Standing in the present, looking into the future—the 6th Joint Conference on Surgery and Academic Skills—precise treatment for tumors: medication and surgery

Throughout the ages, the autumn in Beijing has been praised for its beauty by poets and writers. It seems to have a unique, magic power that can attract every passerby. It was in such a wonderful setting that the 6th Joint Conference on Surgery and Academic Skills was successfully convened at the University of Chicago Center in Beijing. The conference was held from September 14–15, and jointly sponsored by the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, AME Publishing Company, Hepatobiliary Surgery and Nutrition (HBSN), the University of Chicago Global Surgery, the University of Chicago Department of Surgery, and the University of Chicago Center in Beijing. This year’s conference mainly included five sessions: precision medicine, genomic therapy, modifying hosts and diseases, new insights into targeting malignancies, and finally, academic and publishing skills. The whole conference was aimed at examining both the science and art of providing precision medicine and surgery to patients with solid tumors. Dozens of experts and scholars from home and abroad attended this fabulous meeting and shared their research progress, along with their unique experience (Figure 1)