Celine Surmont-Francina, Director of Events at UICC, shared on LinkedIn:
“Et voilà!
In the blink of an eye, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) World Cancer Congress 2026 in Hong Kong is already behind us.
Only posting now, which probably says something about how intense the past week has been.
Months and months of work, conversations, ideas, planning and problem-solving, and then suddenly you see it all come to life.
The conversations with our members in the Global Village. The commitment behind hundreds of abstracts. The innovation and expertise shared across sessions, debates and Plenaries. Policymakers, advocates, researchers, oncologists, health professionals and industry leaders bringing different perspectives, but all working towards the same goal: better cancer control.
And Hong Kong was very much part of the experience.
I was particularly pleased that we could bring some of the local culture into the Congress (Lion Dance performance to Traditional Chinese Medicine Pavilion).
What a privilege to have worked so closely with our friends at Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society (HKACS) and with an incredible group of experts on our Program Committee Professor Jeff Dunn AO, Miriam Mutebi, Anne Lee.
Together, we welcomed 2,100+ participants from 124 countries, with 150+ sessions, 500+ speakers, 31 partners and sponsors and 25 exhibitors bringing the Global Village to life.
‘Beyond numbers, what stays with me most is the community.’
I have felt this since my first UICC Congress in Kuala Lumpur in 2018.
‘There is something unique about bringing together people from so many countries, professions and backgrounds who share the same determination to improve cancer control, and who are genuinely willing to learn from one another.’
And none of this happens without a team. Our Congress team is only six people and I could not be more grateful to them Yani Amar, Ronan Carella, John Lawlor, Anaïs Armengaud, Alexandra La Guardia, to all our UICC colleagues Yannick R., Zuzanna Tittenbrun, Charles Andrew Revkin, Nina Caleffi Scaletscky, Eric Grant, Sophie Matte (to name a few), and to our event partners Dorier Group, KIT Group Switzerland, Coralie Delaloye who worked alongside us with such commitment over these past months.
Kudos to Dr. Cary Adams and Philippe Guinot for their leadership, to the UICC Board for their guidance and support Ulrika Årehed Kågström, Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu.
A huge thank you also to our partners, sponsors, speakers, exhibitors, suppliers, volunteers and everyone behind the scenes who helped make it happen.
Leaving Hong Kong incredibly proud of what we achieved together, grateful for the many conversations and connections, and more motivated than ever for what comes next.
First, the World Cancer Leaders Summit in Nairobi in 2027 (Emily Barsito). And then back to Geneva for the World Cancer Congress in 2028 (plenty of ideas for what we want to do differently).
Stay tuned.”
You can also read: Highlights from World Cancer Congress 2026 – Part 2
