December 2024
Dear ESMO members,
As 2024 comes to a close, so too does my time as ESMO President. Looking back on this incredible journey, I feel deeply honoured and privileged to have led our Society during a period of remarkable progress and growth. Unprecedented advances are being made in oncology, offering new resources and opportunities to improve patients’ lives, and ESMO has been at the heart of these developments.
When I joined ESMO in 1986, I could scarcely have imagined one day addressing you as President of this extraordinary Society. What started as a professional network has grown into a true family—one that has never failed to provide strength, solidarity and support to its members through the years. Over the course of my tenure, we dedicated various new initiatives to ensuring ESMO’s support would remain relevant and meaningful even as our community was growing larger and more diverse, from nearly 30,000 members at the start of 2023 to over 42,000 today. I can hardly think of a clearer testament to the unity and sense of shared purpose of our global profession.
Reflecting on all that we have accomplished together also sheds light on the work that still lies ahead. The challenges our field faces are vast, but there are equally many opportunities to be seized to shape a better future for patients, doctors, and the worldwide oncology community as a whole.
Promoting equitable access to cancer care will continue to be of paramount importance going forward, and the results soon to be published of the latest ESMO study on availability and accessibility of antineoplastic medicines, the largest yet conducted, will offer invaluable global insights to guide future collective efforts in this area. Providing data on formulary availability and out-of-pocket costs of cancer medicines in 126 countries, the survey puts into stark contrast the pace of innovation of recent years with the current realities of access to even essential therapies in low- and middle-income settings.
Addressing the needs of the oncology workforce will be critical not just to bring high-quality care to all patients regardless of where they live, but also to sustain and disseminate progress in the management of cancer as it occurs. One such need is to be supported with education and resources, such as the recently launched ESMO Rare Cancers journal designed to close the gaps in knowledge surrounding rare disease types, or through innovative events like the new ESMO AI & Digital Oncology Congress, intended to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and showcase important breakthroughs in the application of digital technologies to cancer care.
Another issue to be prioritised is the well-being of oncology professionals in both their personal and professional lives, ensuring they are motivated to remain in the workforce and enabled to deliver optimal care. The ESMO Resilience Task Force recommendations to manage psychosocial risks, optimise well-being, and reduce burnout in oncology have recently provided an important blueprint for action at various individual and organisational levels. An upcoming workshop[CW4] by the ESMO Resilience Task Force, to help leaders in oncology understand the mental health challenges in our line of work and explore various interventions implemented across Europe, is sure to set further impulses for collaboration and positive change.
Last but not least, inspiring the next generation of oncologists is and remains a vital task for our common future, for the sustainability of our field. Oncology offers the unique appeal of integrating cutting-edge science and compassionate patient care—we must continue to champion it as the deeply rewarding profession that it is.
I have no doubt that under the future leadership of Fabrice André and Giuseppe Curigliano, ESMO will build on these foundations and keep developing new ways to support our community. Before I pass the baton to Fabrice, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our Society’s Past-Presidents, Council members, staff, and to each and every one of you, dear members, for your precious energy and support these last two years. Leading ESMO has been a true honour and I leave my position filled with gratitude for this time together, optimistic that our future will be just as bright. As long as we continue to nurture these family bonds that have come to tie us, we will keep making meaningful contributions to the development of oncology and to the lives of the patients we serve.
Yours sincerely,
Andrés Cervantes
ESMO President