Event Details

It was an exciting day at the Suzhou International Expo Center, where the 12th Asia-Pacific Congress of Cardiovascular & interventional Radiology (APCCVIR 2016) hosted joint sessions with SIR, CIRSE and WCIO. The WCIO session was chaired by Michael Soulen and Professor Ren-Jie Yang MD PhD from the Peking University Cancer Hospital (who lead the WCIO 2009 meeting in Beijing). Michael and Ren-Jie were joined by Alexis Kelekis MD PhD, Professor of Radiology at the University of Athens and Chair of the WCIO International Education Committee. A standing-room only audience heard presentations on Evolving Technologies for Chemoembolization, Advanced Applications of Radioembolization, Ablation beyond the Liver, and Chemoembolization of Right Atrial Tumor Thrombus. 

Meeting Chair Gao-Jun Teng and the APCCVIR team put on a well-organized program which highlighted the diverse approaches to IR across the Asia-Pacific region, salted with panelists from Europe and the U.S. The quality was outstanding, as was the hospitality of our Chinese hosts. It was a particular honor to meet so many of the legendary Japanese IR’s who developed the technique of chemoembolization. 

One session that enthusiastically ran overtime was on the future of IR training around the world. Brian Stainken presented the current US model of certification and accreditation with reference to the new IR-DR residency, CIRSE President Elias Brountzos described the situation in Europe and the successful exportation of the EBIR certificate program to Australia/NZ, followed by speakers from Japan, Korea, China, and Singapore. Each region has its unique opportunities and challenges. It was stimulating to learn from each other’s experiences and to see how one region’s success could be leveraged in another with re-inventing the wheel. The IO University curriculum will be an excellent model for this, since it could be incorporated into the training curriculum in any country. 

APCCVIR was a great opportunity to network on expanding IO eduction globally. WCIO has six outreach meetings this year, including Singapore, China, and Korea. We started discussions for India next year, including combining participation in a meeting with hands-on training at local medical centers.