Society of Interventional Radiology explores 'IR evidence' in patient care

The Society of Interventional Radiology will feature minimally invasive scientific advances and new discoveries that may change the way dozens of diseases are treated at its 37th Annual Scientific Meeting March 24-29 at San Francisco's Moscone Center.

More than 5,000 physicians, scientists and allied health professionals are expected to attend this premier interventional radiology event. The meeting's theme, “IR Evidence,” reflects a growing commitment to develop and prove care-changing advances in dozens of practice areas important to the specialty. Nearly 400 scientific presentations and posters substantiating patient outcomes in interventional radiology research and approximately 150 technical exhibits and product demonstrations will be showcased during the 2012 Annual Scientific Meeting.

“This year's Annual Scientific Meeting theme is 'IR Evidence,' and it is the Society of Interventional Radiology's goal to critically examine the current evidence in the specialty and identify those areas where more data is necessary,” stated Mahmood K. Razavi, M.D., Annual Scientific Meeting chair. “Because innovation still requires creativity, don't miss 'Extreme IR, where the panel explores solutions to unusual and seemingly undoable cases. The 'Care-changing Clinical Trials' plenary will examine important recent discoveries that may change the way interventional radiology benefits patients,” added Razavi, an interventional radiologist at St. Joseph Vascular Institute in Orange, Calif.

“The scientific sessions at this year's Annual Scientific Meeting will include studies that highlight current research relating to the care of patients with cancer, peripheral arterial disease, stroke and venous disease and the potential role of treating chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI, in patients with multiple sclerosis,” noted Gary P. Siskin, M.D., FSIR, Annual Scientific Meeting scientific program chair. “The meeting's fast-paced evidence-based debate session will feature team members from across the country, including Cornell, Miami and Northwestern and from as far away as Auckland, New Zealand, who will battle through several rounds of questions designed to test the participants on their knowledge in many different areas including the history of interventional radiology, imaging, devices, techniques and patient management,” added Siskin, chair of the radiology department at Albany Medical Center, N.Y.

Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, delivers the keynote during IR Economics: Overcoming Challenges and Delivering Quality Care. Clancy is expected to talk about the role of evidence-based medicine in patient care, national research priorities and how interventional radiology can support the national research agenda.

The meeting will include two symposia: In-depth Endovascular Management of PAD, designed to cover a broad range of peripheral arterial disease topics, and Comprehensive Management of Superficial and Deep Venous Disease, which will focus on interventional radiology within the venous system. This symposium, significant as March is National DVT Awareness Month, features moderators Mark J. Garcia, M.D., FSIR, chair of SIR's Venous Service Line, and Robert J. Min, M.D., FSIR. Siskin will examine the pathophysiology of CCSVI (a blockage in the veins that drain blood from the brain and spinal cord and return it to the heart) and the factors supporting its consideration as a contributing factor in multiple sclerosis.

Care-changing Clinical Trials promises to deliver on results of research that could forever change the landscape of interventional radiology. In Interventional Oncology: Technical and Clinical Controversies, Riccardo Lencioni, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael C. Soulen, M.D., FSIR, will explore the impact of interventional oncology. A categorical course moderated by Kieran J. Murphy, M.D., FSIR, features leading international spine and bone intervention experts who will discuss the future of spine intervention and the interventionalists' role as inventors, creators and scientists. Ziv J Haskal, M.D., FSIR, will coordinate Extreme IR, that will showcase the exciting cross-platform/cross-disease abilities of the specialty to define new solutions—often on the spot. Jeff H. Geschwind, M.D., FSIR, will moderate the featured symposium, IO 2012: What the Interventional Oncologist Needs to Know, a look at new and targeted chemotherapy agents, tailoring therapy based on biomarkers, communicating with cancer patients and tumor response as well as future trends.

As the society's 28th Dr. Charles T. Dotter lecturer, John A. Kaufman, M.D., M.S., FSIR, will deliver “IR 360,” during the plenary Integrated Practices and IR: Opportunities for Program Development. Kaufman will explore the many ways interventional radiology is seen by patients, competing disciplines and policy makers. He will illustrate some of the ways in which this knowledge can prepare interventional radiology for the future.

The SIR 2012 Gold Medals, awarded to members who have helped ensure the future of interventional radiology by advancing the quality of medicine and patient care, will be presented during the annual Film Panel, a popular SIR event where teams of interventional radiologists from around the world compete in their knowledge of the history of interventional radiology, imaging, devices, techniques and patient management. The SIR Foundation Awards and Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology Editor's Awards will also be presented during this panel.

For more information about the Society of Interventional Radiology and/or to register for the 37th Annual Scientific Meeting, visit online at www.SIRweb.org or www.SIRmeeting.org.

About the Society of Interventional Radiology

Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, such as in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine. Today, interventional oncology is a growing specialty area of interventional radiology. Interventional radiologists can deliver treatments for cancer directly to the tumor without significant side effects or damage to nearby normal tissue.

Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit www.SIRweb.org.

The Society of Interventional Radiology is holding its 37th Annual Scientific Meeting March 24-29 at Moscone Center, San Francisco, Calif. The theme of the meeting is “IR Evidence,” chosen to reflect interventional radiology's gathering, presenting and discussing results of care-changing investigations.

Representatives of the media are invited to join interventional radiology professionals as they share research, learn about the latest breakthroughs and trends in interventional radiology and discuss important issues in the field that have been making news. Press registration is complimentary to credentialed media. For press registration only, contact Ellen Acconcia, (703) 460-5582, eacconcia@SIRweb.org, or Maryann Verrillo, (703) 460-5572, mverrillo@SIRweb.org. Press representatives may also register online at www.SIRmeeting.org. SIR will hold two scientific press conferences that will feature an overview of the latest research and discoveries in the world of interventional radiology. The press conferences are scheduled for 9-10:30 a.m. (Pacific) on Sunday, March 25, and Monday, March 26.

Local interviews, medical illustrations and broadcast-quality video footage are available by contacting SIR's communications department staff: Ellen Acconcia, SIR communications manager/practice areas, eacconcia@SIRweb.org, (703) 460-5582, or Maryann Verrillo, SIR director of communications and public relations, mverrillo@SIRweb.org, (703) 460-5572.