ESMO 2017: Stimulating Debates on Cancer Policy

ESMO-ASCO: Evidence from Single-arm Trials

Chairs: F. Ciardiello (Napoli, Italy) B. Johnson (Boston, United States of America)
Session Type: Joint Symposium
Details: Friday, 16:00 - 17:30, Valencia Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Although randomised clinical trials (RCTs) remain the gold standard for evaluating the benefit/risk of cancer drugs, single-arm trials (SATs) can provide invaluable opportunities to speed up cancer drug development and approval, in particular for drugs with dramatic activity and strong biological rationale in small populations with high unmet need.
• This session will look at how single-arm trials can address unmet medical needs.

Debate: Working with Industry: Inherent Conflicts of Interest?

Chairs: J. Geissler (Germany)
Session Type: Patient Advocacy Track
Details: Friday, 17:30 - 19:00, Palma Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Collaboration between stakeholders is essential to achieve therapeutic progress. The relationship that clinicians and patients have with the industry requires strict practices that protect all stakeholders’ credibility and independence without overburdening the community with rules that hinder effective, goal-oriented collaboration.
• This session will discuss the opportunities and challenges around the collaboration of patients and clinicians with the industry, including roles, and management of potential conflicts of interest.

Medical Oncology as a Contributor to Global Policy: How to Improve National Cancer Plans

Chairs: A. Eniu (Cluj-Napoca, Romania)
Session Type: Special Session
Details: Friday, 10:00 - 11:30, Palma Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Organised in collaboration with the US National Cancer Institute to provide a platform for presentation of different national cancer plans implemented across the world. The goal is to lead to improved cancer plans underpinned by best-practice cancer research and optimal, evidence-based cancer treatment and supportive care.
• The session will demonstrate the usefulness and successes in National Cancer Control Plan development when oncologists are part of the multi-sectorial team.

Primary And Secondary Prevention Of Cancer: Where Do We Stand?

Chairs: A. Costa (Bellinzona, Switzerland), J. Douillard (Lugano - Viganello, Switzerland)
Session Type: Special Session
Details: Friday, 14:00 - 15:30, Cartagena Auditorium

Why attend this session

• The purpose of this session is to provide a review of the concepts applied to primary and secondary prevention of human cancer. Improved understanding of these concepts is essential for planning, implementation, and evaluation of prevention programs. 

ESMO-WHO: A WHO-ESMO Study on Health Workforce Requirements, Using the Example of Breast Workforce Optimisation Cancer 

Chairs: A. Eniu (Cluj-Napoca, Romania), J. Campbell (Geneva, Switzerland)
Session Type: Joint Symposium
Details: Friday, 14:00 - 15:30, Alicante Auditorium

Why attend this session

• The cancer care team includes those with specialised training in oncology, such as oncologists and oncology nurses, other specialists and primary care clinicians, as well as family caregivers and direct care workers. High-quality cancer care depends on the workforce providing competent, trusted inter-professional care that is aligned with the patients' needs, values, and preferences. To achieve this standard, the workforce must include adequate numbers of health care clinicians with training in oncology.
• The session will describe the World Health Organisations approach for workforce optimisation and present various strategies to address the challenge of assuring an optimal oncology workforce.

Health Services Research in Cancer

Chairs: K. Apostolidis (Greece)
Session Type: Patient Advocacy Track
Details: Friday, 16:15 - 17:15, Palma Auditorium

Why attend this session

• As an applied field of research, health services research is undertaken primarily to inform health care policy. However, the relationship between policy and HSR is not straightforward. Many policies are developed without taking account of available evidence.
• This session will provide an overview of the infrastructure and capacity of health services research in Europe, and to explore the links between research and policy in European countries.

ESMO-ESOP: The Growing Need for Collaboration Between Clinicians and Oncology Pharmacists

Chairs: S. Rauh (Esch sur Alzette, Luxembourg)K. Meier (Hamburg, Germany)
Session Type: Joint Symposium
Details: Friday, 14:00 - 15:30, Bilbao Auditorium

Why attend this session

• At a time in which treatment regimens seem subject to near-constant revision and in an era in which error prevention in medicine is a top priority, strong collaboration between oncologists and clinical pharmacists is needed.
• This session will look at what are the challenges and opportunities for collaboration between clinicians and oncology pharmacists.

ESMO-EONS: Promoting Patient Safety at Clinical and Organisational Levels

Chairs: G. Pentheroudakis (Ioannina, Greece), D. Kelly (Cardiff, United Kingdom)
Session Type: Joint Symposium
Details: Friday, 16:00 - 17:30, Bilbao Auditorium

Why attend this session

• A whole new science has grown up around patient safety to try to explain the many circumstances, situations and occurrences that can put patients at risk. It may not be a single issue that causes the problem, but a combination of factors. This session will investigate the risks and solutions involved, which are essential for safeguarding patient`s safety.

Is Trastuzumab Single Agent Obsolete in Early Breast Cancer

Chairs: --
Session Type: Controversy session
Details: Saturday, 08:00 - 09:00, Granada Auditorium

Why attend this session

• In the typical controversy format, this session will highlight the recent advances in targeted therapy for breast cancer with a focus on individualized therapy, while discussing the health economics related to them, issues impacting access to new drugs and drug availability in different countries

Public Health Policy and Health Economics

Chairs: J. Martin-Moreno (Valencia, Spain)
Session Type: Poster Discussion session
Details: Saturday, 16:30 - 17:45, Tarragona Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Platform to discuss about cost-effective measures that improve health outcomes.

The Incoming Wave of Biosimilars in Oncology

Chairs: J. Tabernero (Barcelona, Spain)E. Wolff-Holz (Langen, Germany)
Session Type: Special Session
Details: Saturday, 14:45 - 16:15, Granada Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Biosimilars present a necessary and timely opportunity for physicians, patients and healthcare systems. If suitably developed clinically, manufactured to the correct standards and used appropriately, they can positively impact on the financial sustainability of healthcare systems. ESMO seeks to ensure that all healthcare professionals involved in the development, administration, monitoring, dispensing of a biosimilar, and those who will be at the receiving end understand all the nuances of this complex yet necessary medicinal product.
• This session will discuss issues surrounding the topic of biosimilars in oncology with all stakeholders involved.

Access to Novel Targeted Therapies and Clinical Trials in Europe

Chairs: J. Tabernero (Barcelona, Spain)T. Cufer (Golnik, Slovenia)
Session Type: Special Session
Details: Saturday, 09:15 - 10:45, Tarragona Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Genomic profiling of DNA and RNA has provided valuable new insights into the genetic basis of cancers. Translating this knowledge into meaningful results for patients requires improved patient access to clinical trials for these diseases.
• This session will discuss about the challenges and opportunities for patient access to novel targeted therapies and clinical trials in Europe.

Women for Oncology

Chairs: S. Peters (Lausanne, Switzerland), F. A. Shepherd (Toronto, Canada)
Session Type: Special Session
Details: Saturday, 11:00 - 12:30, Alicante Auditorium

Why attend this session

• ESMO addresses the under-representation of female oncologists in leadership positions and strives to support female oncologists looking to achieve leadership positions.
• The aim of this session will be to highlight and acknowledge women leaders and models of excellence in oncology; to discuss topics such as gender disparities and opportunities in the medical field, and how ESMO is driving changes; to recognise significant contributions supporting the career development of women in oncology. 

Bio-Ethical Controversies and what They Mean to Research and European Inequalities

Chairs: A. Plate (Belgium)
Session Type: Patient Advocacy Track
Details: Saturday, 18:00 - 19:30, Palma Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Clinical ethics services are a core component of the delivery of high quality health care. Different groups of stakeholders advocate for fair research participation, while being attentive to mitigating any risks associated for example with informed consent and potential conflicts of interest. This session will discuss the perspectives of different stakeholders on the role and impact of bio-ethics.

ESMO-IPOS: Working Together to Prevent Professional Burnout and Improve Patient Care

Chairs: S. Banerjee (London, United Kingdom) L. Travado (Lisbon, Portugal)
Session Type: Joint Symposium
Details: Saturday, 11:00 - 12:30, Bilbao Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Studies on physician burnout show a significant presence of the syndrome among professionals, particularly in the oncology field. Raising awareness, support and interventional research are needed. This session will highlight the reasons for burnout, how to address the need for oncologists to achieve a good work/life balance and how to access support services to reduce burnout levels.

Rare Cancers: More Common than You Think, More Difficult to Serve 

Chairs: K. Oliver (London, United Kingdom), J. Blay (Lyon, France)
Session Type: Patient Advocacy Track 
Details: Sunday, 18:00 - 19:30, Palma Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Rare cancers are a challenge to clinical practice. Treatment experience – even in major cancer centers to which rare cancers are usually referred – is often limited, and new treatment are difficult to assess because too few patients are proposed for adequately powered clinical trials to determine the gold standard design of new regimens for establishing treatment efficacy. However, substantial advances in the treatment of some rare cancers have occurred as a result of national and international collaborative efforts, and a window of opportunity is provided by the development of the European Reference Networks (ERNs).
• This session will discuss about how the specificities of rare cancers can be tackled to better serve patients.

Supportive and Palliative Care Improve Patient Outcomes and Decrease Treatment Costs

Chairs: --
Session Type: Controversy session
Details: Sunday, 09:15 - 10:15, Granada Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Rare cancers are a challenge to clinical practice. Treatment experience – even in major cancer centers to which rare cancers are usually referred – is often limited, and new treatment are difficult to assess because too few patients are proposed for adequately powered clinical trials to determine the gold standard design of new regimens for establishing treatment efficacy. However, substantial advances in the treatment of some rare cancers have occurred as a result of national and international collaborative efforts, and a window of opportunity is provided by the development of the European Reference Networks (ERNs).
• This session will discuss about how the specificities of rare cancers can be tackled to better serve patients.

Cost, Value and Assessment Tools of Therapies in Modern Oncology

Chairs: E. de Vries (Groningen, Netherlands) N. Cherny (Jerusalem, Israel)
Session Type: Special Session
Details: Sunday, 16:30 - 18:00, Alicante Auditorium

Why attend this session

• In an era of increasing costs of health technologies, ESMO has developed the Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (ESMO-MCBS) to assist clinicians and decision-makers in assessing in a clear, systematic and unbiased manner the magnitude of clinical benefit of different anti-cancer therapies.
• During this session, the latest version of ESMO-MCBS will be presented and the discussions will focus on its impact across the board.

The “Macro-Economics” of Cancer

Chairs: A. Eniu (Cluj-Napoca, Romania) Y. Lievens (Gent, Belgium)
Session Type: Special Session
Details: Sunday, 09:30 - 10:30, Cartagena Auditorium

Why attend this session

• The macroeconomic cost of cancer is increasing for two reasons: the growth in the number of individuals affected and the rise in the unit cost of treatment.
• This session will discuss ways of conciliating scientific innovation and equity.

Coping with Escalating Healthcare Costs in 2017 and Beyond

Chairs: P. G. Casali (Milan, Italy)
Session Type: Keynote Lecture
Details: Sunday, 08:15 - 09:00, Barcelona Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Healthcare costs are increasing worldwide at a pace that is incompatible with the trend of gross domestic products (GDPs), threatening the sustainability of healthcare systems. Recent healthcare policies have focused on slowing the growth in healthcare spending by identifying the most cost-effective measures to be implemented.
• During this session, stakeholders will discuss about what can be done to address the escalating healthcare costs on the short and long term.

How to Conciliate the Fast Moving Genetic Landscape With Everyday Practice and Resources

Chairs: S. Rauh (Esch sur Alzette, Luxembourg), G. Lakatos (Budapest, Hungary)
Session Type: Special Session
Details: Sunday, 11:00 - 12:30, Bilbao Auditorium

Why attend this session

• The session will open discussions on what actions and mechanisms are needed to set up the infrastructure for incorporating genetic discoveries into everyday practice.

What Is A Good Outcome?

Chairs: --
Session Type: Patient Advocacy Track
Details: Sunday, 12:30 - 14:30, Palma Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Research generates evidence that helps clinicians, policy makers and patients to make better decisions about healthcare. Capturing the patient’s perspective is central to this research because it provides a complete picture of treatment impact.
• This session will look at how to routinely collect data on what defines a good outcome from the patient`s perspective in order to conduct clinical research that is aligned with the patient`s view.

The Hans Keulen Memorial Debate: Lost in Rehabilitation

Chairs: K. Oliver (Tadworth, United Kingdom), F. Meunier (Brussels, Belgium)
Session Type: Patient Advocacy Track
Details: Monday, 13:00 - 14:30, Cartagena Auditorium

Why attend this session

• This extended lunchtime session will provide the opportunity for lively debate among all stakeholders on the issues surrounding cancer rehabilitation, its availability and its effects on quality of life.  What are the main research priorities in this field? How can we achieve truly interdisciplinary rehabilitation of cancer patients? Up to what point in the cancer journey should patients be offered rehabilitation? What can be done to raise awareness of this important treatment modality? Why should rehabilitation be part of the standard of care for every cancer patient?

Public Health Policy snd Health Economics

Chairs: --
Session Type: Proffered Paper session
Details: Monday, 16:30 - 18:00, Alicante Auditorium

Why attend this session

• This session will look at successful cases of value assessment of cancer therapies and also at how the ESMO-MCBS is performing.

Access to Innovative Drugs in the EU

Chairs: M. J. IJzerman (Enschede, Netherlands), R. Giuliani (Roma, Italy)
Session Type: Special Symposium
Details: Monday, 11:00 - 12:30, Tarragona Auditorium

Why attend this session

• In the EU, the centralized procedure of the European Medicine Agency (EMA) is mandatory for marketing authorization for anticancer drugs. A centralized procedure will result in one marketing authorization granted by the European Commission for all member states. However, due to differences in the pricing and reimbursement processes across the EU patient access to innovative medicines differs significantly from one country to the other.
• This session will offer patients, clinicians and other stakeholder the opportunity to discuss about challenges and opportunities for better patient access to innovative treatment in the EU.

The New EU Clinical Trials and Data Protection Regulations

Chairs: C. Dittrich (Vienna, Austria)
Session Type: Challenge Your Expert (CYE) session
Details: Monday, 08:00 - 09:00, Salamanca Auditorium

Why attend this session

• During this session, stakeholders will discuss about how these two new pieces of EU legislation can support and improve the quality of healthcare and can also foster innovation within the EU while safeguarding patients’ confidentiality. 

ESMO-MASCC: Emerging Issues in Cancer Supportive Care and Survivorship

Chairs: N. Cherny (Jerusalem, Israel), I. Olver (Adelaide, Australia)
Session Type: Joint Symposium
Details: Monday, 11:00 - 12:30, Valencia Auditorium

Why attend this session

• In this session, stakeholders will discuss about how supportive care can improve the quality of life of cancer survivors at the various stages of the disease.

The “Micro-Economics” of Cancer: How the Medical Oncologist Should Micro-Manage Limited Resources

Chairs: F. De Lorenzo (Roma, Italy)P. G. Casali (Milan, Italy)
Session Type: Educational session
Details: Monday, 14:45 - 16:15, Alicante Auditorium

Why attend this session

• Applying golden standards for cancer treatments can be challenging especially in lower-income areas where limitations such as financial and logistical shortages and lack of skilled health-care professionals are encountered.
• This session will focus on discussing about best ways of allocating limited resources.