The 2009 Cancer Congress Update has been hailed a success by clinicians from the worlds of breast, colorectal, lung, prostate and haematological cancer.

Created by medical education agency Succinct Healthcare Communications, the event was designed to provide a UK-focused digest of highlights from the past year’s international oncology meetings, and to act as a forum for discussion to facilitate translation of the data into clinical practice.

The unusual cross-sector audience allowed clinicians to share their experiences and research with professionals treating other cancers.

Dr Mark Verrill of the North East Cancer Network said: “The Cancer Congress Update has been a great meeting. We all usually talk to people who treat the same cancers as ourselves, and it has been fascinating to see the amount of commonality between different tumours. The congress has brought us into one big cancer family.”

Sponsored by AstraZeneca, Novartis, Roche, sanofi-aventis and Teva Hospitals, the Cancer Congress Update acted as a comprehensive resource for those unable to attend meetings such as ASCO 2009 and SABCS 2008.

The Managing Director of Succinct Healthcare Communications, Sean McGrath, added: “This was a fantastic opportunity for specialists to exchange ideas on emerging trends with a panel of experts. We are already planning next year’s event and hope that it will help to deliver the right cancer drugs to the patients who need them faster than ever before.”