On April 4 and 5, the Cyan Convention Center in Itupeva (SP) hosted the 18th Edwaldo Camargo Symposium and the 2nd CancerThera Congress, bringing together more than 370 participants, including researchers, healthcare professionals, professors, and students from Brazil and abroad. With a robust program, the simultaneous events reaffirmed their prominent positions in the fields of Nuclear Medicine, Oncology, Radiopharmacy, and related areas.
A total of 110 speakers and moderators participated in roundtables, multidisciplinary sessions, and scientific presentations on topics such as theranostic radiopharmaceuticals, the use of PSMA-177Lu, immunotherapy, radiofrequency, innovations in imaging diagnostics, and advances in the treatment of gastrointestinal tumors, colorectal cancer, multiple myeloma, head and neck tumors, and gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
The organizing committee included nuclear physicians Dr. Allan de Oliveira Santos, Dr. Elba Etchebehere, Dr. Mariana da Cunha Lopes de Lima, and Dr. Celso Dario Ramos, who work at the Nuclear Medicine Service of the Clinics Hospital of Unicamp and are researchers at CancerThera.
For Dr. Elba Etchebehere, president of the Brazilian Society of Nuclear Medicine (SBMN), professor at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Campinas (FCM/Unicamp), and principal investigator at CEPID CancerThera, “the union of professionals from diverse backgrounds strengthens our commitment to excellence and patient care.” As coordinator of the event’s organizing committee, she celebrated the record attendance: “Seeing so many professionals committed to transforming clinical practice through research innovation is, without a doubt, a source of great satisfaction and inspiration for us all.”
Etchebehere adds: “I would like to express my deep gratitude to Prof. Dr. Allan de Oliveira Santos, whose tireless dedication was essential to the great success of the 18th Edwaldo Camargo Symposium and the 2nd CancerThera Congress. He was present at every stage of the organization, with attention to detail and unwavering commitment to scientific quality. His contribution was decisive in ensuring the level of excellence we experienced over the two days.”
Scientific relevance and quality
A total of 58 scientific papers were presented in oral and poster formats, with contributions from undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral researchers, along with the strong presence of professionals and professors from centers of excellence across all regions of Brazil and international guests from Belgium, Uruguay, and South Africa. The diversity of institutions represented—universities, research centers, clinics, and hospitals—highlighted the collective commitment to education, updating, and innovation. Abstracts of the scientific presentations will be published in a special supplement of the journal Hematology, Transfusion and Cell Therapy very soon.
Dr. Celso Dario Ramos, nuclear physician, professor at FCM/Unicamp, and principal investigator at CancerThera, emphasized the high points of the event, including clinical discussions on diagnostic and therapeutic innovations with new radiopharmaceuticals, peptides, and radioisotopes, as well as updates on nuclear medicine imaging equipment. He also highlighted “the free-topic sessions for oral and poster presentations, with rooms full beyond expectations, due to the high quality of the scientific output presented.”
“It is a great pleasure to see over 370 participants, with an extraordinary number of professors from across Brazil and abroad,” emphasized Dr. Carmino A. de Souza, hemato-oncologist, professor at FCM/Unicamp, and lead researcher at CancerThera, celebrating the event’s success. “It was truly gratifying to witness the scientific quality of everything presented and the commitment that universities, institutes, clinics, and colleagues in the field of Nuclear Medicine demonstrated at this meeting,” he said.
Dr. Paulo Almeida Filho, nuclear physician, professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco School of Medicine, and vice president of SBMN, who has participated in the events since their early editions, stated that the Edwaldo Camargo Symposium and the CancerThera Congress are currently among the most important in the country, featuring top-level guest speakers and relevant presentations. “It’s always an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and also to remember the great Dr. Edwaldo Camargo, perhaps the greatest promoter of Nuclear Medicine in Brazil of all time.”
The events were jointly organized by the MND Group – Nuclear Medicine, Diagnosis and Therapy, the Professor Edwaldo Camargo Institute of Teaching and Research, Unicamp, and CancerThera, with support from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as partner entities such as the National Association of Occupational Medicine, the Brazilian Society of Hematology, Hemotherapy and Cell Therapy, the Brazilian College of Surgeons, the Federal Council of Medicine, the Brazilian Society of Nuclear Biosciences, the Brazilian Society of Thoracic Surgery, the Brazilian Society of Nuclear Medicine, the Brazilian Society of Radiotherapy, and the Paulista Society of Radiology and Imaging Diagnosis.
About Professor Edwaldo Camargo and CancerThera
The symposium is named in honor of Professor Edwaldo Eduardo Camargo, a pioneering physician and researcher in Brazilian Nuclear Medicine who left a legacy of scientific innovation and educational promotion. His career stood out for significant scientific developments, such as a radiometric method for detecting leprosy, advances in renal scintigraphy, and contributions to Nuclear Cardiology. He was also one of the first to carry out diagnostic image transmissions between different cities, making him a pioneer in the country’s medical field.
Camargo played a fundamental role in training specialists and establishing international standards of excellence in his field, inspiring several generations, including many of the researchers currently working at the Center for Theranostic Innovation in Cancer (CancerThera). The institution, active since May 2023, is mainly funded as a Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Center (CEPID) by FAPESP.
CancerThera aims to become an international reference in translational research on the Theranostic model in cancer, focusing on the development of drugs and radiopharmaceuticals. Associated institutions in CancerThera’s operations include the Hematology and Hemotherapy Center of Unicamp (Hemocentro/Unicamp), the Santa Casa Medical School of São Paulo (FCMSCSP), and the Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos at the University of São Paulo (IQSC/USP).
Text and photos: Romulo Santana Osthues | Collaborated:
Bruno Henrique, Fabio L. N. Marques, Leo Kim e Natália Tobar.
