APOCP 13th General Assembly & Scientific Conference Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia 28-30 September 2026


The Scientific Programme (subject to change) is now available: [Download Programme PDF]

More information will be posted soon, including registration and abstract submission details, as well as venue/accommodation and sponsorship/exhibition information. Please check back regularly — watch this space for updates.




The interim Scientific Program 

Monday, 28 September 2026 – APOCP 25th Celebration

 

07:30 – 08:30         Registration

 08:30 – 08:45         Welcome Remarks

 08:45 – 09:15         Opening Ceremony


 KEYNOTE

 09:15 – 09:45         Cancer Intelligence for Action: Data, Equity, and the Next 25 Years of Cancer Control in Asia-Pacific

09:45 – 10:45         APOCP 25th Leaders’ Plenary (Part 1)

What Worked, What Didn’t: 25 Years of Cancer Control – Lessons Across LMICs and HICs

10:45 – 11:00         Tea Break

 11:00 – 12:00         APOCP 25th Leaders’ Plenary (Part 2)

Future-Ready Cancer Control (2035): A Practical Playbook for Asia-Pacific

12:00 – 13:00         APOCP 25th Leaders’ Plenary (Part 3) – Panel

Discussion

Future-Ready Cancer Control (2035): What Will We Stop, Start, and Scale in Asia-Pacific?

13:00 – 14:00         Lunch & Networking

14:00 – 17:00         Parallel Sessions

 Workshop 1: Implementation Science for Cancer Control Workshop 2: Cancer Survivorship

19:00 – 21:30         Conference Gala Dinner 



Tuesday, 29 September 2026 – Conference Day 1

08:00 – 08:50         Breakfast Dialogues (Industry-Supported, Parallel)

Elil Renganathan (moderator) Public-Private Partnerships for Cancer Control

KEYNOTE

09:00 – 09:30         Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala (Philippines) “Nothing About Us Without Us: A People-Powered Movement for Cancer Control in Asia-Pacific”



Theme 1 – The Human Experience of Cancer

09:30 – 09:35         Chair Introduction (Saunthari Somasundaram, A Mosavi-Jarrahi)

 09:35 – 09:55         Jennifer Moodley (South Africa)

“Charting the Cancer Journey: Turning Lived Experience into Systems Change”

09:55 – 10:15         Carolyn Taylor (USA)

“Meaningful Engagement: Centring Lived Experience in Cancer Policy”

10:15 – 10:35         Ophira Ginsburg (Canada)

“Women, Power and Cancer”

10:35 – 10:55         Bogda Koczwara (Australia)

“Back to Work, Back to Life: A Survivorship Agenda for Asia-Pacific”

10:55 – 11:15         Q&A; and Closing

11:15 – 11:35         Morning Coffee Break



Theme 2 – Cancer Burden, Gaps & Priorities

11:35 – 11:55         Chair Introduction (Melissa Lim, M Moore)

 11:55 – 12:15         Isabelle Soerjomataram (IARC, France)

“Cancer Burden in Asia Pacific”

12:15 – 12:35         Yek Ching Kong (IARC, France)

“Paid and Unpaid Productivity Losses from Cancer in Asia-Pacific”

12:35 – 12:55         Karla Unger (Mexico)

“Addressing Fragmentation of Care Through Health-System Change”

12:55 – 13:15         Pramesh (India)

“Groundshot, Not Moonshot: Priorities for Cancer Research in LMICs”

13:15 – 13:35         Q&A; and Closing

13:35 – 14:35         Lunch

 



Theme 3 – Prevention, Screening & Early Detection

14:35 – 14:55         Chair Introduction (Nur Aishah Taib, KY Yoo))

 14:55 – 15:15         Partha Basu (IARC, France)

“Cervical Cancer Elimination in Asia-Pacific: Status and Next Steps”

15:15 – 15:35         Woo Yin Ling (Malaysia)

“Redesigning Cervical Cancer Screening Around Women’s Lives”

15:35 – 15:55         Kim Yeol (South Korea)

“Korea’s Lung Cancer Screening Experience: Lessons for the Region”

15:55 – 16:15         Arunah Chandran (IARC, France)

“Implementation Science for Better Prevention and Early Detection”

16:15 – 16:35         Q&A; and Closing

16:35 – 17:00         Tea Break & End of Scientific Programme

 18:30 – 21:00         Faculty Dinner



Wednesday, 30 September 2026 – Conference Day 2

 KEYNOTE

 08:30 – 09:00         Richard Sullivan (UK) “The Politics of Cancer Care: Power, Incentives, and Outcomes”

Theme 4 – UHC & Cancer Systems

09:00 – 09:05         Chair Introduction (Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy, J Dunn)

 09:05 – 09:25         Ait Allah Mejri (Indonesia)

“Universal Health Coverage and Cancer Care: Aligning Industry, Policy and Patients”

09:25 – 09:45         Julie Gralow (USA)

“Access is an Outcome: Rewiring Systems to Close the Cancer Care Gap”

09:45 – 10:05         Piya Hanvoravongchai (Thailand)

“Strategic Purchasing for Universal Health Coverage: Lessons from Thailand”

10:05 – 10:25         Beverly Essue (Australia/ Canada)

“Redefining Universal Health Coverage Through a Human Lens for Cancer”

10:25 – 10:55         Q&A; and Closing – Theme 4

10:55 – 11:15         Morning Coffee Break 



Theme 5 – Building Capacity & Delivering Cancer Care

11:15 – 11:20         Chair Introduction (Vaishnavi Jeyasingam, A Shankar)

 11:20 – 11:40         Voon Pei Jye (Sarawak)

“Expanding Cancer Care and Clinical Research Capacity in LMICs”

11:40 – 12:00         Nazik Hammad (Sudan/ Canada)

“Building the Cancer Workforce through Partnership, Education, and Inclusion”

12:00 – 12:20         Ednin Hamzah (Malaysia)

“Early Palliative Care as the Standard in Cancer Care”

12:20 – 12:40         Ajay Agarwal (UK)

“Doing More with Less: Quality as a System Strategy”

12:40 – 13:10         Q&A; and Closing

13:10 – 14:10         Lunch 



Theme 6 – Law, Policy, and Reform in Cancer Control

14:10 – 14:15         Chair Introduction (Murallitharan Munisamy, Maqsood Siddiqi)

 14:15 – 14:35         Hayley Jones (Australia)

“Using Law to Tame the Commercial Drivers of Cancer”

14:35 – 14:55         Dario Trapani (Italy)

“From Lists to Lives: Demystifying Essential Medicines for Cancer”

14:55 – 15:15         Mei-Ling Yap (Australia)

“National Cancer Control Planning and Equity”

15:15 – 15:35         Chris Booth (Canada)

“When Exercise Becomes Medicine in Cancer”

15:35 – 16:05         Q&A; and Closing

16:05 – 17:00      Prize Giving & Closing Ceremony (End with Tea Break)



Register for further updates