Advanced Programme
Friday 27 September 2019, Leon Auditorium (Hall 3)
14:00 – 15:30 Placing the patient at the center of care
Chairs: Nicolas Philippou, CY and Gilliosa Spurrier, FR
- Integrated oncology and palliative care from time of diagnosis: The PASYKAF Model, Nicolas Philippou, CY
- Putting the patient in the center: Measuring outcomes, Dr Lesley Henson, UK
- Patient center care plan: The best care for every patient, Nathan Cherny, IL
- Educating the oncologists and health professionals on compassionate care: Care with dignity, George Samoutis, Cyprus
- Caregivers perspective: When oncology and palliative care are fully integrated from time of diagnosis, Kathy Oliver, UK
- Conclusions and Q&A, Chairs
16:00 – 17:30 Drugs in combination
Chairs: Ananda Plate, DE and Bettina Ryll, SE
Some cancers cannot be successfully treated with a single therapy but rely on combinations. Testing, evaluating and paying for cancer therapies in combination has become a real challenge and this session aims to provide an overview over the different challenges related to combination therapies in oncology.
- Welcome and introduction to the topic, Bettina Ryll, SE
- When it takes more than one drug to survive: The myeloma experience, Kate Morgan, UK
- How to evaluate drugs in combination- a regulatory perspective, Francesco Pignatti, NL
- Establishing cost-effectiveness in combinations, Carla Deakin, UK
- And who is going to pay for it all? A payor’s perspective, Linda van Saase, NL
- Conclusion, Chairs
Saturday 28 September 2019, Leon Auditorium (Hall 3)
13:00 – 14:30 Common but still rare: What happens when common cancers split into subgroups?
Chairs: Fredrik Johnsson, SE and Simon Ekman, SE
An increased understanding of the underlying genetics has taught us that cancers that look homogenous are effectively made up of distinct genetically defined subgroups that differ in prognosis, response to treatment and required treatment strategy. Being rare in a sea of ‘common’ comes with its own set of problems and this session looked at recent developments in lung cancer, advocacy efforts of a rare subgroup of lung cancer patients, how intelligent clinical trial design can overcome some of these challenges and what non-rare cancer communities can learn from the rare cancer community.
- When common cancers become rare- the lung cancer experience, Simon Ekman, SE
- The Ros1ders: An advocacy experience, Merel Hennink, NL
- How to deal with diversity early on: Personalised early clinical trials, Matthias Scheffler, DE
- What common cancer advocates can learn from the rare cancer community, Iain Galloway, UK
- Panel Discussion & Conclusion, Chairs
18:15 – 19:45 Fertility and pregnancy of cancer patients during and after treatment
Chairs: Jan Geissler, DE and Tanja Spanic, SL
- Setting the scene: The patient perspective, Ananda Plate, DE
- Fertility preservation (what should be done when diagnosed at childbearing age), Matteo Lambertini, IT
- Pregnancy after cancer, Fedro Peccatori, IT
- What are my options after diagnosis?, Tanja Spanic, SL
- Discussion, Chairs
Sunday 29 September 2019, Leon Auditorium (Hall 3)
13:00 – 14:30 Organ-specific immunity and cancer
Chairs: Bettina Ryll, SE & Olivier Michielin, CH
Immunotherapies are changing the way cancer is treated and offer hope for long-term survival, even in cancers with so far unfavourable diagnoses. However, lesions in different organs do not respond to immune therapy equally well: metastasis to the brain and to the liver remain particularly challenging. At the same time, different organs occupy different roles within a body’s immune system, in line with an organ’s function, influencing susceptibility as well as response to pathogens. This session looked into the clinical challenges that brain as well as liver metastasis present, as well as the role of organ-specific immunity in response or failure to treatment with immune therapeutics.
- Immune therapies- introduction to the session, Bettina Ryll, SE
- Metastasis to the brain (clinical perspective I), Olivier Michielin, CH
- The patient perspective on the topic, Erik Näsman, SE
- Host tissue determinants of tumour immunity, Cliona O'Farrelly, IE
- Tissue-specific immune memory- the role of tissue-resident T-cells in cancer, Eric Tartour, FR
- Panel Discussion- promising future strategies, Chairs
18:15 – 19:45 How can we better support cancer patients suffering from fatigue?
Chairs: Charlotte Roffiaen, IT and Guy Bouguet, FR
Fatigue is the most common and distressing side-effect experienced by cancer patients, which usually lasts for years. It is both linked to the disease itself and to the treatments received. While exercise programs and other supportive care have proved to substantially alleviate CRF, patients still receive little support to cope with fatigue, especially after the end of their treatment. How can we collectively raise awareness around the importance of CRF and make sure cancer patients receive adequate care as long as they need it?
- Introduction, Charlotte Roffiaen, IT
- Making fatigue visible: Results of the Lymphoma Coalition 2018 survey, Guy Bouguet, FR
- Measuring cancer related fatigues: The EORTC QLQ-FA12 and other fatigue assessment instruments, Joachim Weis, DE
- Tackling the many factors that contribute to fatigue, Matti Aapro, Genolier, CH
- Is more research needed to support the integration of exercise into the standard health basket for cancer care?, Joachim Wiskemann, DE
- Round table discussion and conclusions, Led by chairs
Monday 30 September 2019, Leon Auditorium (Hall 3)
13:00 – 14:30 The Hans Keulen Memorial Debate: How far would you go in your treatment?
Chair: Kathy Oliver, UK
How far would you go in your cancer treatment? Would you be willing to try an untested therapy if you had exhausted all other possibilities? Would you be willing to spend your life savings and even re-mortgage your house for a chance to access a promising treatment? Would you travel halfway around the world to pursue a treatment that is unavailable in your own country? Would you accept severe side effects and toxicities in a treatment if it was your only hope of survival, knowing that your prognosis was very short and your quality of life might suffer substantially in order for you to stay alive? Would you go so far as to breach the law of the country in which you live by gaining access to illegal drugs for medical use? And would you continue with a treatment your oncologist thinks is futile but cannot rule out that you could be the exception to the rule? These are some of the extreme questions that patients and caregivers might ask themselves as they proceed along their cancer journeys. This year’s Hans Keulen Memorial Debate considered some of these challenging questions, as we discuss “How far would you go in your cancer treatment?”
Discussion with the audience and presentation teams:
- The clinician perspective, Anna Berghoff, AT
- The medical ethics perspective, Jan Helge Solbakk, NO
- The caregiver perspective, Gilliosa Spurrier, FR
- The patient perspective, Ananda Plate, DE
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