Session definitions

Plenary lectures

Scientists of the highest international standing from the UK and overseas are invited to give plenary lectures which occupy the most prestigious slots in the programme. We encourage all delegates to attend as many of these lectures as possible and we brief the lecturers to give talks which are accessible to a broad audience of scientists, clinicians and lay people. Plenary lecturers are free to choose the title and content of their talks and may choose to review a broad area of work, summarise their own research, or discuss an important area of public policy relating to cancer. There are plenary lectures on each of the four days of the conference.

Symposia

Each symposium comprises three talks from speakers of international standing around a broad theme. The aim is to consider one topic from three different angles, so that in all there will be a mix of disciplinary approaches ranging along the spectrum of basic, translational and clinical science but also sometimes reaching into areas such as social and behavioural studies and approaches to prevention. It is hoped that these sessions help researchers to see their own work within a broader context of studies which are related to, but may go beyond, their own expertise. It is usual for three or four symposia on different topics to run in parallel on both the Monday and Tuesday of the Conference.

Parallel sessions

These are more specialist sessions with focussed topics attracting mainly professionals in the areas concerned. In counterpoint to this, on each day there will be one session organised by consumers and intended to be accessible to a lay audience, though professionals frequently attend these sessions too. In total, up to eight sessions run on each of the days from Monday through to Wednesday, in order to cater for as many interests as possible. Even so, it is not possible to cater for every interest every year.

Workshops

Workshops are organised on a demand-led basis and vary somewhat in format. Some are educational sessions or commercially-led training sessions, while others debate a hot topic or discuss the availability of research resources such as biosamples or datasets. The Conference Secretariat is open to requests at any time. Workshops are intended to include much more audience participation and are essentially discussion forums. The discussion, however, does not necessarily have to be only in the format of questions from the audience; the workshops can be organised in a round table format, ensuring that there will be a good amount of discussion even if the audience is not forthcoming with questions. Workshops should not follow the parallel session format and be mainly a succession of talks with some time at the end for questions. The organisers should take the above requirements into account if making a request.

Proffered paper sessions

From among the abstracts submitted each year, the planning committee picks out a number for oral presentation as well as poster presentation. These are now included in sessions dedicated for the purpose and are proving to be a popular addition to the Conference programme. The committee would like to encourage all delegates to submit original data for presentation.