Personal
observations of the
Society
for Neuro-Oncology 12th Annual Scientific Meeting
and
Education Day
(
by
Kathy Oliver, International Brain Tumour
TAYSHA
It was on the plane back to the
Reading a short travel description I had downloaded from the
Internet prior to my trip, I saw that the name “
Tackling the challenges of brain tumours, literally head on,
certainly requires an army of allies from within and also without the scientific
community. Brain tumour patient and
caregiver input is vital as well, as part of a successful working alliance to
deal with the challenges of this devastating disease.
So it was very fitting that, in Texas, “land of the
allies”, SNO invited local patients,
caregivers, families, brain tumour support groups and others interested in the
field of brain tumours to attend a Public Summary held on the last night of the
meeting. This was the first time SNO included such a
session in its programme.
Introduced by Dr
Abhijit Guha (Western Hospital, University of Toronto), and attended by
about 50 people, this Public Summary session enabled sharing of the latest
research and innovations in therapy in an informal atmosphere where questions
were welcomed and answers were provided by some of the world’s leading
neuro-oncology specialists.
SNO PUBLIC
SUMMARY
Five clinicians summarised highlights of the previous days’
sessions. (For further details, abstract
numbers referred to below can be accessed here: http://neuro-oncology.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/9/4/467
)
Dr David James
(
His talk started out with a slide of a cartoon bowl of
alphabet soup with all the letters floating in a dish. He said that “basic research looks like an
alphabet soup of various proteins and somewhere in that soup is the answer to
our understanding of the biological behaviour of cells.”
He explained that a main characteristic of cancer is a “loss
of normal growth control” and that a diffuse growth like a glioma brain tumour
is very invasive. He also described
other characteristics of cancer: (1)
complex tumour vasculature with angiogenesis and (2) suppressed immune function.
Dr James then introduced Dr Michael Taylor (Hospital for
Sick Children, Toronto) who reviewed some of the Basic Science paediatric and
adult presentations which included mention of (1) a study of the developmental origins of medulloblastoma (David
Rowitch, University of California, San Francisco, Abstract PB-38), (2) SNP array mapping – ie mapping of
genes that are amplified or deleted and the identification of a group of genes that are mutated in brain tumours (Paul
Northcott, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Abstract PB-09); (3) a study of a new cancer oncogene,
“OTX2” which is amplified in medulloblastoma (Hai Yan, Duke University,
Abstract PB-12); (4) a presentation
on cancer stem cells in a mouse model of medulloblastoma (Tracy-Ann Read, Duke
University Medical Center, North Carolina); (5) a study of supratentorial
PNETs, looking at their genetics and whether they are heterogeneous (Dr Annie
Huang, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Abstract PB-16) and (6) another novel mouse model of
medulloblastoma (Xiaochong Wu, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Abstract PB-22).
Dr Taylor commented that mouse models are becoming much more
sophisticated and that currently there is a large focus on
medulloblastoma. He said he is
encouraged by the fact that new tools are coming along to deal with the study
of brain tumours.
Also mentioned (and present at the SNO Public Summary), was
Dr Rakesh Jalali of
Dr Frederick
Lang of UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, talked about some
of the neurosurgery presentations.
He said that one of the most noticeable changes in
neurosurgery is that there has been a dramatic improvement in the safety of
removing brain tumours surgically. Dr
Lang said that use of image guided surgery is very important.
He mentioned the following studies: (1)
“Endoport Neurosurgery: Fully endoscopic stereotactic guided resection of
intra-axial tumours” (Abstract ST-08) which reviewed the
Dr Lang also mentioned MA-39 – this was a paper from the
NABTC Protocol 03-02 “Tumor tissue delivery of cilengitide after intravenous
administration to patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM): preliminary data
from NABTC Protocol 03-20” which deals with patients receiving intravenous
cilengitide prior to
surgery.
Additionally, Dr Lang mentioned two abstracts that dealt
with issues surrounding surgery: (1)
“Adjuvant radiotherapy after surgical resection of single brain metastases: an
analysis of 358 patients by primary tumor site” (Abstract RT-29) and (2) “Prophylactic peri-operative
anti-epileptic medications in malignant glioma patients” (Abstract MA-38).
Dr Susan Chang
(
Dr Chang – who is President-Elect of SNO - stressed the
importance of non therapeutic trials which looked at epidemiology, Quality Of Life
(QOL), neuro-imaging and patient outcomes.
Neuro-imaging highlights of SNO included a number of studies
using PET, DWI, Perfusion MRI and spectroscopy.
Dr Chang mentioned the importance of looking at the EGFR pathway as a
target. She mentioned bevacizumab
(Avastin) as a promising VEGF pathway treatment. She said that there were currently ten clinical
trials using bevacizumab which were featured at this year’s SNO. She stressed the importance of QOL studies
and said “teamwork is important” between all of a patient’s clinicians.
In response to a question from the audience on the optimal MRI
frequency for GBM, Dr Chang recommended that scans should be done every two
months for the first year and then to review the frequency for the following
period.
Dr Mark Kieran
(Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute,
(1) “The
treatment of young children with malignant gliomas and diffuse intrinsic
pontine gliomas (DIPG); results of an irradiation-avoiding strategy, the “Head
Start” protocols 1991-2006” (Abstract MP-12) from Dr Jonathan Finlay et al
which concluded that “The prognosis of children with malignant gliomas and DIPG
remains poor. Children with DIPG do not
benefit from this irradiation-avoiding intensive chemotherapy strategy. A proportion of young children with malignant
gliomas may benefit provided they can achieve minimal tumor burden, through
either induction chemotherapy, or surgical resection, prior to myeloablative
chemotherapy with AuHPCR.” (2) “Chemoradiotherapy with
temozolomide in the treatment of diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas of
childhood: results of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), ACNS0126 Trial”
(Abstract MP-14) which stated: “Chemoradiotherapy with temozolomide followed by
adjuvant temozolomide does not improve the outcome for children with DIPG and
alternate treatment approaches should be pursued.”; (3) Abstract RT-30 from Jalali et al, already mentioned above. (4) Turner et al on “Long term medical,
psychological and educational issues in pediatric low grade gliomas treated
with surgery only” (Abstract QL-31).
Dr Kieran pointed out that two studies – MP-15 and MP-13 which
both look at high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant in
children with progressive/relapsed/recurrent medulloblastoma (or ST-PNET) – are
similar, but come to opposite conclusions
Dr Kieran also mentioned MP-05 and MP-06 as being noteworthy
studies. Both look at atypical
teratoid/rhabdoid tumours (“AT/RT” tumours).
He said that also of note is MP-09 by Dr Johannes Wolff et al regarding
the very rare choroid plexus brain tumours.
Dr Paul Brown
(Mayo Clinic,
He said that this year at SNO there were 35 radiotherapy
abstracts mostly relating to adult treatment.
He said that significant delay of radiotherapy for GBM leads to poorer
survival. He mentioned that at the Mayo
Clinic they were seeing some 10/15 year survivals for low grade glioma which
has been irradiated. He mentioned using
bevacizumab to treat radiation necrosis and that lithium may protect
neurocognitive abilities. He said that
there had been a few papers on radiosensitisers.
Dr Abhijit
Guha, SNO President (
SNO EDUCATION
DAY
Returning to the start of the conference, the SNO Education Day, held on Thursday, 15 November included an
excellent introduction by Dr Lois Lampson, Associate Professor of
Neurosurgery (Brigham and Women’s Hospital and
Dr Lampson said that there are now different ways to attack
brain tumours using targeted therapies.
She added that immunotherapy is very promising because the immune response
attacks abnormal targets with great specificity. There are two types of immunotherapy: active
immunotherapy and passive immunotherapy and a number of ways of attacking
targets – using an antibody or using a small molecule inhibitor are two
examples. Modes of delivery can vary – for
example, bound to a toxin, injected into the blood or CSF or directly into the
tumour site.
She added that the optimal solution in treating brain
tumours will likely be dependent on tumour type and site. One must also take into account microscopic
tumour vs larger tumour – delivery will need to be different in each case. Suitable small animal models are vital in
researching these different approaches.
Dr Janice M
Reichert (
She said there has been a dramatic boom in the development
of cancer treatments since the early 1990s.
Between 1990 and 2006, the
Further, Dr Reichert said that going through the clinical
phases and
There are more than 400 cancer drugs in Phase I or Phase II
trials. Over 70 small molecule PKIs (protein kinase inhibitors) are in clinical
studies.
Dr Reichert said that new therapies are very much needed.
Also the development process for innovative cancer treatments must be more
efficient.
Tufts CSDD has a website at http://csdd.tufts.edu
which contains a good range of free summaries of the work of the
Dr Nancy U Lin (Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute,
She said that between 100,000 to 170,000 cancer patients per
year develop CNS metastases in the
Patients with cancer are now living longer so good salvage
treatments after radiotherapy are needed.
Brain metastases trials have included patients with all different types
of primary tumours but this approach will need to change because of targeted
therapies. Also, the blood brain barrier plays a very important role.
It is also important to take into account the status of the
patient’s systemic disease when treating metastases.
Dr Lin explained that with breast cancer trastuzumab has
improved median survival in women who are HER2-positive. But recently, there has been a “high observed
incidence of CNS metastases in patients with HER2-positive, advanced breast
cancer treated with trastuzumab, with estimates as high as 29-43%”. Even though systemic disease might be stable,
CNS tumours may still occur.
Monoclonal Antibodies (not “orally bioavailable”, but must
be given intravenously; long half life) have been used as follows:
Against HER2 – trastuzumab and pertuzumab
Against EGFR –cetuximab, panitumumab
Against VEGF – bevacizumab
Against CD20 - rituximab
Small molecule inhibitors (can be taken orally, short half
life):
For HER2 – lapatinib, BIBW2992, HKI-272, CI-1033
For EGFR – gefitinib, erlotinib
For VEGFR – sunitinib, sorafenib, AZD2171, ZD6474,
pazopanib, vandetinib and others
Monoclonal antibodies are bigger (molecular weight is approx
150,000 daltons) than small molecule inhibitors (molecular weight is approx 400
– 900 daltons). There are problems with
penetration of monoclonal antibodies because of their size.
Targeting of the angiogenesis pathway is being examined
too. Previously this approach has been
rejected for patients with brain metastases because of risk of intracranial hemorrhage. But a recent Duke Phase 2 study reported
bevacizumab and irinotecan in recurrent malignant glioma with no cases of
intracranial hemorrhage. So there may be
a role for cautious exploration of this approach.
Dr AG de Boer of
the
The big issue is getting past the blood brain barrier which
takes up 20m2 of surface area.
He discussed small molecules versus large molecules and types of drug
delivery – viral versus non viral and local versus global.
“Why struggle
with cancer vaccines?” was the title of a presentation by Dr A R Choudhury (Karolinska Institute,
Dr Choudhury said that immunotherapy is set to be the fourth
treatment modality along with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. The use of monoclonal antibodies is
increasing.
Passive immunotherapy involves “administration of
therapeutic monoclonal antibodies”.
Active specific immunotherapy (cancer vaccines) are used to
stimulate the patient’s own immune system for an anti-tumour response. But
vaccines are still very experimental at this stage. Already, however, there are good results
which have been achieved with vaccines for prostate cancer, melanoma,
colorectal and non small cell lung cancer.
He added vaccines can be combined with other therapies, they
appear safe and have low toxicity (which can include low grade fever, local
inflammation, myalgia).
Dr Chaudhury explained that quality of life can be good with
vaccines, particularly for older patients.
Vaccines have a protracted effect of stable disease.
But because vaccines don’t result in tumour reduction
(objective response) or sustained reduction in tumour burden, approval by the
FDA has been hindered. But supporters of vaccines for cancer say that on the
plus side, there are “significant increases in survival, delay in disease
progression”, and good QOL with no discernible toxicity.
Dr Chaudhury suggested that it is important to think of new
ways of evaluating vaccine treatment for tumours. Maybe overall survival needs to be looked at
as a measure of efficacy?
Another challenge is that generally patients come into a
vaccine trial as a “last resort” so doctors can’t get a “fresh” patient to work
on. He mentioned that vaccination can improve chemosensitivity for patients who
have failed previous rounds of chemotherapy.
Cancer vaccines work best in patients whose immune system has not been seriously
compromised by previous chemoradiotherapy or advanced disease.
The team approach is very important when administering
vaccines because of the desired multimodal approach involving vaccines,
antiangiogenic therapy, chemotherapy, etc.
Dr I F Pollack (
Relevant molecular targets are now being obtained through
analysing the molecular features of a tumour.
Robust preclinical modelling is required in order to chose the right
therapeutic agents and targets. Further,
he said, a single treatment approach is unlikely to work because of the complex
and varied factors that drive tumour growth.
Dr Pollack added that in order to achieve better responses, we need to
combine strategies. Tumour type,
location, genotype and phenotype must be considered in order to tailor
therapies. This will result in refined
treatment planning.
SNO SCIENTIFIC
PROGRAMME
The first day of the
Scientific Programme at SNO (Friday,
November 16) included a varied programme of pediatric brain tumour
presentations. A number of these have
already been mentioned above (see Public Summary notes) but additional
presentations in this session included, among others, “Dendritic Cell Vaccine
Trials in Pediatric Malignant Gliomas” by Dr
Stefaan van Gool (UZ Gasthuisberg,
A presentation by Dr
Maryam Fouladi (St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis), entitled “New
agents in the treatment of pediatric malignant gliomas” pointed out the need to
identify and validate targets and conduct pre clinical studies, as well as the
need to improve outcome and decrease toxicity.
Dr Fouladi cautioned that one must be careful not to assume that pediatric
patients and adult patients are the same and that there are many different
challenges with paediatric brain tumours.
Further, there is the need to target and identify roles in the disease
process which are biologically relevant.
Pre clinical testing needs to examine efficacy, mechanism of action,
measure of biological activity. Rational
Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials designs are needed.
Currently, bevacizumab, CPT11, cilengitide, valproic acid and enzastaurin
are being looked at in pediatric patients.
Cancer stem cells are also being investigated. Dr Fouladi mentioned the
“vascular niche” – a microenvironment which is like a stem cell respository.
Over 30 abstracts regarding immunology and immunotherapy
appeared in this year’s SNO programme. A
number of these studies focussed on the use of dendritic cell vaccines.
RADIOLOGY/IMAGING
WORKING GROUP
A meeting of the Radiology/Imaging Working Group also took
place on Friday at SNO, covering “Pitfalls in response assessment using imaging”,
“Challenges in antiangiogenic agents” and “Challenges for surgically based
studies”. Some brief notes from two of
these presentations are below.
1. Pitfalls in response assessment using imaging
Dr Martin van den
Bent (
Dr van den Bent said that a clear response criteria is vital
in order to make correct assessments. It
may be time to reinvestigate and re-design the criteria previously used to
evaluate tumour response (Macdonald’s Response Criteria). Further, it is important to be aware that
seizure induced enhancement possibly mimics tumour progression. Also “post surgical artifacts” can do this
too. Clinical signs and symptoms are
very important. A scan might look okay
but the patient is nevertheless exhibiting clinical signs and symptoms that are
problematic. This situation can also work in the reverse – the patient has
“problematic” imaging but is doing well clinically.
2. Challenges in antiangiogenic agents
Dr Patrick Wen
(Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,
Dr Wen spoke of bevacizumab (Avastin) and that much work had
been done on studying this therapy by Dr Virginia Stark-Vance (
SNO NURSES’
MEETING
The meeting was co-facilitated by Mary
Lovely, PhD, RN and Mary Ellen Maher, MSN, APN, CNRN.
The purpose of this meeting was to
encourage more and better networking amongst neuro nurses and allied healthcare
professionals working with brain tumour patients. The meeting was also set up
to provide collaborative support between specialist neuro-oncology nurses and
to assist with the dissemination of information.
The IBTA now has in place a new secure
online nurses and allied healthcare professionals discussion list. It was suggested that this discussion list
could provide an international forum which could help support nurses in this
aim. (Interested health professionals should contact the IBTA Chair to join the
group: chair@theibta.org
)
Other topics discussed at the SNO nurses'
meeting included challenges of palliative care for brain tumour patients and
nurses, quality of life tools, advocacy, cognitive challenges, navigating the
brain tumour journey with patients and dealing with symptom management such as
epilepsy.
Dr Sherry Fox, PhD, RN, CNRN, and Program
Director of the Cullather Brain Tumor Quality of Life Center in
Another suggestion at the meeting was that
it might be a good idea to have a mentorship programme for neuro nurses whereby
they could be paired with others to improve their skills.
There was a discussion on the many stages
of the brain tumour journey and all the professionals required to assist and
help the patient. The point was brought up that the journey was extremely
daunting to patients, caregivers and families because of this factor. It was suggested that what brain tumour
patients, families and caregivers need is an expert “system navigator” who
could tie all the disparate parts of the journey together, including not only
medical care and rehabilitation for example, but aspects of social benefits and
quality of life issues too. There was agreement
that this role could provide very useful additional support during the brain
tumour journey.
It was generally decided it would be a
good idea if some “working parties” could come out of this meeting – for
example, perhaps, one to deal with palliative care issues, one to look at how
system navigators can be incorporated and who they should be, one to look at
symptom management, one to look at QOL, one to look at advocacy, one to look at
cognitive issues, etc.
SNO BUSINESS
MEETING
The SNO Business Meeting took place during lunchtime on
Saturday, November 17.
At the meeting, it was formally announced that Dr Abhijit
Guha is retiring as SNO President and Dr Susan Chang (
Nine hundred “professionals” were in attendance at this
year’s SNO conference in
There are now 923 active members of SNO, an increase of 16%
from 2006.
SNO is now offering two new services: (1) a SNO grant review initiative and (2) a SNO mentoring programme.
The SNO International
Outreach programme was also mentioned.
The main mission of the Outreach programme is to “promote clinical and
research activities in both pediatric and adult neuro-oncology in developing
regions of the world”. Eight
geographical areas have been identified and doctors have volunteered to
represent each of these areas.
A SNO International Outreach fundraising brochure to pay for
these projects has now been launched and was available at the conference. (For further information about the SNO
International Outreach initiative, see below.)
The forthcoming conferences were mentioned:
ISPNO (International Symposium on Paediatric Neuro Oncology)
- from 30 June to 2 July 2008 in
WFNO (World Federation of Neuro Oncology) May 2009 in
(Note: the
IBTA now has an online list of brain tumour relevant scientific conferences and
also brain tumour patient/caregiver events – see http://www.theibta.org/index.php?page=conferences We know that these lists are not yet
exhaustive, and would welcome any additions to them, particularly patient group
conferences. We are pleased to list these conferences with links back to the
organiser’s website. Please let us know
of any relevant events by emailing christse@internet.co.nz
)
PRESENTATION
ON “WORLD WIDE INCIDENCE OF PRIMARY MALIGNANT AND NON MALIGNANT BRAIN TUMORS –
Abstract EP-12
In early 2007, and as part of its overall contribution to
knowledge and advocacy about brain tumours, the International Brain Tumour
Alliance (IBTA) commissioned the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United
States (CBTRUS) to investigate the global incidence (number) and prevalence
(those living with a brain tumour) for malignant and non-malignant primary brain
tumours.
This project was duly undertaken by Mrs Carol Kruchko
(CBTRUS President), and analyses were performed by Ms Jennifer Propp, Ms Kate
Schellinger and Dr Bridget McCarthy. Mrs
Kruchko presented the findings at this year’s SNO.
She said that the project had been quite a daunting task, in
particular with regards to statistics relating to non-malignant brain tumours
and, as it turned out, was “more of a study of methodology”.
Mrs Kruchko announced that, based on GLOBOCAN 2002, the
estimated worldwide incidence of primary malignant brain tumours was 189,582
and that this may climb to 220,568 in 2010.
(The 2010 counts are based on anticipated changes in world population
demographics and do not account for any changes in brain tumour incidence.)
She further announced that the estimated worldwide incidence
of primary non-malignant brain tumours was 157,833.
With regard to the primary non-malignant figures, in
countries with no data it was necessary to look at neighbouring countries or
countries with similar demographics, and
extrapolate their data on primary brain tumours into new statistical models to
provide estimated incidence rates for these countries. Mrs Kruchko talked about the problems in
classification and that some registries might misclassify, for example,
metastatic brain tumours and include these in incidence rates. Cancer Registries are restricted to the
collection of primary tumours.
She summarised incidence of primary malignant brain tumours
at 3.7 per 100,000 for males and 2.6 per 100,000 for females. For non-malignant, the figures are 2.0 per
100,000 for males and 3.1 per 100,000 for females.
Mrs Kruchko made the points that non-malignant BTs can be
just as devastating as malignant ones and that many cancer registries neglected
to amass data on this group of brain tumours.
All these statistics were probably conservative.
In summary Mrs Kruchko stressed the importance of cancer
registries for malignant AND benign brain tumours and also the importance of
international cooperation in collecting these data.
SNO
International Outreach Meeting (Sunday, 18 November)
Dr Jonathan Finlay, Chair of the SNO International Outreach
initiative, began the meeting by stating the goals of the SNO International
Outreach program with regard to developing countries.
These include (1)
educating doctors and allied healthcare workers by sharing educational
materials via the SNO website or with links to other websites; (2) providing DVD sets of SNO 2006 (the
11th Annual Scientific Meeting); and (3) implementing a new online SNO Journal discounted subscription
rate for individuals in developing countries.
The International Outreach programme’s long term goals are (1) the offering of CME activities to
clinicians in developing countries, (2)
offering sponsored educational Fellowships, (3) translating sections of the SNO website into various languages.
The
meeting included discussions on the challenge of communicating in countries
where access to the Internet was limited and the challenge of training people
outside of their developing country and the situations in their homelands which
include shortages of equipment, supplies, technology, etc. The
IBTA suggested that while it’s important to have as a long-term objective the
education of medical professionals and the transfer of skills, there are many
thousands of brain tumour patients who will suffer before the situation
changes. Therefore, there should also be
a focus on campaigning
for
improvements in access to palliative care drugs for brain tumour patients such
as anti-epilepsy medication, morphine for pain and dexamethasone for brain
swelling. (At the previous night’s SNO
banquet, the IBTA addressed these issues in a short speech, the text of which
can be found here: http://www.theibta.org/uploads/file/SNO07Words.pdf
)
FINAL
SCIENTIFIC SESSION – GENERAL SESSION (Sunday, November 18)
1. Late breaking abstract on
“A Phase II, Randomized Non-Comparative Clinical Trial of Bevacizumab
Alone or in Combination with Irinotecan Prolongs 6-month PFS in Recurrent,
Treatment-Refractory Glioblastoma (Cloughesy et al)
Bevacizumab (Avastin) is a VEGF inhibitor and interferes
with the development of blood vessels (an antiangiogenesis therapy). A randomised, multi-centre Phase II trial of
167 patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) showed that Avastin
(on its own or in combination with the chemotherapy irinotecan, CPT11) extended
the survival rate of these patients. All
patients had received prior treatment with temozolomide.
36% of patients treated with Avastin alone had encouraging 6
month progression free survival (PFS).
51 % treated with Avastin and CPT 11 in combination also had encouraging
6 month PFS.
This study is ongoing and final safety and efficacy data will
be available in 2008. It was suggested
that these therapies should be evaluated for newly diagnosed GBM.
Presentations on additional therapies in this
final session included studies on:
Temsirolimus (CCI-779) and Sorafenib for recurrent GBM
(Abstract MA-14)
Cilengitide (EMD 121974) as a single agent therapy for
recurrent GBM (Abstract MA-08)
Cilengitide (EMD 121974) added to standard concomitant
and adjuvant temozolomide and radiotherapy for newly diagnosed GBM (Abstract
MA-10)
Tarceva plus Temodar during and following radiotherapy
for newly diagnosed GBM or gliosarcoma (Abstract MA-50)
Erlotinib versus temozolomide or BCNU in recurrent GBM
(Abstract MA-27)
Cerepro with subsequent ganciclovir for operable high-grade
glioma (Abstract ST-02)
AP12009 for recurrent or refractory high grade glioma
(Abstract MA-22)
Imatinib plus hydroxyurea versus hydroxyurea
monotherapy in progressive GBM (Abstract MA-17)
Cintredekin besudotox (IL13 – Precise Trial) via
convection enhanced delivery (CED) versus Gliadel implants for first recurrent
GBM (Abstract MA-61)
SNO BANQUET
The SNO banquet, held at the
IN CONCLUSION
One can clearly see from the varied presentations at
SNO, the wide sweep of brain tumour therapies which are now being examined and,
in some cases, combined for greater effect.
Dr Guha said: “Brain tumours
are not one single entity and it requires collective expertise to look at ways
to improve prognosis and decrease toxicities.”
One also saw at SNO how now, and in the future, it is
necessary for all branches of specialists who deal with brain tumours –
clinicians, neuro-surgeons, neuro-pathologists, scientists, researchers,
specialist neuro-oncology nurses and allied healthcare professionals working in
this field – to combine resources and know-how in order to improve outcomes for
this devastating disease.
At the SNO conference in Texas - land of the “taysha”, land
of the allies – not only did the collective expertise of the international
scientific community come together during this four day meeting, but for the
first time patients and caregivers were invited to share in this expertise
first hand, hearing on-the-spot about new therapy combinations and approaches
for the way forward.
LINKS TO FURTHER INFORMATION
Abstracts for the
Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology in
Video recording
of the Public Summary Session at SNO: http://virtualtrials.com/video10.cfm
IBTA international
online discussion group for neuro-oncology nurses and allied healthcare
professionals – contact chair@theibta.org
IBTA SNO 2007
speech: http://www.theibta.org/uploads/file/SNO07Words.pdf
Please email any
brain tumour relevant conference details to christse@internet.co.nz
IMPORTANT NOTE: This collection of
layman’s personal observations made during presentations at the 2007 SNO
conference in
Ref: SNO 2007 REPORTFINVER
110108/1530