Rasco Symposium Offers Insight in GI Cancer Treatment

By Susan Van Dusen

Symposium participants visit vendor booths during a break in the agenda.

Symposium participants visit vendor booths during a break in the agenda.

Offered by the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the 19th Annual Charles William Rasco, III Symposium on Colorectal Cancer and GI Malignancies brought together physicians, nurses, pharmacists, scientists and other health care professionals. Participants had the opportunity to visit booths representing a number of programs and services related to research and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers.

The symposium honors the memory of Charles William Rasco III, who lost his battle with the disease in 1994.

“One of UAMS’ primary missions is education. Events such as the Rasco Symposium are the perfect opportunity to keep up to date on the latest advances in treating colorectal cancer and other gastrointestinal conditions,” said symposium course director A. Mazin Safar, M.D.

Presenters included health care professionals from several UAMS College of Medicine departments and divisions:

  • Rajesh Banderudrappagari, M.D., second-year fellow in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, on “Liver-Directed Therapy for Hepatoma – The CAVHS Experience”

Also presenting were Lowell Anthony, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at University of Kentucky Health Care, on “Carcinoid Tumors” and Daniel K. Brown, M.D., staff gastroenterologist at CHI St. Vincent Multi-Specialty Clinic, on “Interventional Gastroenterology in GI Malignancies.”