VIII World Congress on Endometriosis

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Roberta Speyer: "This is Roberta Speyer, and I'm reporting from ASRM. I have the pleasure of having Professor Rock who is the Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Emory University and who also has some interesting news for us about the 8th World Congress on Endometriosis that he's also handling out in San Diego. Tell us a little bit about the Congress."

Professor John Rock:: "We're very excited about the 8th World Congress on Endometriosis which will be in San Diego February 24th-27th. This is an exciting time for us, it's an international conference, and investigators and experts in the field of endometriosis throughout the world will attend this meeting in San Diego and discuss the challenges we have in diagnosis and managements of the disease. A lot of current research will be reviewed; there's a lot of new information on new hormonal therapies for the treatment of the disease."

Roberta Speyer: "Is there new information because you know a lot of times you hear people say things are getting a little flat in endometriosis, there's nothing new really going on. Are we going to get some new information and new research?"

Professor John Rock: "Exciting material is coming down the line. There's a lot of new interest in antagonists, estrogen modulators, and also antiangiogenesis therapy so there's a lot of new methods of treating of the disease that will be discussed and potential new treatments for the disease."

Roberta Speyer: "So this has a great impact not just for physicians that deal with having to see, diagnose, and treat this very complex disease but also for the women who suffer from this. There's going to be a lot of exchange of information that's going to help for actual patient care?"

Professor John Rock: "Yes, and you know we've always been very happy to have the consumer side of our specialty present. We will have patients there who represent consumer groups that will be involved."

Roberta Speyer: "Like the Endometriosis Society."

Professor John Rock: "Yes, and others."

Roberta Speyer: "And of course, we'll be there for OBGYN.net because we have a large patient population that utilizes our site and our discussion forums and access to the physicians. It promises to be a very interesting meeting. What would you say is going to be some of the highlights? Who are some of the presenters and names worldwide that you might want to share with us?"

Professor John Rock: "Of course, Jacques Donnez, Ivo Brosens, and a few very prominent people. Bob Schenken, of course, is our Program Director and he selected from the international community the very best investigators and experts in the field of endometriosis. This will be a very exciting meeting. We only have these meetings every three years now so this really is an opportunity for us to come together and review the state of the art."

Roberta Speyer: "This is probably a great opportunity for those of you watching that are in the United States because the meeting won't be back in the United States for a while. Where will the next one after this be?"

Professor John Rock:  "It will be in the Netherlands in three years."

Roberta Speyer: "They better take the opportunity to come while they can. Of course, adjacent on the page where you're watching this there'll be information on how you can register to attend this meeting. I've been to these meetings in the past and they are very stimulating, very well run, with a lot of good clinical information, and also San Diego is such a beautiful venue. I'm sure you have some nice programs for those who want to bring along their spouses or take in the beautiful opportunity to be in San Diego in February, it's probably a good place to be."

Professor John Rock: "Absolutely, and we're very, very grateful and appreciative of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine for actually being the host for this meeting in the United States. It's really a pleasure to work with them. We're looking forward to a really exciting meeting and a very stimulating venue, and San Diego in February is really quite nice."

Roberta Speyer: "For those of you who are watching whether you are patients who suffer from this disease or certainly physicians but especially for the patients, Professor Rock has really been one of the innovators, pioneers, and researchers in helping women with this disease. He has always contributed to OBGYN.net and we have many good presentations, which we'll link to from this interview. We want to thank you for all you've done for the people who suffer from this disease and for the physicians who have to help them and deal with it."

Professor John Rock: "It's a pleasure to be here, thank you."

Roberta Speyer: "Thank you."