Three medical oncologists to receive ESMO's acclaimed awards

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), the leading European professional organisation for advancing medical oncology, announced today the three exceptional medical oncologists who will receive its acclaimed awards.

Nathan Cherny is given the ESMO Award for his visionary integration of palliative care into clinical oncology  (http://www.esmo.org/Press-Office/ESMO-Award-Goes-to-Nathan-Cherny)

Cherny helped to establish the ESMO Palliative Care Working Group in 1999, and was instrumental in setting up the ESMO Designated Centres of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care programme in 2003, the premier initiative of its kind worldwide. Cherny spearheaded the European and Global Opioid Policy Initiatives on formulary availability and regulatory barriers to access to opioids for cancer pain which were published in Annals of Oncology 2 in 2010 and 2013, respectively. Most recently he formulated the idea to develop a scale to evaluate the magnitude of clinical benefit of cancer medicines and the resulting ESMO Task Force produced an acclaimed publication in May 2015.

"Prof Cherny has contributed impressively to the integration of palliative care into clinical oncology which has proved to be highly beneficial to patients with cancer ever since," said Christoph Zielinski, Chair of the ESMO Fellowship and Award Committee, a group of renowned cancer leaders charged with selecting top class international researchers and clinicians for recognition. "His important and visionary contributions range from community based medicine to issues of international importance translatable to the access of modern drugs for the individual patient."

On receiving the award, Cherny said: "ESMO gave me a chance to help make a difference, and together I think that we have made an impact on the culture of cancer care and the manner in which it is delivered in Europe and beyond. For that opportunity and support, I am overwhelmingly and forever grateful."

Nagahiro Saijo wins the ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award for consolidating the field of medical oncology in Japan (http://www.esmo.org/Press-Office/ESMO-Lifetime-Achievement-Award-Recognises-Nagahiro-Saijo)

Saijo raised the status of medical oncology in Asia, especially Japan, with strong support from ESMO. He is a founder and the first president of the Japanese Society of Medical Oncology (JSMO). He is currently CEO of JSMO. He adapted the ESMO/ASCO Global Curriculum for Training in Medical Oncology and launched the certification of medical oncologists in Japan in 2006. Under his leadership, ESMO's official journal Annals of Oncology also became JSMO's official scientific publication.

Christoph Zielinski said: "It is a rare privilege to award the ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award to a person who has dedicated his entire life so impressively to ameliorate treatment of thoracic malignancies and its outcome."

"This is the first time an Asian oncologist has been given the ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award and I strongly believe it will encourage medical oncologists in Europe and other regions," said Saijo on receiving the award. "I am very much delighted and honoured, both for myself and for my colleagues who have been devoted to the development of medical oncology in Asian countries including Japan."

Cornelis (Kees) Punt is presented with the Hamilton Fairley Award for his pioneering work in the translation of immunotherapy approaches from the laboratory to the clinic (http://www.esmo.org/Press-Office/ESMO-Declares-Cornelis-Punt-Winner-of-Hamilton-Fairley-Award)

Punt is a world leader in the field of gastrointestinal cancer who has made a significant contribution to the development of dendritic cell vaccination. He is internationally known as the designer and principal investigator of the Dutch Colorectal Cancer Group (DCCG) phase 3 CAIRO studies in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) which have contributed to the international standard of care for mCRC.

Christoph Zielinski said: "Prof Punt is a leader in European contributions to the field of colorectal cancer. He has played decisive roles in the generation of important advances in the field leading to an amelioration of the prognosis and disease course of patients with this particular group of diseases. ESMO is proud to have important leaders in the field of oncology within its ranks and recognises this by presenting one of its highest accolades to Prof Punt."

On receiving the award, Punt said: "I am very honoured to have been selected for this prestigious ESMO award. Given the line of my research, I consider this award as recognition of the great value of investigator-initiated clinical and translational research."