab monotherapy versus panitumumab and 5 Fluorouracil as first line treatment for RAS and RAF wild type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

“I find the AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting to be an invaluable learning experience. Like many things, what you put in correlates with what you take away. My efforts to submit a new concept proposal were rewarded when it was selected for oral presentation at the New Concepts Symposium at the 2014 meeting. This led to invaluable feedback and ongoing support from the AGITG which has ultimately led to a completed protocol and a study opening to recruitment in March 2018. This is such an exciting outcome for my research career and I have the AGITG to thank for it. The invited faculty is always first class and this meeting provides ample opportunity to network with the faculty (from Australia and overseas) hence learn so much more than just what is delivered in lectures. I can thoroughly recommend attendance at the AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting.”

Prof Andrew Barbour

Surgeon
Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane

“The AGITG ASM is a multidisciplinary meeting focussed on the current and future management of GI cancer. It provides not only high quality educational material across the spectrum of GI cancer, but encourages the presentation of new clinical trial ideas. Through the New Concepts Symposium, clinical trial concepts are presented and refined for development into national or international studies. The meeting is suitable for trainees and senior clinicians as well as paramedical practitioners engaged in all aspects of GI cancer management.”

Dr Sharon Pattison

Medical Oncologist
University of Otago and Southern District Health Board, Dunedin

“I attended my first AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting as an advanced trainee newly starting a PhD. It was a great educational meeting that had instructive symposia with an interesting and approachable local and international faculty. Those features have been present at each AGITG ASM that I have subsequently attended, and I have found the ASM to be an invaluable forum for presentation of research, less formal discussion of research themes and ideas, and learning about the challenges involved in clinical trial design. The AGITG ASM environment supports collaboration and networking, and I would highly recommend the meeting to all trainees, researchers, investigators and clinicians who have an interest in gastro-intestinal cancers.”

Ms Anne Smith

Clinical Trials Manager
Christchurch Oncology Research Unit
Canterbury Regional Cancer and Haematology Service

“Key to the AGITG philosophy is a desire to improve the health and quality of life of people with gastro-intestinal cancer by conducting high quality collaborative clinical trials. In developing and conducting these trials the AGITG has successfully encompassed specialists, nurses, research coordinators, scientists, allied health professionals and consumers.

The AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting provides an excellent forum for all these disciplines to come together to share knowledge and experiences and learn from a wide variety of invited international speakers. Incorporated in the meeting are sessions specifically targeting study coordinators and allied health professionals. Speakers and topics for interactive discussion are chosen to complement the annual theme of the meeting and address issues that may arise from a study coordinator perspective.

This is a valuable meeting and excellent opportunity to learn more about clinical trials, changes in medical practice and to exchange ideas and experiences with other study coordinators.”

Dr David Lau

Clinical Research Fellow
Olivia Newton John Cancer Research Centre

Recipient of the 2018 Merck-AGITG Clinical Research Fellowship

“The AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting is a thoroughly enjoyable conference for all involved in GI cancer. The AGITG have a longstanding commitment to education and invite a high calibre of international and local speakers to deliver an informative program. As an early-career delegate, the conference provided me with a forum to present my research and meet likeminded clinicians, researchers and new collaborators.”

Prof Diana Sarfati

Head of Department, Department of Public Health

Professor, Director; Cancer and Chronic Conditions (C3) research group

University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand

“It was a great pleasure to attend the 2018 AGITG meeting in Brisbane. The conference was vibrant and engaging, with an excellent array of speakers and session types. The programme encouraged collaboration and discussion, with excellent networking opportunities, as well as top notch content. As icing on the cake, the social programme was uniquely hilarious and unlike any other conference I’ve ever been to.”