Synergy 2014 Hosts Its Largest Meeting to Date

Synergy 2014 recorded its best meeting yet since its inception in 2011, offering attendees insights into oncologic topics from a top-notch multidisciplinary faculty. Because we are never ones to leave good enough alone, the Synergy website and app were revamped for 2014. The app gave attendees several new capabilities such as the ability to view video proceedings, receive push notifications, and network with other attendees and faculty.

The meeting started with a hands-on ablation workshop, which was a tremendous success. The workshop gave over 100 participants an opportunity to hear directly from vendors and faculty members about various ablation technologies along with an opportunity to use the devices in animal specimens. The first session was dedicated to the collaboration between Synergy and the Miami Cancer Meeting (MCM) a well-established oncology meeting in Florida. Prominent oncologists brought the "Best of MCM" to Synergy in this session.

Fifty residents and IR fellows (twice the number as 2013) from across the United States attended Synergy on an educational grant. Dedicated tumor board sessions were new this year and the spirited debate during the HCC session was one of the highlights of the first day of the meeting. The lunch symposium on the first day was a tailored multidisciplinary approach to HCC. Following the educational sessions on day 1, participants, faculty, and industry were able to get together at the relaxing wine tasting tradition with live music setting the stage for the annual Synergy gala.

The guest of honor at this year’s gala was Professor Jim Caridi of Tulane University, who was recognized for his contributions to interventional radiology, and received a tribute to his distinguished career. Country singer Clay Thrash performed a song in his honor. In his acceptance speech, Jim kept the audience in splits and touched their hearts in a way that only he can.

It was time for the dedicated nursing symposium on day 2, which was also packed with sessions on prostate cancer, lung cancer, and mCRC, with tumor boards and a lunch session on TACE and microwave ablation. The dinner symposium was dedicated to a case-based approach to Y-90.

Synergy concluded on Sunday with sessions on bone tumors and pancreatic cancer, and the fun continued when guests had an opportunity to participate in the second annual ”Drive for Life” charity event at the Palm Beach International Raceway. They got behind the wheels of a Ferrari or Lamborghini with a professional driver to test their driving skills on the race track while their contributions helped the cause of interventional oncology research at UM Sylvester Cancer Center.

For those of you who could not join Synergy 2014, video proceedings of the entire meeting are available for download at www.prolibraries.com. Synergy 2015 will return to the Eden Roc November 6-8th, 2015. I hope to see you then.