History
The 2019 International PacRim Breast and Prostate Cancer Meeting to be held March 17-20 at the Barossa Novotel, South Australia is the seventh in a series of meetings inspired by the Hormones and Cancer 2000 Meeting held in Port Douglas, Australia after the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The PacRim meetings focus on contemporary issues in breast and prostate cancer research with a view to improving disease outcomes and developing strategies for prevention.
The inaugural PacRim Meeting was held in 2003 in Victor Harbor, South Australia. A second meeting was hosted by the University of Southern California, Department of Preventive Medicine and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Palm Springs in 2005. Continued success and interest led to a third meeting on Fraser Island Australia in 2006, which saw the introduction of the Ron Ross Award and produced many fruitful exchanges and collaborations. In 2009, a fourth meeting was held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, and the fifth meeting returned to Australia in 2011 to ‘Mantra on Salt Beach’ in Kingscliff, New South Wales. The sixth meeting, which was held at Skamania Lodge, Washington, USA, consolidated the PacRim meeting as one of the leading breast and prostate cancer meetings internationally.
The goal of PacRim meetings is to identify and address critical issues in breast and prostate cancer to progress the field and stimulate cutting-edge research into these two common diseases. Introductory talks are short and designed to set the stage for robust, in-depth discussions rather than reporting data in the traditional sense. The relatively small size (100 – 150 participants), the unique environment and format of PacRim meetings ensures interaction between scientists and clinicians of international standing. This think-tank format facilitates interaction among participants and ensures extensive discussion. A key objective is to foster innovative collaborative research networks that will lead to improved patient outcomes.
The foundation PacRim Meeting organizing institutions were the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Garvan Institute for Medical Research, Sydney; Vancouver Prostate Centre, Vancouver; Dame Roma Mitchell Cancer Research Laboratories (DRMCRL), Hanson Institute and University of Adelaide, Adelaide; University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
PacRim meetings, which have facilitated the establishment of international networks across Australia, Canada, the Americas and the broader Asia-Pacific region, take place every 2 to 3 years.
2015 PacRim Meeting in Stevenson, WA, USA
2011 PacRim Meeting in Kingscliff, NSW, Australia
