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The 'Best of ESGO 2024' article includes a selection of the most highly rated original research presented during the 25th Annual Congress of the European Society of Gynaecologic Oncology (ESGO), held in Barcelona, Spain, March 7-10, 2024. Of 1218 asbtracts submitted, 35 studies presented during the best oral sessions, mini oral sessions, best three minute presentations session, and young investigator session were selected by the ESGO abstract committee and the authors of the European Network of Young Gynae Oncologists (ENYGO). There was a strong focus on the surgical treatment of early stage cervical cancer and the management of advanced or recurrent gynecological cancers using induction therapy, immunotherapy, and maintenance therapy. With this work, ENYGO and ESGO aim to focus the attention of clinicians, scientists, patients, and all stakeholders interested in gynecologic oncology on research advances in the field., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© IGCS and ESGO 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

The 'Best of ESGO 2023' manuscript comprises a compilation of the best original research presented during the European Society of Gynaecologic Oncology annual congress held in Istanbul between September 28 and October 1, 2023. Out of 1030 submitted abstracts, 33 studies presented during the Best Oral Sessions, Mini Oral Sessions, and Young Investigator Session were selected by the ESGO Abstract Committee and the European Network of Young Gynae Oncologists (ENYGO) authors. There was a strong focus on surgical de-escalation, immunotherapy, maintenance therapy, and molecular profiling in gynecologic oncology. With this manuscript, ENYGO and ESGO aim to disseminate the valuable research results to readers interested in our field., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© IGCS and ESGO 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: The primary objective was to reveal the impact of social media ambassadors and the collaboration between the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) and the OncoAlert Network on Twitter during the ESGO 2022 Congress by comparing it with the ESGO 2021 Congress. We also aimed to share our experience on how to organize a social media ambassador program and evaluate the potential benefits for the society and the ambassadors., Methods: We defined the impact as promoting the congress, sharing the knowledge, change in follower count, and change in tweet, retweet, and reply counts. We used the Academic Track Twitter Application Programming Interface to retrieve data from ESGO 2021 and ESGO 2022. We used the keywords of ESGO2021 and ESGO2022 to retrieve data for each of the conferences. The time range in our study captured interactions from before, during, and after conferences. We collected the ambassadors', ESGO's, and the European Network of Young Gynae Oncologists' (ENYGO's) follower data on Twitter from November 2021 to November 2022 for comparative analysis., Results: There was a 7.23-fold increase in the use of the official congress hashtag in 2022 compared with 2021. Compared with #ESGO2021 data, the main interventions of the Social Media Ambassadors and OncoAlert partnership determined 7.79-, 17.36-, 5.50-, 10.58-, and 8.50-fold increases with #ESGO2022 data in the mentions, mentions in retweet, tweet, retweet, and replies, respectively. Similarly, all other most commonly used hashtags in the top 10 list indicated a range from 2.56- to 7.00-fold increase. Compared to the ESGO 2021 congress month, ESGO and the majority (83.3%, n=5) of ambassadors gained more followers during ESGO 2022 congress month., Conclusions: An official social media ambassadors program and collaboration with influential accounts in the field of interest are beneficial for congress-related engagement on a social media platform (Twitter). Individuals participating in the program can also benefit from gaining higher visibility among specific audience., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© IGCS and ESGO 2023. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Best of ESGO 2022 includes a selection of best original research presented during the 23rd European Congress on Gynaecological Oncology between October 27 and 30, 2022 in Berlin. Out of 1107 submitted abstracts, authors of studies which obtained the highest scores in a blinded review process were invited to present their results during four oral sessions, young investigators session, and oral poster sessions. By means of this publication, we aim to provide readers with an overview of the best quality research presented at the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) 2022., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© IGCS and ESGO 2023. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

This is a report from the 22nd Meeting of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology, held October 23-25, 2021. The 3-day event offered an educational experience covering the major scientific and clinical advances in gynecological oncology. The Congress program included different session formats, including guidelines updates and state-of-the-art lectures. This article provides an overview of the main Congress activities as well as of the most important studies that were presented at the event for the first time., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© IGCS and ESGO 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: Both the location of primary disease and treatment side effects may have an impact on sexual function in oncogynecological patients. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence, strategies, difficulties, and ideas for improvement in sexual counseling among specialists managing patients with gynecologic malignancies., Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey study performed among healthcare professionals treating patients with gynecologic malignancies. A self-prepared questionnaire included 61 questions concerning general demographic information and different aspects of sexual counseling in the gynecologic oncology practice. Analysis included attitudes, behaviors, management strategies, difficulties, and ideas for possible systemic improvements. Statistical analysis involved descriptive statistics, two-sided chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test., Results: A total of 150 respondents from 46 countries answered the survey. The majority of survey participants stated that sexual counseling of oncological patients is very important (n=73, 49%) or important (n=46, 31%). One hundred and two (68%) respondents agreed that sexual counseling of gynecologic oncology patients should be routinely provided by the specialist managing the primary disease. However, collecting information concerning sexual function is performed often or always by only 21% of respondents and 19% discuss the topic rarely or never. The most frequently indicated barriers leading to difficulties in sexual counseling include lack of time (74%), lack of specialist knowledge (55%), and patient embarrassment (48%). One hundred and seven (71%) respondents expressed interest in participating in sexual counseling workshops organized by the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO)/European Network of Young Gynaecological Oncologists (ENYGO), 74 (49%) would like to access webinars on the topic, and 120 (80%) would be interested in materials in the ESGO online educational resources., Conclusion: One of the proposed solutions to insufficient access to sexual care for women with gynecologic malignancies is providing access to specialist educational programs for both patients and healthcare specialists., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© IGCS and ESGO 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

Background: The European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) and partners are committed to improving the training for gynecologic oncology fellows. The aim of this survey was to assess the type and level of training in cervical cancer surgery and to investigate whether the Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer (LACC) trial results impacted training in radical surgery for gynecologic oncology fellows., Methods: In June 2020, a 47-question electronic survey was shared with European Network of Young Gynaecologic Oncologists (ENYGO) members. Specialist fellows in obstetrics and gynecology, and gynecologic oncology, from high- and low-volume centers, who started training between January 1, 2017 and January 1, 2020 or started before January 1, 2017 but finished their training at least 6 months after the LACC trial publication (October 2018), were included., Results: 81 of 125 (64.8%) respondents were included. The median time from the start of the fellowship to completion of the survey was 28 months (range 6-48). 56 (69.1%) respondents were still fellows-in-training. 6 of 56 (10.7%) and 14 of 25 (56.0%) respondents who were still in training and completed the fellowship, respectively, performed ≥10 radical hysterectomies during their training. Fellows trained in an ESGO accredited center had a higher chance to perform sentinel lymph node biopsy (60.4% vs 30.3%; p=0.027). There was no difference in the mean number of radical hysterectomies performed by fellows during fellowship before and after the LACC trial publication (8±12.0 vs 7±8.4, respectively; p=0.46). A significant reduction in number of minimally invasive radical hysterectomies was noted when comparing the period before and after the LACC trial (38.5% vs 13.8%, respectively; p<0.001)., Conclusion: Exposure to radical surgery for cervical cancer among gynecologic oncology fellows is low. Centralization of cervical cancer cases to high-volume centers may provide an increase in fellows' exposure to radical procedures. The LACC trial publication was associated with a decrease in minimally invasive radical hysterectomies performed by fellows., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© IGCS and ESGO 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Introduction: The SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic has caused a crisis disrupting health systems worldwide. While efforts are being made to determine the extent of the disruption, the impact on gynecological oncology trainees/training has not been explored. We conducted an international survey of the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on clinical practice, medical education, and mental well-being of surgical gynecological oncology trainees., Methods: In our cross-sectional study, a customized web-based survey was circulated to surgical gynecological oncology trainees from national/international organizations from May to November 2020. Validated questionnaires assessed mental well-being. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Fisher's exact test were used to analyse differences in means and proportions. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the effect of variables on psychological/mental well-being outcomes. Outcomes included clinical practice, medical education, anxiety and depression, distress, and mental well-being., Results: A total of 127 trainees from 34 countries responded. Of these, 52% (66/127) were from countries with national training programs (UK/USA/Netherlands/Canada/Australia) and 48% (61/127) from countries with no national training programs. Altogether, 28% (35/125) had suspected/confirmed COVID-19, 28% (35/125) experienced a fall in household income, 20% (18/90) were self-isolated from households, 45% (57/126) had to re-use personal protective equipment, and 22% (28/126) purchased their own. In total, 32.3% (41/127) of trainees (16.6% (11/66) from countries with a national training program vs 49.1% (30/61) from countries with no national training program, p=0.02) perceived they would require additional time to complete their training fellowship. The additional training time anticipated did not differ between trainees from countries with or without national training programs (p=0.11) or trainees at the beginning or end of their fellowship (p=0.12). Surgical exposure was reduced for 50% of trainees. Departmental teaching continued throughout the pandemic for 69% (87/126) of trainees, although at reduced frequency for 16.1% (14/87), and virtually for 88.5% (77/87). Trainees reporting adequate pastoral support (defined as allocation of a dedicated mentor/access to occupational health support services) had better mental well-being with lower levels of anxiety/depression (p=0.02) and distress (p<0.001). Trainees from countries with a national training program experienced higher levels of distress (p=0.01). Mean (SD) pre-pandemic mental well-being scores were significantly higher than post-pandemic scores (8.3 (1.6) vs 7 (1.8); p<0.01)., Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 has negatively impacted the surgical training, household income, and psychological/mental well-being of surgical gynecological oncology trainees. The overall clinical impact was worse for trainees in countries with no national training program than for those in countries with a national training program, although national training program trainees reported greater distress. COVID-19 sickness increased anxiety/depression. The recovery phase must focus on improving mental well-being and addressing lost training opportunities., Competing Interests: Competing interests: FG declares research funding from the NHS Grampian Endowment Fund, Medtronic and Karl Storz outside this work. RM declares research funding from Barts & the London Charity, Eve Appeal, British Gynaecological Cancer Society outside this work; an honorarium for grant review from Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research and honorarium for advisory board membership from AstraZeneca/MSD. RM is supported by an NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) Fellowship for population testing., (© IGCS and ESGO 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: ESGO (European Society of Gynaecological Oncology) and partners are continually improving the developmental opportunities for gynaecological oncology fellows. The objectives of this survey were to evaluate the progress in the infrastructure of the training systems in Europe over the past decade. We also evaluated training and assessment techniques, the perceived relevance of ENYGO (European Network of Young Gynaecological Oncologists) initiatives, and unmet needs of trainees., Methodology: National representatives of ENYGO from 39 countries were contacted with an electronic survey. A graduation in well/moderately/loosely-structured training systems was performed. Descriptive statistical analysis and frequency tables, as well as two-sided Fisher's exact test, were used., Results: National representatives from 33 countries answered our survey questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 85%. A national fellowship is offered in 22 countries (66.7%). A logbook to document progress during training is mandatory in 24 (72.7%) countries. A logbook of experience is only utilized in a minority of nations (18%) for assessment purposes. In 42.4% of countries, objective assessments are recognized. Trainees in most countries (22 (66.7%)) requested additional training in advanced laparoscopic surgery. 13 (39.4%) countries have a loosely-structured training system, 11 (33.3%) a moderately-structured training system, and 9 (27.3%) a well-structured training system., Conclusion: Since the last publication in 2011, ENYGO was able to implement new activities, workshops, and online education to support training of gynaecological oncology fellows, which were all rated by the respondents as highly useful. This survey also reveals the limitations in establishing more accredited centers, centralized cancer care, and the lack of laparoscopic training., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© IGCS and ESGO 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)