Daily Times

The 20th Shaukat Khanum Cancer Symposium concluded on Sunday, November 7, 2021. This much-awaited annual meeting was attended by over 3,500 registered attendees. 185 international & national speakers from 23 different countries delivered state of the art lectures.

At the Plenary Session of the symposium, Professor Azra Raza from Columbia University, New York, stated, “Early detection at the stage of the First Cell is going to be essential to prevent the clinical appearance of cancer.” According to Dr Raza, there is a need to re-imagine cancer research and treatment by finding the First Cell to eradicate cancer instead of chasing the last cell.

Dr Aasim Yusuf, acting CEO of Shaukat Khanum Hospitals, presided over the Ahsan Rashid Memorial Research Session, which is the much-anticipated segment of the symposium and named in honour of a great supporter and benefactor of SKMCH&RC. Six papers contested for the Ahsan Rashid Memorial Research Award. The winner presented a study related to the treatment of breast cancer with a surgical technique aimed at improving quality of life of patients.

Prof. Michael Griffin, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, announced the symposium chair Dr Muhammad Asad Parvaiz as the first ever Pakistani to be appointed as International Surgical Advisor (ISA) for the Royal College. Dr Parvaiz congratulated the entire symposium committee for organising a successful event despite the challenges presented by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The dates for the 21st Shaukat Khanum Cancer Symposium were announced as November 4-6, 2022.