Jordanian Society of Pediatric Oncology, King Hussein Cancer Center to hold 4th Regional Congress for Cancer and Blood Disorders of Childhood

The congress inauguration and opening ceremony will take place on Wednesday November 7th, 2012 at 6:00pm. The ceremony be under the patronage Her Royal Highness Princess Ghida Talal, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and President Emeritus of the Jordanian Society of Pediatric Oncology (JSPO).

A welcome note by the chair of the congress Dr Rawad Rihani, Chairperson of JSPO and consultant pediatric Hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplantation at King Hussein Cancer Center.

An elite group of experts and speakers in the field of childhood cancers will be participating in the congress; those include consultants, researchers and specialists in their field from UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, India, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Participants in the congress include attendees from different nearby countries: Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, KSA, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia and Kenya, in addition to local participation from both the public and private health sectors in Jordan.

Dr Rawad Rihani has stated that this Regional congress is being held for the fourth time in Jordan; these congresses are organized by the Jordan Society of Pediatric oncology and King Hussein Cancer Center, with the aim of presenting the most recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of the most common childhood cancers and blood disorders of childhood in the region.

The congress also aims to create channels of collaboration and exchange of experiences between scholars participating from different countries all over the world.

Dr. Rihani has stated that this congess encompasses major tracks in pediatric oncology: pediatric hematology oncology days that are being held for the 4th time in which major breakthroughs and updates in pediatric hematology/oncology are highlighted.

Dr. Rihani has also announced that the congress is also dedicating a special day for nursing - for the second time- where it will host top selects of world speakers in childhood cancer nursing from the U.S and Lebanon who will present and discuss pain management, palliative care, and the most important methods of delivering comprehensive medical care to patients and their families. The development research among pediatric nurse, in particular among those caring for cancer patients is also being addressed in this day.

Dr. Faiha Bazzeh, the chairperson of the scientific committee and co-chairperson of the congress also stated that this year, the congress is proud to introduce for the first time, two 2 novel tracks: the first is the Pediatric Oncology Pharmacy Day which will be addressing important topics relating to clinical pharmacy services in pediatric oncology including the emphasis of the role of the clinical pharmacist in optimizing therapeutics in pediatric oncology, dynamic considerations in infants and children and medication safety in pediatric oncology.

It also highlights the clinical pharmacy services in pediatric oncology principles of pharmacoeconomics, access to novel medications in low-income countries and drug adherence in pediatrics and adolescents with cancer.

The second newly intoduced tracks is the Pediatric Surgical Oncology Masterclasses that are held in Jordan as a conjoint effort of JSPO and the European Society of Pediatric Surgery.

This 2 day course provides a general understanding of the biology, pathology the clinical pathways of the various solid tumors, their clinical presentation and the medical and surgical treatment of these tumors in children. In addition, it provides workshops on operative techniques and discussions on practical procedures and how to avoid complications.

Dr. Faiha also added that important research abstracts and papers will be presented over the span of the three day conference. These papers address the latest advances in modern science for diagnosing and treating hematological diseases and cancer in children and their outcome. These papers will be discussed come by participants and attendees in the form of oral and poster presentations.

Dr. Bazzeh has also added that because of the wide and comprehensive variety of the topics presented in the congress, concerned medical attendees extend beyond pediatric oncologists and hematologists to include neurosurgeons, ophthalmologists, pediatric surgeons, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, clinical pharmacists, palliative care specialists, pharmacists,nurses and psychologists taking care of children from both the medical and nursing fields.

Two special symposia will be held: cancers in adolescent and young adults which will highlight the most common malignancies happened in this age group in addition to the difficulties and barriers in treating them; the second symposium will be the pediatric pain and palliative symposium, a unique lecture about establishing a palliative care program in the developing countries will be presented by Dr. Baker.

Dr. Bazzeh pointed out that this congress is the first of its kind in Jordan, and has been recognized by the Jordanian Medical Council for the purpose of continued medical education (CME 12 hours).

Dr. Bazzeh also mentioned that there will be scientific awards to be distributed at the end of the congress for the best oral and poster presentations for the oncology days in addition to best poster awards for both the pharmacy and the nursing days.

Dr. Rihani mentioned the reality of cancer affecting children, and clarified that pediatric cancer constitutes 10% of all cancers diagnosed in Jordan. Almost 300 children under the age of 18 years are newly diagnosed each year. Acute Leukemia constitutes 30% of the total cases, followed by brain tumors 19%, and lymphomas 12%. The cure rate for all pediatric cancers exceeds 75% due to the tremendous advances in the treatment of cancer in children over the past few decades.

One of the most significant advances is the multidisciplinary approach to treatment with complementary medical teams which include (specialist consultants, nurses, psychologists, pharmacists and nutritionists...). These teams attend to all aspects of patient care and provide comprehensive medical care.