Report on the 10th International Conference of the Asian Clinical Oncology Society (ACOS 2012)

The 10th International Conference of the Asian Clinical Oncology Society (ACOS 2012) in conjunction with the 38th Annual Meeting of the Korean Cancer Association, was held on June 13 to 15 (3 days) 2012 at COEX Convention and Exhibition Center in Seoul, Korea. ACOS has a 20-year history starting from the first conference in Osaka, Japan, which was chaired by Prof. Tetsuo Taguchi and the ACOS conferences have since been conducted in Asian countries every 2 years. Under the theme of "Work Together to Make a Difference for Cancer Therapy in Asia", the 10th ACOS was prepared to discuss various subjects through a high-quality academic program, exhibition, and social events. The ACOS 2012 Committee was composed of the ACOS Organizing Committee, Honorary Advisors, Local Advisors, and ACOS 2012 Organizing Committee. The comprehensive academic program had a total of 92 sessions (3 Plenary Lectures, 1 Award Lectures, 1 Memorial Lectures, 9 Special Lectures, 15 Symposia, 1 Debate & Summary Sessions, 1 Case Conferences, 19 Educational Lectures, 1 Research & Development Session, 18 Satellite Symposia, 9 Meet the Professors, 14 Oral Presentations) and a total 292 presentations were delivered throughout the entire program. Amongst Free Papers, 462 research papers (110 oral presentations and 352 poster presentations) were selected to be presented. This conference was the largest of all ACOS conferences in its scale with around 1,500 participants from 30 countries. Furthermore, despite strict new financial policies and requirements governing fundraising alongside global economic stagnation, a total of 14 companies participated as sponsors and an additional 35 companies purchased 76 exhibition booths. Lastly, the conference social events provided attendees with a variety of opportunities to experience and enjoy Korea's rich culture and traditions during the Opening Ceremony, Welcome Reception, Invitee Dinner, Banquet, and Closing Ceremony. Overall, ACOS 2012 reinforced and promoted Korea's world-class medical research for cancer treatment and prevention. Furthermore, participants recognized that it is more valuable to clarify the current statistics of cancer in Asia and its cure and prevention as people's attention has been gradually growing from ACOS 2009 and ACOS 2012. Also, ACOS 2012 gave us an opportunity to reconsider the vision of ACOS and its core values by closely examining the role of ACOS headquarters for an effectively organized system.