We are thrilled to post that the Anal Cancer Foundation and the Farrah Fawcett Foundation each contributed a $50,000 grant to seed the world's first anal cancer professional society. The International Anal Neoplasia Society (IANS), available at www.ians.memberlodge.org, is the recipient of the foundation's first educational grant. IANS is the first professional society solely dedicated to generating and disseminating knowledge regarding the pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of anal cancer and precancer.
To improve patient quality of life and survivorship, it is essential to advance anal neoplasia awareness on the clinician and patient level. The enormous lack of education often leads to late diagnoses and poor outcomes for people at risk for anal disease.
IANS will be run through the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP), the nation's leading clinical educators on cervical colposcopy and pathology. Dr. Joel Palefsky, President-elect of the International Papillomavirus Society, Director of the Anal Neoplasia Clinic at UCSF Cancer Center, and a member of the HPVAC Scientific Advisory Board, is the founder and president of the International Anal Neoplasia Society. Dr. Stephen Goldstone, Dr. Naomi Jay, Richard Hillman, Dr. Alexander Kreuter, and Dr. Alice Lytwyn join Dr. Palefsky as IANS board members.
The creation of IANS fulfills a significant unmet need in the global anal cancer community and represents an essential step to improving care for those most at risk for anal disease.
In support of its mission, IANS will:
- Develop position papers regarding the pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of anal neoplasia and publish these in the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease and other journals.
- Represent the consensus opinion of IANS regarding the above topics to other professional societies, public organizations, regulatory authorities and governmental bodies.
- Encourage the development of a robust research agenda on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of anal neoplasia.
- Develop educational materials and conduct training courses that encourage the entry of a broad spectrum of clinicians into the field of anal neoplasia, and that furthers the development and depth of skills of clinicians needed to optimally diagnose, treat and prevent anal neoplasia.
- Develop educational materials for patients with anal neoplasia
We are extremely excited about the creation of the medical society, and its potential to diminish the massive gaps in anal cancer medical knowledge and improve the lives of people with anal cancer.
