BEST OF ASCO AFRICA

Join us in Addis Abba, Ethiopia for the Best of ASCO Africa June 27 & 28!

Best of ASCO®, an Official Annual Meeting Review of the American Society of Clinical Oncology® (ASCO®), is a two-day program designed to provide the latest science and education from the world’s premier oncology event, the ASCO® Annual Meeting. The abstracts selected for presentation and discussion reflect the foremost research and strategies in oncology that will impact clinical practice and patient care. The program features in-depth discussion and analysis of the latest scientific findings in primary disease sites and practice-changing advances in cancer treatment. Expert faculty will review the findings, discuss the results potential impact on the current standard of care, and apply the results within the clinical context of a patient case.

Register Here!

Registration for this event is free. Please be sure to register for our planning purposes.

Agenda

Please note all times are listed in East Africa Time (EAT).

Friday, 27 June 2025 Women and Men Health – Breast/GU/Gyn Cancer

Time	Description
8:00 AM	Welcome & Level Setting – Abiola Ibraheem
8:10 AM	AORTIC President Speech – Miriam Mutebi
	*Early – Stage Breast Cancer Session*
8:30 AM	ASCO Data Presentation – Manel Haj Mansour
9:15 AM	Data Discussant – Sitna Mwanzi
9:30 AM	Panel discussion by seasoned experienced oncologists Daniel Ojukama, Anees Chagpnar Moderator – Miriam Mutebi
	*Metastatic Breast Cancer Session*
10:00 AM	ASCO Data Presentation – TBA
10:45 AM	Data Discussant – Atara Ntekim
11:00 AM	Panellist discussion by seasoned experienced oncologists. Olufunmilayo Olopade, Verna Vanderpuye, Julie Gralow, Nazik Hammad Moderator – Atara Ntekim
11:30am	LUNCH
	Genitourinary Cancer Session
1:00 PM	ASCO Data Presentation for early-stage GU cancer – TBA
1:45 PM	Data Discussant – TBA
2:00 PM	ASCO Data Presentation for Late State GU cancer – Omolara Fatiregun
2:45 PM	Data Discussant – TBA
3:00 PM	Panel discussion by seasoned experienced oncologists. Abubakar Bello, Serigne Magueye Gueye, Eric Small Moderator – TBA
	*Gynaecological Cancer Session*
3:30 PM	ASCO Data Presentation – Bolanle Comfort Adegboyega
4:00 PM	Data Discussant – TBA
4:20 PM	Panellist discussion by seasoned experienced oncologists. Julie Ann Francis, Susan Citonje Moderator – Khadija Warfa
5:00 PM	BREAK
5:30 PM	Panellist discussion on African Access to innovative therapies/technology. Moderator- Abiola Ibraheem
6:15 PM	ADJOURN

Saturday June 28th, 2025, GI/ Lung/Head/Neck/ Lymphoma Cancer

TIME	DESCRIPTION
8:10 AM	Training opportunities on the continent with Julie Gralow.
	*Head/Neck Cancer Session*
8:30 AM	ASCO Data Presentation – Haimanot Kasahun Alemu
9:15 AM	Data Discussant – TBA
9:30 AM	Panel discussion by seasoned experienced oncologists Michael Jelnick, Mansoor Saleh, Tanguy Lim-Seiwert Moderator – Omar Abdihamid
	*Lung Cancer Session*
10:00 AM	ASCO Data Presentation – Melinda Mushonga
10:45 AM	Data Discussant – Adedayo Joseph
11:00 AM	Panellist discussion by seasoned experienced oncologists. Fredrick Asirwa Chite, Owonikoko Taofeek, Alex Adjei Moderator – Adedayo Joseph
11:30 AM	LUNCH
	Gastrointestinal Cancer Session
1:00 PM	ASCO Data Presentation for colorectal cancer – Achille Manirakiza
1:45 PM	Data Discussant – Andrew Odhiambo
2:00 PM	ASCO Data Presentation for esophageal/hepatobiliary – Michael Mwachiro
2:45 PM	Data Discussant – Angela McLigeyo
3:00 PM	Panellist discussion by seasoned experienced oncologists. Alatise Olusegun, Michael Warso, Ghassan Abou- Alfa, Lewis Roberts Moderator – Achille Manirakiza
	Lymphoma Session
3:30 PM	ASCO Data Presentation – TBA
4:00 PM	Data Discussant – Leo Masamba
4:20 PM	Panellist discussion by seasoned experienced oncologists. Sonali Smith, Nicholas Abinya, Picaluga Pierre Paolo, Paul Rubinstein Moderator – TBA
	Addressing Brain Drain Session
5:00 PM	Panel on Access to Human Resources – Addressing Brain Drain. Modupe Elebute-Odunsi, Tolulope Adewole, Adebowale Adekoya Moderator – Runcie Chidebe
6:00 PM	Conclusion, Call to Action and Close.

Conference Planning Committee

Abiola Ibraheem

Abiola Ibraheem, MD, is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago, and a practicing oncologist at UI Health. Her clinical focus is on providing comprehensive care to breast cancer patients and ensuring patients enroll in cutting-edge clinical trial therapies with minimal toxicity. Her research interests focus on developing novel therapeutic agents for breast cancer and addressing breast cancer disparities nationally and globally. She is a recipient of the Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials Career Development Award (Winn CDA) and the Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials: Clinical Investigator Leadership Award (Winn CILA). From Nigeria, she also was elected to be the 2024-2025 Vice President: North America for the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), whose members throughout Africa and in the international cancer community are dedicated to reducing the cancer burden in Africa. She was also the inaugural American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) liaison to the newly formed Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Council.

Nazik Hammad

Dr. Nazik Hammad is professor of medical oncology, at Saint Michael Hospital, Department of Medicine, and University of Toronto. A graduate of the University of Khartoum Faculty of Medicine, Sudan, she completed training in internal medicine and hematology/oncology at Wayne State University, Detroit. She had obtained an M.Sc. Immunology at the University of Toronto and a Master of Education in the Health Professions at Johns Hopkins University. Her academic and research interests include Breast and GI cancers, medical education and workforce development in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and competency-based medical education in Canada. Other research and academic interests include value-based cancer care, global and local inequities and disparities in cancer, global health and global oncology, cancer in conflict zones, and women as health care professionals. Together with colleagues in Africa, she led the first Choosing Wisely Africa initiative. She is a coauthor in the Lancet Oncology commission for Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa and is a commissioner in the Lancet Commission on Women, Power and Cancer. Dr. Hammad is the previous chair of Education and Training committee of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), previous chair of AORTIC’s Medical Oncology Significant Interest Group and current chair of AORTIC’s Significant Interest Group in Cancer in Conflict Zones and other Humanitarian settings.

Peter Kingham

Dr. T. Peter Kingham obtained his undergraduate degree at Yale University and MD from SUNY Stony Brook Medical School. His general surgery residency was at New York University. He undertook a research fellowship in hepatic immunology in the DeMatteo Laboratory at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. After finishing residency, he completed a two-year fellowship in surgical oncology at MSK prior to being appointed on the Hepatopancreatobiliary Service. He is Assistant Director of the HPB Fellowship and Director of the Global Oncology Fellowship. In 2015 he was appointed as Director of Global Cancer Disparity Initiatives. In 2022 he was promoted to Professor. His primary research interests are determining how to improve cancer care for patients in low- and middle-income countries, building HPB surgery in low resource environments, and colorectal cancer liver metastasis management. Dr. Kingham is co-PI on multiple prospective studies in Nigeria, cofounded the African Research Group for Oncology (ARGO), and is President of Surgeons OverSeaS (SOS). He is PI of a UG3/UH3 and R01 NIH grants focused on colorectal cancer in Nigeria, a D43 NIH grant to build a cancer research training program in Nigeria, and a P20 grant to build an immune-oncology center in Nigeria He has over 300 publications in peer-reviewed journals and authored 18 chapters.

Patrick Loehrer

Patrick J. Loehrer, SR., M.D. is the Joseph W. and Jackie J. Cusick Professor in Oncology and Distinguished Professor of Indiana University. He is also the Director of the IUSCCC Center for Global Oncology and Health Equities. He has been an active clinical researcher and specialist in the treatment of a variety of cancers including testis, bladder, colon, pancreas and, most notably, thymic malignancies. His research on the drug, ifosfamide, led to its approval by the FDA. Dr. Loehrer is also the founding director of the Academic Model for Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH)-Oncology Program for over the past decade, which now sees over 8,000 cancer patients a year and screens over 1,500 women for cervical and breast cancers a month in western Kenya. He is co-PI on a U54 grant studying the long-term impact of HPV in HIV infected and uninfected women in Kenya and Uganda. Dr. Loehrer was the founding chair of the Hoosier Oncology Group (now Hoosier Cancer Research Network) for two decades, which has enrolled over 5,000 patients and conducted trials in 20 countries around the world. Dr. Loehrer has served on numerous boards and committees such as the FDA Oncology Drug Advisory Committee and chair of the NCI Clinical Trials Advisory Committee. Dr. Loehrer is director emeritus of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, an NCI-designated Cancer Center and led the efforts to achieve comprehensive status in 2019. Dr. Loehrer has received numerous awards including the inaugural Allen S. Lichter Visionary Leader Award, and the 2023 Humanitarian Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Kenneth Miller

Dr. Ken Miller has been a practicing Oncologist and Hematologist for 30 years.

He has served on the faculty of the Yale Cancer Center and the University of Maryland Cancer Center.

Dr. Miller has lectured nationally and internationally and is the author of five books on cancer care.

Dr. Ken Miller is a strong believer that cancer is a treatable and often a curable disease and feels that hope is an important part of cancer care and of healing.

Lewis Roberts

Dr. Lewis R. Roberts is the Peter and Frances Georgeson Professor in Gastroenterology Cancer Research and Consultant in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Mayo Clinic, where he is Co-Principal Investigator of the Mayo Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Hepatobiliary Cancers.

His research focuses on molecular mechanisms of liver and biliary carcinogenesis; biomarkers for diagnosis of liver, bile duct and pancreas cancers; and prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis and liver cancer, with a particular interest in immigrant African communities in the USA as well as in Africa. He has authored over 400 articles, book chapters and letters, and co-edited the book “Evaluation and Management of Liver Masses”.

He serves as President of Africa Partners Medical, a non-profit organization focused on improving healthcare delivery in Africa through medical education, practical skills training, provision of medical equipment and supplies, and health advocacy; as President of the West Africa Institute for Liver and Digestive Diseases Foundation; and as a member of the Advisory Council for The Hepatitis Fund. Dr. Roberts is also a founding member of the Africa HepatoPancreatoBiliary Cancer Consortium.

Traveling to the event

VISAS

Visa Information and Application

Make sure to apply for your visa well in advance of your travel. Click on the button above to check the website for the Immigration and Citizen Service for Ethiopia above for instructions, including any necessary or suggested vaccinations.

Accommodation

We want to ensure that your time at the Best of ASCO event is convenient and memorable. Staying at our host hotel provides a hassle-free experience and puts you at the heart of the activity surrounding the conference.

Hotel Information:
Capital Hotel and Spa
ET 1878, 22 Haile Gebre Silase St,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Booking Link: Click here to contact the hotel and book your room!

Transportation: Contact the hotel for transportation to and from the airport.

Other Local Hotels:

Mazeki Addis Boutique Hotel