Axel Merseburger is Professor of Urology and Chairman of the Department of Urology at University Hospital Schleswig Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Germany. After graduating from Hannover Medical School in 2002, he completed a surgery and urology residency at the Eberhard Karls University, in Tübingen, followed by a research fellowship at the Miller School of Medicine, Miami, USA (2006). He became an Associate Professor in 2009 and a full Professor in 2012 at Hannover Medical School. In 2015 he was promoted to become chairman of the Department of Urology at the University of Lübeck. He is trained in all aspects of open and endoscopic urology and has a particular interest in laparoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery, particularly for the management of prostate, renal and bladder cancer. Professor Merseburger is a member of various uro-oncology organizations and is the Chairman-Elect for the European Scholarship Program (ESUP) of the European Association of Urology (EAU) and was the Chairman of the EAU Guideline Group for Lasers and Technologies. He acts as a reviewer and editorial board member for several urology and oncology-indexed journals. His research encompasses molecular and clinical aspects of uro-oncology, with a specific interest in biomarkers and prognostic factors for prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and transitional cell carcinoma. He has authored and co-authored >300 peer-reviewed articles and he is the principal investigator in multiple phase II and III clinical trials within the field of urologic oncology.

Domenica Lorusso, MD, PhD, is Director of Gynaecological Oncology Unit at Humanitas Hospital San Pio X, Milan, and Full Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Humanitas University, Rozzano, Milan. Prof. Lorusso has been involved in gynecological oncology research for more than 25 years and has conducted or participated in approximately 250 phase I-IV clinical trials in gynecological malignancies. At present she is Principal Investigators of more than 60 studies.

Prof. Lorusso is responsible for the Clinical Trials Committee of the MITO (Multicenter Italian Trials in Ovarian Cancer and Gynaecological Malignancies) Group, which includes more than 150 Italian centers involved in gynecological oncology research. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Gynaecological Cancer Intergroup including 23 international research groups involved in the promotion and conduction of high-quality clinical trials to improve outcomes for women with gynecological cancers. Prof. Lorusso is also an active member of ENGOT (European Network of Gynaecological Oncological Trial groups), an international organization which coordinates and promotes clinical trials within Europe for patients with gynecological cancers where she chairs the Gynecological Cancer Academy. She is a member of the Board of Director of the European Society of Gynecological Oncology (ESGO). She has also co-authored about 300 international oncology publications. She is author of national and international guidelines on treatment of ovarian, cervical and endometrial cancer.

Prof. Lorusso’s key goals are to ensure best treatment to all patients and promote the clinical research, international trial collaborations and educations.

Michael K Gibson, MD, PhD FACP, is Director of Translational Research for Esophago-Gastric Cancer (EGC) at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), where he also holds a faculty position as Associate Professor of Medicine.

After receiving his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr Gibson completed an Osler Medical Residency and medical oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital while concurrently earning a doctorate of philosophy in clinical investigation at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Dr Gibson’s goal is to integrate the multidisciplinary pre-clinical research and clinical trials programs in esophago-gastric cancers at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. He manages the trial portfolio for these diseases to integrate the research programs across disciplines and lines of care.

Dr Gibson is a member of the NCI Esophago-Gastric Task Force and a member of the NCCN Esophageal/Gastric Cancers Panel. He is the study Co-Chair of EA2174 and EA 2183 and the Co-Leader along with Drs. Malcom Brock and Hajime Orita of the Jutendo/Johns Hopkins/Vanderbilt International Esophago-Gastric Collaboration.

The overall goals of Dr Gibson’s research efforts are to bring novel therapeutics to the treatment of esophago-gastric cancers based on rational pre-clinical investigation and in the setting of a focus on patient safety and outcomes.

Dr Ken Kato is a medical oncologist and the Chief of the Department of Head and Neck, Esophageal Medical Oncology, and Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan (2020-2024). Additionally, he serves as the Chief of the Biobank Translational Research Support Section within the Clinical Research Coordinating Section at the Clinical Research Support Office of the same hospital. Dr Kato’s primary focus lies in chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy for esophageal, esophagogastric and gastric cancers. He has been an active contributor to the Japan Esophageal Oncology Group of the JCOG, which is Japan’s leading clinical trial group for cancer.

The group has spearheaded clinical trials aimed at developing new chemotherapy treatments for metastatic diseases and early-stage esophageal cancer in multimodal therapy settings. As a study coordinator, Dr Kato led the JCOG0502 randomized phase III trial, which compared surgery with chemoradiotherapy for clinical stage I esophageal squamous carcinoma, demonstrating the non-inferiority of chemoradiotherapy compared to surgery. Another significant trial, JCOG1109, evaluated neoadjuvant therapy for resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, revealing that triplet chemotherapy improves survival compared to doublet chemotherapy, thereby offering a new perspective on neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer.

In the arena of new drug development, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors, Dr Kato has played a key role as a steering committee member in several international phase III trials for esophageal cancer, such as ATTRACTION-3, KEYNOTE-590, CheckMate-648, RATIONALE-306, among others.

Furthermore, Dr Kato holds the position of vice-chairperson at the Japan Esophageal Society (JES) and serves as a Director of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus (ISDE). His commitment extends to organizing international conferences in Asia and engaging in public relations activities.