Latest advancements in treatment of cancer discussed at oncology conference in Al Ain

His Excellency, Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, who formally opened the conference highlighted issues related to cancer prevention, early diagnosis and optimal cure including the need to take into consideration issues relevant to quality of life when treatment decisions are being made. The conference is being hosted by Tawam Hospital in affiliation with Johns Hopkins and the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, UAE University.

During the conference, the evidence base for treatment options in patients with advanced malignancy was presented by distinguished international faculty; Prof. R. Arceci, Prof. M. Choti, Prof. E. Van Cutsem and Prof. D. Ettinger. The importance of various combinations of drugs used in the treatment of cancer was discussed, as also was the rule of neo (novel) therapies recently developed to be used alone or in combination to treat advanced cancers. Prof. Arceci dealt with cancer of the blood (Leukaemia), Prof. Choti addressed the use of neoadjuvant therapy for liver tumor prior to surgery, Prof. Cutsem referred to colon cancer and Prof. Ettigner highlighted the role of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.

One whole session dealt with leukaemia and lymphoma, with speakers from Italy, UK and US as well as local speakers from SKMC. Another session highlighted new medical and surgical approaches to deal with gynaecological cancer in particular advanced cervical and ovarian cancer with speakers from Germany and UK. The recent introduction of a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer was also promoted as the best that was found so far to eradicate the disease.

On the third day of the conference, two scientific sessions highlighted new developments in basic sciences which are shedding new light on ways to target cancers with specific agents to fight cancer cells. Psychological aspects of patient care were also highlighted by Dr. Houriya Kazim who conducted a workshop titled "Setting up a Breast Cancer Support Group".

There were also sessions on pain relief and palliative care in patients with advanced cancer, on practices to be followed to treat symptoms in patients with advanced tumours, and on psychological needs in the late stages of the disease and in the terminally ill. Ethical and cultural aspects of care were also discussed to achieve the highest standard of care.

Further, two sessions dealt with drugs and novel antibody therapies as well as the latest surgical techniques to tackle cancer of the Gastrointestinal Tract including stomach, pancreas and large bowel.

A parallel session dealt with recent advances in the treatment of childhood cancer including leukaemia and tumour of the brain and spinal cord. This was followed by a session concerned with medical treatment of lung cancer also exploring the link between smoking and pancreatic cancer. There was also a panel discussion on bone tumour and muscle tumour that was held on the penultimate day.

The highlight of the final day's program will be a session entitled "Cancer in the UAE, the way forward". This is planned as a panel discussion with the participation of major stakeholders in healthcare provision in the UAE such as General Authority for Health Services (GAHS), Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS), Ministry of Health (MoH), Tawam Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine and Dubai Healthcare City.