The Society of Interventional Radiology Meeting for Interventional Oncology Clinicians: An Interview With John Fritz Angle, MD

At the 2014 Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) meeting, Interventional Oncology 360 spoke with scientific program chair John Fritz Angle, MD, about the clinical programming at the meeting and opportunities for those interested in interventional oncology content. View video of this interview.

Q: Could you start by telling us about your role as the scientific program chair for the SIR meeting? 

A: The SIR annual meeting here in San Diego had an amazing scientific program this year. For those that haven’t had the opportunity to be here in person, all of the abstracts are published in the Journal of Interventional Radiology and they are also available online through the SIR website. We had over 1,000 abstract submissions this year—our biggest year ever—and there was a 20% increase in interventional oncology abstracts submitted. So it’s been a very exciting year in interventional oncology for the Society of Interventional Radiology.

Q: Could you tell us a little about the interventional oncology programming at the SIR meeting and how it’s evolved over the years?

A: We have seen an explosion in interventional oncology and this has allowed us to make a meeting that is tailored to the needs of interventional oncologists. We have sessions dedicated to transarterial chemoembolization, Y90 administration, and bland embolization. We also have sessions dedicated not just to ablation but specifically to organ ablation, soft tissue ablation, and musculoskeletal ablation. The level of detail and scrutiny we can give to specific topics has improved dramatically over the years.

Q: What do you think were some of the more remarkable or unique interventional oncology topics presented here?

A: What’s most unique about the meeting this year is that we are seeing more clinical outcomes from research. For years, interventional oncology has been hamstrung by a lack of prospective research in this area. Now, we are seeing multiple abstracts submitted this year and presented at this year’s meeting covering outcomes of transarterial chemoembolization and ablation procedures. We’ve also seen an increase in the imaging research associated with these therapies, so we have so much more feedback of the outcomes. A lot of the abstracts have really opened our eyes to how powerful as radiologists as well as proceduralists we are in manipulating the outcomes of these patients. This has been a very major transition in the last few years.

Q: Anything else you wanted to add for IO physicians about the meeting or the program here at the meeting.

A: For those who haven’t yet attended the meeting, coming to the SIR meeting is an opportunity to interact with the investigators. This is a meeting that really is a destination. There are many “meet the speaker” sessions where you can talk to the investigators about their methods. In the end this meeting is about sharing information, and we hope that this open architecture allows us to really push the field of interventional oncology rapidly.

Editor's note: Dr. Angle reports consultancy to Siemens, Terumo Medical Corporation, Medtronic, Covidien, St. Jude Medical, and Cordis, and grants from Siemens.

Suggested citation: Ford J. The Society of Interventional Radiology meeting for interventional oncology clinicians: an interview with John Fritz Angle, MD. Intervent Oncol 360. 2014;2(6):E43-E44.