NZSO Conference 2024

Welcome to the annual NZSO Conference, being held at the Pullman Auckland, 17 – 19 October 2024.

We are honoured to welcome oncologists, researchers, nurses, healthcare professionals, students, and industry leaders from around New Zealand to the premier event in cancer research and treatment. The NZSO Conference is a beacon for cutting-edge advancements, collaboration, and shared knowledge in the field of oncology.

Our commitment to the fight against cancer drives this gathering, and we invite you to immerse yourself in the latest breakthroughs and research. Throughout the conference, you will have the opportunity to engage with leading experts, exchange ideas, and discover innovative approaches that are shaping the future of oncology.

Whether you're a seasoned attendee or a newcomer, the NZSO annual conference offers a platform for our community to network and learn. Following the success of our early to mid career networking event last year, we will be offering a similar event, along with the welcome reception and poster session, and the conference dinner.

The addition of our SIG meetings in the programme have grown in popularity over the last couple of years and we are thrilled to advise that these will again be taking place on Thursday and, along with other sessions, are now part of the official conference programme, making NZSO a three-day conference.

Thank you for being a part of the NZSO community. We look forward to welcoming you to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland in October.

Connecting clinicians and researchers across all disciplines towards better lives for our patients with cancer in Aotearoa has been a core purpose of NZSO for over 50 years. This years conference theme builds on that and looks more broadly at how making connections can drive forward research and better cancer care.

Whakawhanaunatanga is a process of making connections between people and maintaining relationships. Regardless of which people are coming together, ‘doctors and whanau’ or ‘scientists and clinicians’, prioritising connection first can give confidence and trust in the discussions that follow.

In the health service, connecting resource to patients in the most need and in a way that it is needed underpins an equity approach and connecting specific expertise from the multidisciplinary team members to all areas patient care achieves better outcomes.

When two minds or concepts connect it can give that lightbulb moment of discovery in science.

At a molecular level, connecting a treatment to a carefully selected type of cancer and patient is the basis of precision oncology.

There is power in making connections, and I’m looking forward to connecting with you all in October.

Dr Laird Cameron, NZSO President.