New York, NY
May 5-6, 2010

Dear Colleague –

Thymic tumors have long provided a challenge to clinicians, and their optimal management remains unclear due to their rarity.  This meeting aims to bring together all interested parties in the study and treatment of these tumors and provide a forum for participants to discuss the evidence, review ongoing trials, and an opportunity to participate in collaborative projects.  The Scientific Program will consist of proffered papers, discussions of novel strategies for studying rare diseases, and working groups on priorities for ITMIG, including databases, tissue banks, standardized measures and clinical trials.  This meeting is aimed at surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, neurologists, radiologists and all individuals interested in the study of these rare but fascinating tumors.  Please join us in what should be a stimulating and productive event.  We are pleased to invite you to submit an abstract to the upcoming conference of the International Thymic Malignancy Group (ITMIG) in New York this May.

Abstract submissions should be submitted via email to jschwartz@thymic.org.  Abstracts should no more than 500 words in length, plus one table or figure if desired.  Selected abstracts will be chosen for oral or poster presentation, and these abstracts will be published after the meeting in a journal supplement.  The deadline for submissions is midnight Sunday March 21.

We look forward to seeing you in New York.

Course Directors:

Frank Detterbeck, MD
Professor & Section Chief
Department of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Yale School of Medicine

James Huang MD
Assistant Attending Surgeon
Department of Surgery
Thoracic Service
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Download the ITMIG 2010 Conference Brochure

Twenty eight medical professionals from Europe, Japan, and the United States spoke at the 1st International Conference on Thymic Malignancies. Also included in the 50 participants were scientists/pathologists from medical centers and universities, pharmaceutical reps, and patients with family members. This conference was hosted by the National Cancer Institute and the Foundation for Thymic Cancer Research (FTCR) at the National Institutes of Health, Natcher Conference Center.

Since thymic malignancies are rare tumors, surgery has been the cornerstone of management of early stage disease with chemotherapy utilized in the management of advanced disease while biological therapy is still in the process of evolution. We intended that this 2 day forum would create a consortium for management of thymic malignancies and would help stimulate further basic and clinical research through scientific lectures and poster presentations.

Two full days of speakers covered a variety of topics including:

• The Biology of the thymus gland and the biology/pathology of thymoma and thymic carcinoma

• Immunological aspects of thymic dysfunction and preclinical models of thymoma

• The role of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy , and surgical management in treatment in thymic malignancies

The conference also included several round table discussions, the inaugural meeting of the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG), and a speakers’ dinner hosted by the FTCR. Proceedings are in the process of being published in fall of 2010.

Please visit the Call For Abstracts.

Dr. Frank C. Detterbeck, Professor of Surgery at the Yale School of Medicine, is the Associate Director for clinical affairs at the Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Detterbeck is also Chief of the Section of Thoracic Surgery at the medical school and surgical director of the Yale-New Haven Thoracic Oncology Program.

Before coming to Yale, Dr. Detterbeck practiced at the University of North Carolina (UNC) since 1992; he was named Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2004. His major clinical interest is in thoracic oncology and he has focused his research on evidence-based medicine, improvements in outcomes for patients with lung cancer, and multidisciplinary care programs.

He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University in 1983. Dr. Detterbeck completed his Residency in General Surgery at the Virginia Mason Clinic in Seattle before joining the University of North Carolina in 1988 to complete a Residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery and a Fellowship in Thoracic Transplantation. He is chair of the Thoracic Oncology Network and serves on the steering committee for the Guidelines in Lung Cancer of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Professor Giuseppe Giaccone is Chief of Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, MD since 2007. From 1980 to 1988 he worked at the Torino Cancer Institute in Italy, after which he spent two years at the NCI-Navy in Bethesda investigating drug resistance in lung cancer. He moved to the Free University Hospital in Amsterdam in 1990, was appointed full Professor of Medical Oncology at the institution in 2000, and Head of the Department of Medical Oncology in 2003.

Professor Giaccone has been a board member of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and Chairman of its Lung Cancer Cooperative Group. He is currently an editorial board member of several important scientific journals, and has authored or co-authored more than 350 scientific articles and book chapters.

Dr. Patrick J. Loehrer is considered a central figure worldwide in the diagnosis and treatment of thymomas. He has been professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine since 1983 and has been named the Kenneth Wiseman Professor of Medicine. Under the direction of Dr. Loehrer, the Indiana University Cancer Center has considerable expertise in the treatment of thymomas and thymic malignancies. Dr. Loehrer generously fields hundreds of calls and emails annually from physicians and patients worldwide to provide diagnosis, treatment, and consultation services.

Dr. Loehrer has been the principal investigator on numerous trials and has widely published on the subject. He is co-founder of the Hoosier Oncology Group (HOG), a unique organization comprised of university and community medical oncologists, radiation therapists and surgeons interested in furthering cancer care in the state of Indiana. With over 400 physicians and nurses in the group, these meetings have been a forum for discussion and have focused clinical research into currently active protocols in various malignancies. The group has gained national recognition based on its development and support of competent clinical researchers from the IUMC. Numerous abstracts and publications of HOG trials are in peer review journals.

He is also a principal investigator for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, a well-respected organization, and has held numerous positions with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Board of Internal Medicine, and American Cancer Society (Indiana Division). He serves as Editor in Chief of the Year Book of Oncology.

Dr. Suster is Professor and Chairman of Pathology at The Medical College of Wisconsin, and one of the world’s most respected and leading experts in his subspecialty.

Dr. Suster trained in anatomic pathology at the Sheba Medical Center of the University of Tel-Aviv Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv, Israel. He immigrated to the United States in 1984 and started his training at the Mount Sinai Medical Center of Great Miami under Dr. Arkadi M. Rywlin. This was followed by a 2-year fellowship in research and surgical pathology at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, under the supervision of Dr. Juan Rosai. In 1990, he rejoined the staff at Mount Sinai Medical Center of Greater Miami where he served as Director of Surgical Pathology and Clinical Professor of pathology at the University of Miami School of Medicine. In 1998, Dr. Suster was recruited to head the Division of Anatomic Pathology and Vice-Chair of Pathology at The Ohio State University Medical Center.

Dr. Suster is the author of more than 200 publication and several book chapters in major textbooks. He serves as a member of the editorial board of seven medical journals and is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Diagnostic Pathology. Dr. Suster is a frequent guest speaker at many major national and international meetings and has served as course director for many subspecialty workshops as well as Director of several educational and CME seminars sponsored by The Ohio State University Department of Pathology. Dr. Suster’s work has centered on the pathology of tumors of the lung and mediastinun, as well as the role of immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy for the diagnosis of soft tissue tumors.

One full day of speakers covered a variety of topics including:

• Imaging Thymoma
• Surgical Management of Thymic Tumors
• Thymoma Classification
• Optimal Radiation Therapy for Thymoma
• The M.D. Anderson Approach to Thymic Tumors
• Molecular Biology of Thymic Tumors
• Multimodality Protocol for Stage III Thymoma
• Belinostat Study in Advanced Thymoma and Thymic Carcinoma (a research study)
• Induction Chemotherapy
• Thymoma Tissue Microarray
• The Thymus: A Comprehensive Review

The workshop also included a discussion group and two dinners hosted by the FTCR.

Twenty-five medical professionals and patient advocates from Mexico, Europe, and the United States, attended the first Thymic Neoplasm Workshop, hosted by the Foundation for Thymic Cancer Research (FTCR) at the Hudson Hotel.

Based on group discussion rather than individual presentations, the workshop topics included:

• Nomenclature of Thymic Cancers
• Thymic Cancer Classification
• Thymic Cancer Staging
• Practice Guidelines
• Research and New Developments
• Support of Thymic Patients Worldwide

For more information about upcoming workshops, please visit www.Thymic.org.

Press Contact:
Natasha Koifman, NKPR
416-365-3630 ext. 23
natasha@nkpr.net