NASO CONFERENCE, OCTOBER 2024

A one-day conference was organized by NASO in association with J&J India on 19th October, 2024 at Hotel Palacio, Guwahati. The theme of the conference was organ-based discussion. The program was designed to exclusively and exhaustively discuss scientific content regarding gastric and colorectal cancers. It started with an “Oncology Quiz” conducted by Dr. Arpan Choudhury. There were several participating teams from Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute, State Cancer Institute and Guwahati Medical College. The two invited guest faculty were from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. Dr. Vikram Chaudhari initially made a presentation on procedure protocols of D2 gastrectomy and then conducted a panel discussion on the subject matter. The panelists included Dr. Ganesh Das, Dr. D J Kalita, Dr. Rajkumar Prakash, Dr. Dwipen Kalita, Dr. Areendam Barua and Dr. Mrinal Das. The next presentation was by Dr. Aswin D’Souza, on the subject of sphincter preservation surgeries followed by a panel discussion on colorectal cancer. The panelists were Dr. Siddhartha Hazarika, Dr. Jadunath Buragohain, Dr. Aftab Ahmed, Dr. Dilip Killing, Dr. Shivaji Sharma, Dr. Sarfaraz Ahmed and Dr. Ashutosh Sahewalla. Thereafter, Dr. Gaurav Das made a video presentation on the topic of sphincter preservation surgeries. This was followed by two journal club presentations by MCh surgical oncology residents. Dr. Masoom Parvez from State Cancer Institute presented the “PRODIGE 23 trial” and Dr. Dibyajyoti Deka from Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute presented the “TOPGEAR trial”. The moderators for the Journal Club discussions were Dr. Aswin D’Souza, Dr. Vikram Chaudhari, Dr. Caleb Harris, Dr. Jyoutishman Saikia and Dr. M. Raleng. The guest faculty, Dr. Aswin D’Souza and Dr. Vikram Chaudhari were specially felicitated for their participation in the event. The first prize of the Oncology Quiz was won by Dr. Manthan Thakkar and Dr. Mohit Malhotra of BBCI. The second prize went to Dr. Dibyajyoti Deka and Dr. Jayavarmaa of BBCI and the third prize was won by Dr. Yogesh J and Dr. Shahir S Merchant of BBCI. It was a highly successful event and was attended by 70 delegates. At the very end, an executive committee meeting was done to reach at various key decisions regarding the upcoming NASOCON 2024 annual conference of NASO.

REPORT OF NASO CME II

On July 27, 2024, a CME was conducted by NASO at Hotel Atithi in Guwahati. This was the second in the series of EXPERT ONCOLOGY DISCUSSIONS. The organizing secretary of the CME, Dr. Gaurav Das welcomed all the delegates and the faculty members and started the program with an ONCOLOGY EXAMINATION for students pursuing super-specialty courses in Oncology from 3 to 4 PM. Thereafter the core agenda topics followed. Session moderators Dr. Deepjyoti Kalita and Dr. Ganesh Das ensured that interactive discussions happened during the course of the presentations made by Dr. Rajkumar Prakash on “Feasibility of Screening in Esophageal Cancer”, Dr. Niju Pegu on “VATS Esophagectomy” and Dr. Rajiv Paul on “Decision-making regarding the extent of surgery in Gastric Cancer”. The next session was moderated by Dr. Abhijit Talukdar and Dr. Bhabesh Kumar Das. Dr. Tridip Borah spoke on “ERAS in Colorectal Cancer Surgery: Anesthetist’s perspective” and Ms. Dimi Ingtipi and Dr. Caleb Harris deliberated on “Nutritional Rehabilitation”. Dr. Jadunath Buragohain and Dr. Caleb Harris moderated the third session. Dr. Asish Kumar Gupta made a vivid presentation about “Uncommon Case Scenarios in Head and Neck Cancer Surgeries”. 27th July was World Head and Neck Cancer Day and his presentation was one of the highlights, stimulating a lot of audience interaction. Dr. Gaurav Das made a video presentation on “Internal Hemipelvectomy”. The fourth session comprised of two expert talks. Dr. Debabrata Barmon delivered a talk on “Sentinel Node Biopsy in Ovarian Cancer” and Dr. Gaurav Chayan Das presented about “Interventional Radiologist’s role in Biliary Tumours”. The new segment introduced in this CME was Journal Club presentations. This session was expertly conducted by Dr. Caleb Harris. The first presenter was Dr. Areendam Barua who discussed about the REVATE trial. Dr. Jayavarmaa (MCh Surgical Oncology resident, BBCI, Guwahati) presented the next one. It was about the JCOG 1109 NExT study. The presentation was well dissected by a panel of experts which included Dr. Abhijit Talukdar and Dr. Ganesh Das, Dr. Manas Dubey (medical oncologist) and Dr. Ghritashee (radiation oncologist). The final segment was a panel discussion on locally advanced breast cancer conducted by moderator Dr. Shivaji Sharma. The panelists included Dr. Joydeep Purkayastha, Dr. Deepjyoti Kalita, Dr. Ashutosh Sahewalla, Dr. Arpan Choudhury, Dr. Manas Dubey, Dr. Ghritashee, Dr. Rukmini Bezbaruah (Oncopathologist), Dr. Rahul R. Ramchiary (Radiologist) and Dr. Priyanka Sharma (Nuclear Medicine). The CME was a highly successful one being attended by over 70 delegates and faculty members. Dr. Caleb Harris delivered the Vote of Thanks at the conclusion of the event.