Cancer genomics, prevention, screening, treatment and rehab, will feature prominently on the program at the 2022 Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA 2022) ASM being held in Brisbane this week.

The first plenary session at the meeting will reinforce the equitable cancer care theme of the meeting with presentations including racial disparities in cancer outcomes and LGBTQI+ cancer survivorship and care. (Wed, 9am)

Other sessions, including Stigma and Cancer (Fri, 11am) and the Power of Language (Wed, 4pm), will further the discussion on delivering appropriate care and improving outcomes for specific populations with cancer, including for the elderly.

A dedicated session on treating frailty and cancer will feature invited speaker Professor Vickie Baracos, from the University of Alberta, Canada who is an expert on cancer cachexia. (Wed, 1.30pm)

The meeting will approach cancer medicines from medicolegal and patient perspectives in a session on injury caused by participation in immunotherapy clinical trials.(Thurs, 11am)

Cancer Australia CEO Professor Dorothy Keefe will chair a panel discussion on implementation of the Australian Cancer Plan with participants including president-elect of COSA Associate Professor Dion Forstner, deputy chief medical officer for the federal health department Professor Michael Kidd and Professor of Indigenous Health Research at the University of Queensland Professor Gail Garvey.

A session on lung cancer screening (Thurs, 4pm) will be particularly timely given the recent tick of approval for a national program from the Medical Services Advisory Committee.

Included in the session will be discussion on screening for First Nations people in Australia and New Zealand and for rural and remote Australians – in keeping with the meeting theme: Equitable cancer care for all: Gender, identity, culture, geography, and disease should not matter.

ASM co-convenors Professor Sabe Sabesan from the Townsville Hospital and Associate Professor Rahul Ladwa from the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, said the themes were “close to our hearts”.

“We are keen to focus on health equity in terms of treatments and outcomes. This leads us to focus on vulnerable patients with poor outcomes such as regional and rural patients and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with cancer.”

Former federal Minister for Health Greg Hunt will provide the COSA Presidential Lecture, chaired by COSA president Professor Fran Boyle (Fri, 3pm) ahead of the meeting close.

The 2022 COSA ASM is being held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, 2-4 November. The Conference Dinner will be a garden party, complete with lawn games, food carts and dancing on the Centre’s Sky Terrace. (Thurs, 7pm)

Follow the meeting on Twitter at #COSA22 and the limbic‘s coverage @thelimbiconc