ASCO Offers On-Line Access to Annual Meeting

For the first time, the American Societyof Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is hosting a virtual meeting in conjunction with its 35th annual meeting (being held May 15-18, 1999, in Atlanta, Georgia). The virtual meeting will bring the latest developments in clinical cancer research to the Internet community and will be accessible through ASCO’s web site (www.asco.org). It will highlight key presentations, summaries of research findings, on-site exhibits, and other resources available at the meeting.

“We are extremely pleased that we can offer on-line access to our annual meeting this year,” said Allen Lichter, MD, president of ASCO. “The Internet is a valuable tool and we’re using the technology to enhance the oncology community’s knowledge and understanding of the latest developments in cancer treatment and research. We also hope that people living with cancer, their family members, and others will take advantage of this opportunity to access our annual meeting as well.”

On-Line Sessions Earn CME Credit

Audio clips and digitized slides from top scientific and educational sessions will be available through the virtual meeting soon after they are presented. Physicians will also be able to “attend” these on-line sessions and earn CME credit for a full year after the meeting. Other features of the virtual meeting include a virtual poster hall, where on-line attendees can browse through more than 800 poster presentations, and an on-line map of the exhibit hall that includes a guide to a variety of exhibitors. Immediately after the meeting, all of the nearly 2,500 scientific abstracts will be posted on-line.

“This is an important step for the oncology community,” said John Durant, md, executive vice president of ASCO. “Making the information from our annual meeting available in ‘real-time’ gets breaking news and critical information to oncologists and their patients more quickly, leading to improved quality of cancer care.”

Registration is not required to access ASCO’s virtual meeting.