EAU Congress: abstract selection highlights diversity

Wed, 5 Jan 2011

The scientific programme of the 26th EAU Annual congress is taking its definitive shape with the completion of the abstract selection procedure which took place in mid-December. The EAU Scientific Congress Office, which is responsible for determining the scientific contents of the annual congresses, reviewed 3.779 abstracts and video abstracts, which had been submitted this year.“We are pleased with the quality of submitted abstracts, and this is reflected in a very reasonable acceptance ratio,” said Prof. F. Hamdy, who chairs the EAU Scientific Congress Office.

For the upcoming congress in March, 34.1% of all submissions were accepted. These will be divided into 92 poster sessions and 8 video sessions, representing 1,111 abstracts and 50 video abstracts respectively.

“The selection meeting was productive and the results were again very encouraging,” commented Prof. Hamdy. “It is a positive confirmation for us to see the stability in the submission and selection processes– it fosters a continuous growth in diversity and quality of the scientific contents.”

“We have a very steady distribution of abstracts among the topics – both in disease areas and approaches to treatment,” underlined Prof. Hamdy. “We are also very excited to see more and more submissions from non-European regions, including many South-American countries, USA, Canada and the Far East. This so-called geographical diversity of material gives our congress the breadth – the scope which allows us to question, think outside of the box and to compare”.

“Indeed, it seems like the whole world is coming to join the EAU this year,” commented Prof. R.J.A. Van Moorselaar, who chairs EAU’s Video Congress Committee, which is responsible for selecting the video abstracts for the congress.

Van Moorselaar explained that while the quality of video abstract submissions is traditionally very high, the real shift this year is in the diversity of participating countries: “There are some new trends associated with video submissions – Italy and the Netherlands, for example, have always been among the most active groups, but this year we see that the interest in this abstract format has shifted to other countries, also beyond the EU.”

He mentioned that while these shifts can be caused by better access to technology, better training or a general increase in interest – these developments are very welcome, as they promise new insights, new creative and technological approaches to presenting the surgical video material.

This year, the video session will feature many of the actively developing trends in uro-technology, including a number of outstanding abstracts dedicated to LESS procedures in the management of renal and prostate diseases. NOTES procedures will also receive some exposure, promising to be one of the most prominent topics in the coming years.

“Of course, one of the hottest subjects this year is the robotically-assisted surgery,” said Prof. Van Moorselaar. “Surgeons across the globe have now gathered excellent expertise in performing such procedures, and they are able to share that experience with the congress audience. And you will be truly amazed at what can be performed with the help of a robot today – it is not only the established radical prostatectomy, but also renal surgery, UPJ stenosis, and even paediatric surgery.”

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