March 30, 2011 | An annual event at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) brought together health care professionals March 11-12 from across Arkansas.

The 14th Annual Charles William Rasco, III Symposium on Colorectal Cancer & Gastrointestinal Malignancies welcomed about 220 participants for its day-long Friday and half-day Saturday sessions. Participants from UAMS and other institutions across the state heard from experts about the latest advances in research and treatment options for colorectal and other gastrointestinal cancers.

The symposium is held each year at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Issam Makhoul, M.D., associate professor of medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Division of Hematology/Oncology, was course director.

“As a teaching institution, it’s important for UAMS to offer events such as the Rasco Symposium,” Makhoul said. “Our ability to best serve the needs of our patients relies heavily on our knowledge of the most recent research findings and new advancements in clinical care.”

The Rasco Symposium was established in honor of the late Charles William Rasco III. A Dewitt, Ark., native, Rasco was diagnosed with colon cancer in September 1991 and died in March 1994 at age 59.

The agenda included presentations from several experts at UAMS and other universities across the country, including the University of Southern California, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center and North Carolina Cancer Hospital.

Topics included screening for esophageal and gastric cancer, screening and early diagnosis of liver cancer, treating colorectal cancer in the older population, chemoembolization and other local therapies for HCC, and anal cancer management.