2022 Inclusivity Guidelines

adapted from YSC publicly posted guidelines

SIO constituents come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. We ask that speakers/facilitators use language and visuals that make everyone attending the conference feel welcome and included. We strive to create an environment where all attendees feel safe, supported, and empowered.

Please keep in mind the following:

• These individuals come from diverse backgrounds. This includes geographic location, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic background, language, politics and religion. During your presentation(s) and interactions with attendees, avoid stereotypes and making assumptions, and use language that is inclusive of those whose background may be different than your own.
• This is an inclusive and welcoming environment. Please refrain from making comments about an attendee’s appearance, experience, language or anything else that could make them uncomfortable. Even if you think comments are harmless, let individuals tell their own story.
• When speaking about romantic partnerships, acknowledge that some attendees are in same sex relationships. For example, consider using “partner” instead of “husband” or “boyfriend” during your presentation.
• Not all participants have a romantic partner. When speaking about relationships or support network, know that not all attendees are married or in a committed relationship. Sometimes their family and friends are their main source of support.
• Individuals are at various phases of breast cancer diagnosis. They may be newly diagnosed, post-treatment, a long-term survivor or living with metastatic breast cancer. Please provide information and use language that is inclusive of those who are living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), in-treatment for the rest of their lives or who don’t know their prognosis. For example, YSC uses “thriver” to describe those living with MBC, as opposed to survivor. For the same reason, YSC refrains from using the terms like “warrior,” “battlefield,” or “winning the fight.” When an individual dies of breast cancer, it is not because they didn’t fight hard enough.
• Co-survivors also attend SIO events. Co-survivors may be the partner (male or female), parent, sibling or friend of a young breast cancer survivor/thriver. Co-survivors will also have loved ones who are at various phases of diagnosis.

For additional useful tips that promote mindfulness in choosing language carefully for optimal inclusivity, click on this useful article link here.

For the 21^st International SIO conference hosted by City of Hope in Costa Mesa California on October 25-27^th 2024 (#SIO2024 for short), we will be introducing slight modifications to our processes in reviewing our annual conference scientific abstracts. In the past we would have simultaneous scientific abstract and educational workshop submissions managed by the Scientific Review Committee (SRC). This year the Scientific Review Committee will only be reviewing the scientific abstracts, and the Education Committee (see Educational Workshops FAQ for #SIO2024) will be reviewing the workshop submissions.  All submissions must be relevant to the field of integrative oncology to be considered competitive.

What are the new changes to the SIO 2024 International Conference processes regarding scientific abstract submissions?

The scoring system for scientific abstract submissions will be simplified to a 4 score system this year. “Needs assessment” i.e. one of last year’s criteria was found to confusing so it was removed this year. Each abstract will be rewarded a score of 1-5 with 4-5 being oral abstract quality, 2-4 being poster quality, and 0-2 being consider for rejection. Just because an abstract scores an average below 4 does not exclude the abstract from oral presentation as final rankings are decided upon by a meld of the absolute score and the SRC (Scientific Review Committee) qualitative assessment of the abstract and its fit with the rest of the selected oral presentations.

Keep in mind the scoring criteria will be different for educational workshops, so please review the Educational Workshop FAQ as well if you are planning on submitting a workshop as well.

When is the deadline for scientific abstract submissions for #SIO2024?

The deadline for scientific abstract submissions for the SIO 2024 Annual Conference will be April 8^st 2024 (recently extended from April 1st due to the overlapping Easter Weekend, but do not expect further extensions). Please note this is earlier than prior SIO conferences and we likely will not be extending the deadline so please respect the deadline this year! Keep in mind this deadline is >3 weeks later than the deadline for educational workshops (March 15^th) since the latter will require more post-submission production processes. You do not have to be an SIO member to submit an abstract or educational workshop. But you are required to be planning to attend and register for the SIO 2024 Annual Conference in person if you are submitting a scientific abstract.

What is the word limit for scientific abstracts?
This year we expanded it to 500 words (for the abstract total, and does not include text used in figures, tables).

When will I know whether my abstract was selected, and whether it was selected as a poster versus an oral presentation?

We cannot promise a date at this time, but every documented author who wishes to be notified of the result, will be notified via direct e-mail of the decision. We always share selection results with the authors before the end of the early bird deadline for registration discounts. Usually, the decisions are shared within 6 weeks of the deadline. When the decision letter is sent, it will include instructions of early bird registration, and other important things to know to help prepare the author and the group if applicable for the SIO 2024 Annual Conference. Please be aware that all poster and oral presentation selections will be expected to be presented in person at the SIO 2024 Annual Conference. There is no available compensation for registration or lodging, outside of the usual SIO accommodations and discounts for eligible people. If in person presentation is not available, then we will ask the submission to be cancelled if an alternative speaker cannot attend.

Is there an option to present my poster or oral presentation virtually?

No. If no in-person presenter is available, we will ask the poster/oral presentation to be cancelled. Please be mindful of this issue if you are an international member. The SIO 2024 Annual Conference will be a hybrid conference with option to attend virtually, but virtual attendance will not have access to all the scientific abstract breakout sessions, and the only presentations guaranteed to be recorded for virtual attendees, will be the Best of SIO session (top abstracts submitted to #SIO2024). Usually, we have at least one scientific abstract breakout session recorded each time interval, but we estimate only 1 out of 4 breakout sessions will be available for virtual attendees this way. We are aware sometimes things happen with international travel so please talk to us at SIO, if something comes up. But to be clear we cannot promise a virtual solution for people presenting, only those attending.

What if we expect results for our scientific abstract after the submission deadline and before the SIO 2024 Annual Conference?
If you guarantee results will be ready to discuss at the conference, please specify that in your submission as that might make it eligible for oral presentation but only in situations where the author has a track record of reliability as we cannot take on faith all promises will be kept, nor do we know if the results will be significant. If you do not include any results to discuss in your abstract, we will be more likely to assume your trial has no data to report and it is only a clinical trial summary and at best will only be selected as a poster. If you don’t have any clear results available before the conference, then please make it clear your presentation is to highlight and publicize a clinical trial, not to discuss results. ASCO calls these abstracts “Trials in Progress”, so specifying that in the title of your abstract will be very helpful for reviewers. Case reports and literature reviews are not typically selected for oral presentation and usually at best will be selected for posters, but we will accept those types of submissions for #SIO2024.

May I present findings if they have already been published or presented or will be presented elsewhere before the meeting date?
If an author chooses to submit information from an abstract that has previously been presented and/ or published, all data must be updated, current, and rewritten in a manner that does not infringe on copyright laws, and the audience/reviewer should be clear on what exactly that is being presented is new and the reason for another presentation. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to include any copyrighted material in their abstract presentations. All authors will be required to agree to a copyright assignment statement when submitting an abstract. The Scientific Review Committee will give priority to research that has not been presented elsewhere or published prior to #SIO2024.

Do I have to declare potential conflict of interest?
Yes, to comply with continuing education credit guidelines, the presenting author will be required to disclose all relationships with ineligible companies over the previous 24 months. These disclosures must be detailed during the abstract submission process. If the presenting author does not complete this disclosure process, then SIO will not be able to offer continuing education credit for your presentation. Authors of accepted poster presentations are not required to provide this information.

If I am selected for an oral presentation what will the presentation format be?

Your abstract and a few others will be combined into a ‘breakout session’ usually with a theme for that group of abstracts. Each breakout session will feature a moderator and the panel of speakers presenting the selected abstracts. The oral presentation will be limited to 12 minutes, with 3 min for Q&A afterwards or saved in sum for all speakers at the end of the breakout session.

How do I create a strong proposal?

The strongest proposals will be clearly written and as specific as possible, with avoidance of generalities and simple narratives in lieu of scientific data. Competitive edge will be given to scientific abstracts that fit well with the SIO 2024 conference theme “Full circle translational integrative oncology: from bedside to bench and back”. Also please follow standard scientific abstract format with an abstract title, introduction, methods, results, discussion. Variations on this format are allowed but we will not be giving the benefit of the doubt to a submission that is highly disorganized and does not respect any normal standard of scientific abstract writing. Obviously, some abstracts like a meta-analysis or review on a topic or a case report might not fit cleanly into this format and in lieu of the standard format we would just ask the abstract be clearly written and accurately reflect the content of the poster/presentation we can expect. The more specific the better. If the reviewer can’t have a clear idea of what it is you are planning to present, this will generally lead to a poor score.

What if I have a question not covered by this FAQ?

Feel free to reach out to cme@coh.org for any questions related in general about the conference such as registration and conference schedule/details. For any questions related to your scientific abstract submission, the Co-Chairs of the 2024 Scientific Review Committee are John Camariano MD and Sheila Garland PhD would be best to reach and you can be connected to them through info@integrativeonc.org.

 What is the new educational workshop proposal system that SIO will be using for #SIO2024?

For the 21^st International SIO conference hosted by City of Hope in Costa Mesa California on October 25-27^th 2024, we will be introducing a new process for our annual conference educational workshops. In the past we would have simultaneous scientific abstract and educational workshop submissions managed by the Scientific Review Committee (SRC). The best educational workshop proposals would be selected by SRC and invited to present at the conference. Usually, we would not prescribe or change the content of the presentation, and the original author of the proposal would the main driver for the final content for the conference.

This year, based on feedback from prior successful workshops in the past, workshop submissions will no longer be judged by the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) who will continue to judge the scientific abstracts. The educational workshop submissions will be judged by SIO 2024 Education Committee, which will be staffed by similarly qualified individuals with a particular passion for integrative oncology training and education.

In a similar model to how educational workshops are developed for the ASCO annual conference, the best educational workshop submissions will be selected in the first phase of the selection process. Phase two of the process will be creative collaboration between the selected workshop authors and the Education Committee. For example, it is possible multiple excellent workshop submissions addressing the same topic will be selected, and the authors asked to merge the best of their proposals together to make the new workshop better than the sum of its parts. It is possible the Education Committee selects a workshop proposal with conditional adjustments, for example, more interactivity or experiential activity for attendees. But at any point in the process if an author does not wish to modify their submission, they may withdraw their application at any time in the selection process. Our goal is the same as the workshop authors – to make the workshop as useful and impactful as possible.

Also given the extra time involved in producing the workshops, we will end the deadline for submissions e weeks earlier than scientific abstracts i.e. March 15th 2024 instead of April 8^st, 2024. Please respect these deadlines because we do not expect in extending the deadlines this year.

What is the word limit for Educational Workshop submissions?

1000 words

What workshop slots are available for the SIO 2024 21^st International conference?

We have five workshop slots for 75min each that will occur as breakout sessions during the core of the conference schedule October 25-27^th 2024. We also have two preconference workshop slots of 120 minutes each that will be featured on the morning of October 25^th 2024 before the official kick off to the meeting. Attendees will have to pay for the preconference workshops, but will not have to pay extra for the intra-conference workshops. In general, we would advise preparing a proposal geared towards a 75min interactive workshop session.

How do I create a strong proposal?

The strongest proposals will be clearly written and as specific as possible as to what the workshop will be. The content should be current, supported by scientific research, and consistent with best practices in integrative oncology. Competitive edge will be given to workshop topics that fit well with the SIO 2024 conference theme “Full circle translational integrative oncology: from bedside to bench and back” and have a diversity of speakers (for example, speakers not all affiliated with one academic center) and perspectives. Controversial topics are welcome; in fact, they often generate the most engagement. In the description of the program please provide the important details for example, in what way will the workshop be not just didactic but interactive and experiential? Highlight the activities, if any, that participants would be asked to do during the workshop. Specify handouts and other materials that will be provided to attendees. Be clear on who the intended audience is as we will be looking for a diversity of intended audiences as much as possible. Provide details of the facilitators/presenters and their credentials and why they are the best to present this topic. Strong facilitators with a track record of being engaging, and well-reviewed at prior scientific meetings is a big plus.

Proposals will be graded on a 1-5 scale on five criteria. Keep in mind this is not the same scoring system as for scientific abstracts (see separate FAQ for that).

• Scientific support and content – how much of the workshop content is backed up by scientific research?
• Impact on Clinical Practice – will attendees potentially benefit in terms of seeing better clinical outcomes?
• Clarity/Interactivity – proposal provides clear goals, content and level of experiential involvement or interactive discussion with attendees (more the better)
• Diversity/Inclusion – generally we would like to see a diversity of speakers from different cancer centers, qualifications, and perspectives (gender, race, ethnicity and backgrounds)
  
• Relevance to conference theme

Scores will be given for each category on a 1-5 scale but no workshop submission will be excluded entirely just based on a total score. Commercial bias is not a reason for automatic exclusion but must be acknowledged in the proposal and a plan to manage that bias made clear in the proposal if appropriate.

What will be provided if we are selected for a workshop?

As per precedent from our 20 prior annual conferences, reimbursement for travel, registration, and speaker fees is not available for awardees. However, if there are unique needs that might make or break the success of the workshop, please be explicit in the proposal about what those needs may be to make sure we can fulfill them (like certain AV equipment).

What will be required before the workshop presentation October 25-27^th 2024?

The conference will supply the usual essentials i.e., LCD projector for PowerPoint presentations, screen and PC laptop. We will request final PowerPoint slides and presentation usually at least a month before the conference date. Conference registration of presenting authors is required for accepted workshops. If you register before the early bird deadline you can receive a significant discount and announcements of decisions will be made well before the deadline for early bird registration.

The conference will be held at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel in Costa Mesa California. We recommend arriving at least the night before the workshop presentation to avoid minimize impact of travel delays. Cost of hotel accommodations, travel and food not covered with the conference registration is the responsibility of the presenters/authors. Due to the complexity of conference scheduling, we cannot accommodate any request to present on a specific day/time.

We will also request CVs, speaker bios and headshots as we get closer to the conference date in personal e-mails.

What if I have a question not covered by this FAQ?

Feel free to reach out to cme@coh.org for any questions related to SIO 2024 registration or conference details. For questions about your workshop submissions, the Co-Chairs of the 2024 Education Committee are Eugene Ahn MD and Ashwin Mehta MD and they would be the best people to contact if you have questions specifically about the educational workshop submission process and you can be connected to them via the e-mail with info@integrativeonc.org.