The Fourteenth International Thyroid Congress in Paris: A Late Summer by the Seine

O n August 24, 1927, the International Conference on Goitre was held in Berne, Switzerland. On September 11 of this year, the 14th International Thyroid Congress will be held in Paris, France. Despite the differences in name, the 14th International Thyroid Congress is the successor of the 1927 International Conference on Goitre. The 1927 International Conference on Goitre in 1927 was followed by the Second International Conference on Goitre in 1933, also in Berne. Goiter and Goitre was a part of the names of the third and fourth international meetings in Washington, DC, and London in 1938 and 1960, respectively. In 1965 Goitre gave way to Thyroid for the Fifth International Thyroid Conference in Rome, Italy. Since then Thyroid has persisted in the name of the international meetings, but there has been jockeying between Conference and Congress. After Conferences in Vienna, Austria, and Boston, United States, in 1970 and 1975, respectively, Congress was used for the first time for the Eighth International Thyroid Congress in Sydney, Australia, in February of 1980. The last international thyroid meeting, the 13th International Thyroid Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2005, followed Conferences or Congresses in Sao Pãulo, Brazil, in 1985; The Hague, Netherlands, in 1991; Toronto, Canada, in 1995; and Kyoto, Japan, in 2000 (1).

Notwithstanding the variation in their names and locales, the most important component of these meetings has remained unchanged. They are international, not simply as a component of the name, but most significantly with respect to their spirit. When the first meeting was held in Berne in 1927, most of the current organizing societies for the 14th International Thyroid Congress did not exist. These include the Asia and Oceania Thyroid Association (AOTA), The European Thyroid Association (ETA), and the Latin American Thyroid Society (LATS). The American Thyroid Association (ATA) itself was known by a different name. Nonetheless the international spirit was present. Interestingly, in the case of at least two of these societies, it was an international meeting that catalyzed their formation. As noted by Dr. Gerasimos Krassas, “In 1965 the era culminated in the formation of the ETA. That year, during the international thyroid conference in Rome, the idea, impetus, and spirit of the ETA was born” (2). Similarly, Dr. Junji Konishi wrote regarding AOTA, “The association was founded during the 7th International Thyroid Conference (ITC) held in Boston in 1975” (2).

The 14th International Thyroid Congress is being held September 11–16 at the Palais des Congrès in Paris under the auspices of the National Federation of Comprehensive Cancer Centers and the co-organization of the ETA, AOTA, ATA, and LATS (3). Hosted by Dr. Martin Schlumberger, President of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), Dr. Jacques Orgazzi, Vice President of the LOC, and Dr. Wilmar Wiersinga, Chairman of the Program Organizing Committee, the event will be truly international in scope and participation. Award winners from the four sister societies will speak at plenary lectures, and clinical sessions will include interactive sessions on clinical guidelines and major areas of controversy across national boundaries (3).

Since 1927 the international thyroid meetings have been held in every month of the year except for January, March, April, and December. Nine meetings were held in winter/summer and four in spring/fall, terms that reflect the bi-hemispheric origins of their attendees. For Parisians and other residents of the Northern Hemisphere, this year's 14th International Thyroid Congress occurs not in early fall, as September is sometimes thought of, but in late summer. It should be a glorious time to interact with and learn from colleagues all over the world in a most pleasant venue.