ASGO 7th International Workshop on Gynecologic Oncology

OUTLOOK

The 7th International Workshop of the Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology (ASGO) was held by the Chinese Society of Gynecologic Oncology (CSGO) and Peking Union Medical College Hospital on 27th to 28th August 2022. The 2022 workshop was the first ASGO congress that was held in mainland China. Due to the COVID situation, this workshop was conducted virtually. Five hundred eighty-seven participants from 13 countries/regions (Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, and United State of America) attended the meeting (Table 1). Dr. Beihua Kong (Shandong, China), president of CSGO, served as the president. Dr. Yang Xiang, president-elect of Chinese Medical Association (CMA) Gynecologic Oncology division, served as the executive president of the 7th ASGO workshop. Following the 18th ASGO council meeting on August 26th (Fig. 1), the workshop was grandly held on August 27th and 28th virtually.

Table 1. Registration by country/region.

Rank*	Country/Region	No. of participant
1	Mainland China	202
2	Japan	145
3	Korea	106
4	Indonesia	91
5	Thailand	39
6	USA	4
7	Hong Kong	2
8	Malaysia	1
9	Taiwan	1

*Ordered firstly by the number of participants and then alphabetically among countries with the same number.

Fig. 1. The 16th Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology council virtual meeting.

OPENING CEREMONY

Opening remarks commenced with the current president of ASGO, Dr. Jae-Weon Kim, Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Korea. Next opening address was delivered by ASGO’s president-elect, Dr. Masaki Mandai, Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kyoto University, Japan. Dr. Beihua Kong, the president of CSGO concluded the opening remarks by welcoming participants from all over Asia on behalf of the organizing committee. Mr. Dafang Wang, secretary general of CMA, sent congratulations on the convening of the conference (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Opening ceremony. (A) Opening remarks by Dr. Jae-Weon Kim, the president of Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology (ASGO). (B) Dr. Masaki Mandai, president-elect of ASGO. (C) Dr. Beihua Kong, the president of Chinese Society of Gynecologic Oncology (CSGO). (D) Mr. Dafang Wang, the secretary general of Chinese Medical Association.

PROGRAMS

There were 36 presentations in 5 sessions (the scientific program is shown in Tables 2 and 3). There were 28 Asian speakers from India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. We are honored to invite guest speakers from sister societies including Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO), International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS) and European Network of Young Gynae Oncologists (ENYGO). Dr. Jubilee Brown from USA, SGO Board of Director, shared the latest research progress of rare ovarian tumors. Dr. Alexandra Taylor from UK, radiation oncology representative for IGCS, made a presentation on re-irradiation of gynecological cancer or radiotherapy for recurrent gynecological cancer. Dr. Nicolò Bizzarri from Italy analyzed the past, present, and future ENYGO.

Table 2. Program of ASGO 7th International Workshop on Gynecologic Oncology (day 1).

August 27, 2022 Online
Opening Moderator: Yang Xiang
Time	Topic	Speaker	Country/Region
08:00-08:10	Reception	CSGO President: Dr. Beihua Kong	China
08:10-08:20	Opening Remarks	ASGO President: Dr. Jae-Weon Kim	Korea
08:20-08:30	Opening Remarks	ASGO President-Elect: Dr. Masaki Mandai	Japan
08:30-08:40	Opening Remarks	CMA Secretary Genral: Dafang Wang	China
Practice Changing Therapies and Novel Approaches
Moderator: Jiaxin Yang/Yu Wang/Wenjun Cheng/Wei Wang
Time	Topic	Speaker	Country/Region
08:40-09:05	Progress in rare ovarian tumors	Jubilee Brown	United States
09:05-09:30	Re-irradiation of gynecological cancer or radiotherapy for recurrent gynecological cancer	Alexandra Taylor	United Kingdom
09:30-09:55	Comprehensive analyses of ovarian cancer exosomes for clinical applications	Akira Yokoi	Japan
09:55-10:20	Clinical application of HIPEC with cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer	Myong Cheol Lim	Korea
10:20-10:45	Surgery after the PARPi maintenance therapy	Rongyu Zang	China
10:45-11:10	Novel intra operative imaging techniques and ideas in gynecologic oncology surgery	Pearl Tong	Singapore
11:10-11:35	Targeted therapy in uterine sarcoma	Arb-aroon Lertkhachonsuk	Thailand
11:35-12:00	Laparoscopic modified Dargent radical trachelectomy for early-stage cervical cancer	Yang Xiang	China
12:00-12:20	Industry Symposium 1
Rare and Less Common Gynecologic Tumor Moderator: Danbo Wang/Dongyan Cao
Time	Topic	Speaker	Country/Region
13:00-13:25	Invasive stratified mucin-producing carcinoma: A distinct entity of HPV-associated endocervical adenocarcinoma	Eunhyang Park	Korea
13:25-13:50	Molecular characteristics and treatment progress of human papillomavirus negative cervical cancer	Hui Wang	China
13:50-14:15	Fallopian tube as potential origin of endometriosis associated ovarian cancers	Wenxin Zheng	United States
14:15-14:40	Comprehensive genetic analysis and novel therapeutic approach in low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma	Kentaro Nakayama	Japan
14:40-15:05	Do we need to treat clear cell carcinoma of ovary differently?	Dong Hoon Suh	Korea
15:05-15:30	Management of low grade epithelial ovarian cancer	Brahmana Askandar	Indonesia
15:30-15:55	Molecular biology of malignant transformation of ovarian mature cystic teratoma	Kosuke Yoshihara	Japan
15:55-16:15	Industry Symposium 2
Debatable Topics in Gynecologic Oncology Moderator: Ruixia Guo/Xinyu Wang
Time	Topic	Speaker	Country/Region
16:15-16:40	Primary and secondary cervical cancer prevention in Malaysia	Woo Yin Ling	Malaysia
16:40-17:05	Role of predictive modeling in management of cervical cancer	Kittipat Charoenkwan	Thailand
17:05-17:30	Resection of pelvic retroperitoneal tumors by vaginal natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES).	Zhiqing Liang	China
17:30-17:55	Abnormal p53, endometrioid type endometrial cancer, a dilemma of clinical practice	Jen-Ruei Chen	Taiwan
17:55-18:20	Study of precancerous lesion and pathogenesis of uterine leiomyosarcoma	Beihua Kong	China
18:20-18:45	Contemporary issue in the management of cervical cancer: An Indian Perspective	Sudeep Gupta	India
18:45-18:55	Advertisement The 8th ASGO Biennial Meeting

ASGO, Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology; CSGO, Chinese Society of Gynecologic Oncology.

Table 3. Program of ASGO 7th International Workshop on Gynecologic Oncology (day 2).

August 28, 2022 Online
Moderator: Yang Xiang
Time	Topic	Speaker	Country/Region
08:00-08:25	ENYGO activity: past, present, and future	Nicolò Bizzarri	Italy
Young Doctor Session 1 Moderator: Yuanming Shen/Hong Zheng/Peng Peng/Xia Yin
Time	Topic	Speaker	Country/Region
08:25-08:38	Novel therapeutic approach for uterine leiomyosarcoma based on transcriptome analysis	Kosuke Yoshida	Japan
08:38-08:51	Psychosocial Burden in Women with Positive Human Papilloma Virus Testing after Abnormal Cervical Cytology: Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance (ASC-US).	Chompunoot Kongsawatvorakul	Thailand
08:51-09:04	The acceptability of vaginal self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing among a multi-ethnic Asian female population	Yogeeta Gunasagran	Malaysia
09:04-09:17	Single-cell transcriptomics reveals tissue architecture in ovarian carcinosarcoma	Junfen Xu	China
09:17-09:30	Oncological and reproductive outcomes after fertility-sparing surgery in patients with seromucinous borderline ovarian tumor: results of a large retrospective study	Dan Wang	China
09:30-09:43	Efficacy and impact of PARPi monotherapy to subsequent platinum-based chemotherapy in BRCA1/2 mutant ovarian cancer patients with secondary platinum-sensitive relapse	Kun Song	China
09:43-09:56	A prospective multicenter cohort study comparing vNOTES and laparoscopic sentinel lymph node mapping for endometrial cancer	Yanzhou Wang	China
Young Doctor Session 2 Moderator: Xiaojun Chen/Shengtao Zhou/Ning Li/Chaoyang Sun
Time	Topic	Speaker	Country/Region
09:56-10:09	A case of isolated inguinal nodal cancer of Mullerian origin	Jeslyn Wong	Singapore
10:09-10:22	Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in fertility sparing management of endometrial cancer	Jie Yang	China
10:22-10:35	Significance of TCGA molecular classification in fertility-sparing treatment of endometrial cancer and atypical hyperplasia	Yiqin Wang	China
10:35-10:48	Real-world outcomes of Niraparib treatment in patients with ovarian cancer - the first observational multicenter study in China	Jin Li	China
10:48-11:01	Exploiting DNA Replication Stress for Sequential Therapy with PARP and WEE1 Inhibitors	Yong Fang	China
11:01-11:14	The randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of surgical debulking of metastatic lymph nodes in cervical cancer stage IIICr	Dongling Zou	China
11:14-11:27	Diagnostic performance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in patients with operable cervical cancer: a Retrospective study.	Rohini Kulkarni	India
11:27-11:40	A carrier as a gynecologic oncologist: in an academic hospital in a developing country	Hari Nugroho	Indonesia
11:40-11:50	Closing Remarks	CSGO: Dr. Yang Xiang	China
11:50-12:00	Advertisement The 8th ASGO Biennial Meeting: see you next year!

ASGO, Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology; CSGO, Chinese Society of Gynecologic Oncology; ENYGO, Network of Young Gynae Oncologists; vNOTES, vaginal natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery.

1. Scientific sessions (August 27th, 2022)

The first day of ASGO workshop was constituted by three scientific sessions: Practice Changing Therapies and Novel Approaches, Rare and Less Common Gynecologic Tumor, and Debatable Topics in Gynecologic Oncology. There were 21 presentations in the three sessions presented by invited speakers from Asia and over the world.

The subject of the first session was Practice Changing Therapies and Novel Approaches. Dr. Jubilee Brown from SGO presented the progress in rare ovarian tumors. She discussed current trials in rare ovarian tumors, outlined surgical principles for management of rare ovarian tumors and specified therapy utilized to treat rare ovarian tumors. Then Dr. Alexandra Taylor from IGCS gave a lecture on re-irradiation of gynecological cancer and radiotherapy for recurrent gynecological cancer. She stated that re-irradiation is feasible and highly individualized. Dr. Akira Yokoi reported the clinical applications of ovarian cancer exosomes, which is a promising biomarker and potentially targetable in personalized medicine. Dr. Myong Cheol Lim reviewed the late progress in HIPEC with cytoreductive surgery for ovarian cancer. He suggested that new regimens and combined chemotherapy are warranted in HIPEC. Dr. Rongyu Zang reported their study results on surgery after the PARPi maintenance therapy. He held a conservative opinion in surgery after PARPi. Dr. Pearl Tong reported novel intra operative imaging techniques and ideas in gynecologic oncology surgery, including sentinel node mapping, vascular perfusion at bowel anastomotic site, ureteral mapping and identification of source of lymphatic leak, defining the margin of Paget’s disease and verifying vulval flap viability, etc. Dr. Arb-aroon Lertkhachonsuk presented the recent advances of targeted therapy in uterine sarcoma. Dr. Yang Xiang shared their experiences in laparoscopic modified Dargent radical trachelectomy for early-stage cervical cancer.

The second session focused in Rare and Less Common Gynecologic Tumor. Dr. Eunhyang Park reviewed invasive stratified mucin-producing, human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated endocervical adenocarcinoma from pathologic perspective. Dr. Hui Wang shared their research results in molecular characteristics and treatment progress of HPV negative cervical cancer, which had different molecular pattern from HPV positive cervical cancer. Dr. Wenxin Zheng reviewed the histologic features of endometriosis associated ovarian cancers which provided evidences for the hypothesis of fallopian tube origin. Dr. Kentaro Nakayama comprehensively reported the genetic analysis and novel therapeutic approach in low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma. He suggested patient derived organoid can be utilized in personalized treatment. Dr. Dong Hoon Suh shared his view in management of clear cell carcinoma. According to Dr. Suh, different management strategies should be used in patient with different stages, and targeting ARID1A pathway maybe promising in management of patients with advanced stage. Dr. Brahmana Askandar gave a lecture on management of low grade epithelial ovarian cancer. Surgery remained the most efficient treatment in achieving long term survival. Dr. Kosuke Yoshihara reported the molecular biology of malignant transformation of ovarian mature cystic teratoma. He found that more than 80 percent of patients had druggable genomic alterations and most patient had immunologically hot tumors.

The subject of the third session was debatable topics in gynecologic oncology. Dr. Woo Yin Ling reported the current situation of primary and secondary cervical cancer prevention in Malaysia. Dr. Kittipat Charoenkwan presented a predictive modeling in management of cervical cancer. Dr. Zhiqing Liang demonstrated a delicate surgery video of dissecting pelvic retroperitoneal tumors by vaginal natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES). Dr. Jen-Ruei Chen raised clinical concerns and meaningful study questions in management of Abnormal p53, endometrioid type endometrial cancer. Dr. Beihua Kong presented their molecular study results of precancerous lesion and pathogenesis of uterine leiomyosarcoma. Dr. Sudeep Gupta shed the light of contemporary issue in the management of cervical cancer in Indian.

2. Young doctor sessions (August 28th, 2022)

A total of 15 topics were presented in the Young Doctor sessions. There were 9 young gynecologic oncologists from China and others from India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

They have presented their clinical and basic research results in the morning of August 28th.

In the first session, Dr. Kosuke Yoshida presented a novel therapeutic approach for uterine leiomyosarcoma based on transcriptome analysis. His team found that CHEK1 and PLK1 are promising therapeutic targets for ULMS. The second speaker Dr. Chompunoot Kongsawatvorakul shared his study on Psychosocial burden in women with positive HPV testing after abnormal cervical cytology: atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US), which called gynecologic oncologist to pay the attention in patient with positive HPV, especially in women who are younger than 50 years old, single/divorced/widowed, or sexually active. Dr. Yogeeta Gunasagran shared a promising approach of vaginal self-sampling for HPV testing among a multi-ethnic Asian female population. Dr. Junfen Xu reported results of a basic study in ovarian carcinosarcoma with single-cell transcriptomics approach. Dr. Dan Wang presented a retrospective study on oncological and reproductive outcomes after fertility-sparing surgery in patients with seromucinous borderline ovarian tumor. He stated patient who underwent cystectomy can be managed by close surveillance if imaging negative. Dr. Kun Song reported equivalent efficacy in PARPi monotherapy to subsequent platinum-based chemotherapy in BRCA1/2 mutant ovarian cancer patients with secondary platinum-sensitive relapse. Dr. Yanzhou Wang shared a cohort study comparing vNOTES and laparoscopic sentinel lymph node mapping for endometrial cancer.

In the second session, Dr. Jeslyn Wong presented a case of isolated inguinal nodal cancer of Mullerian origin. Dr. Jie Yang reported two endometrial cancer patients who developed carcinosarcoma after hormonal treatment for fertility preserving. Dr. Yiqin Wang shed a light on TCGA molecular classification in fertility-sparing treatment of endometrial cancer and atypical hyperplasia. Dr. Jin Li reported the real-world outcomes of Niraparib treatment in patients with ovarian cancer in China. Dr. Yong Fang shared his basic study of Exploiting DNA Replication Stress for Sequential Therapy with PARP and WEE1 Inhibitors. Dr. Dongling Zou presented the result of a randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of surgical debulking of metastatic lymph nodes in cervical cancer stage IIICr. Dr. Rohini Kulkarni reported a retrospective study on diagnostic Magnetic Resonance Imaging in patients with operable cervical cancer. Dr. Hari Nugroho shared his views as a gynecologic oncologist in an academic hospital in a developing country.

At the end of the conference, Dr. Yang Xiang gave a closing remark and announced a complete success of the ASGO 2022 workshop. All the presentations were intentively prepared. Attendees enjoyed the weekend full of learning and found the workshop fruitful. By all of the participant's efforts, 7th ASGO workshop meeting achieved a great success. Thanks to all the speakers, attendees and ASGO stuffs for their time and efforts. As ASGO president Jae-Weon Kim addressed: ‘I dream of seeing the future ASGO meeting, such as gathering 2,000–3,000 participants from Asia and from all over the world, high-quality education, and first-in-class scientific findings presented first in the ASGO meeting.’ We have a lot of work ahead of us. We hope all the ASGO members continually grow their professional knowledge, networking, and devotion to women’s health in the Asian country. As a team, we are confident that working together, we can craft a promising future in Asia.

As a next academic activity, the ASGO Biennial Meeting will change to annually. The 8th ASGO meeting will take place on December 1–3, 2023 at HNBK International Convention Center, Taipei. We Look forward to meeting you all in person at the next ASGO meeting.