Highlights from the 13th African continental meeting of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), 6–9 March 2019, Cairo, Egypt
Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ecancermedicalscience
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The 13th African continental meeting of the international society of paediatric oncology,
held on 6–9 March 2019 in Cairo, was organised in collaboration with the Children
Cancer Hospital (57357) in Egypt and the global parents’ organisation (Childhood Cancer
International) and supported by a large international faculty. With 629 delegates from
37 countries (24 African), this was the largest forum of healthcare professionals focused
on children and young people with cancer in Africa to showcase advances and discuss
further improvements. Three targeted workshops, on nursing care, pharmacy and nutrition,
attracted large numbers and catalysed new collaborative initiatives in supportive
care studies, extended roles for pharmacists in quality control and care delivery and
addressed malnutrition concurrently with cancer treatment. The Collaborative Wilms
Tumour Africa Project, open in seven sub-Saharan countries, and the trials in Burkitt’s
lymphoma reported encouraging outcomes with further initiatives in supportive care (the
supportive care for children with cancer in Africa project). While acknowledging deficits in
radiotherapy provision, available in only 23 of 52 African countries, centres with facilities
reported their technical advances that benefit patients. Of great importance for children
with brain tumours, who are underdiagnosed in Africa, was the first announcement of African paediatric neuro-oncology society, whose 63 current members aim to tackle the shortage of neurosurgeons through training
fellowships, workshops and a dedicated conference. The congress provided the opportunity to discuss how African countries will work with
the WHO global initiative aiming to improve childhood cancer survival to 60% in all countries by 2030. This conference report is dedicated
to the three Kenyan delegates who died tragically on the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 on their way home, full of new ideas and pride in
what they had achieved so far. All those who heard their presentations are determined to continue their excellent work to improve cancer
care for children in Africa.
Description
CITATION: Khalek, E. R., et al. 2019. Highlights from the 13th African Continental Meeting of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), 6–9 March 2019, Cairo, Egypt. Ecancermedicalscience, 13:932, doi:10.3332/ecancer.2019.932.
The original publication is available at https://ecancer.org/en/journal/
The original publication is available at https://ecancer.org/en/journal/
Keywords
Paediatric oncology, Childhood cancer, Clinical pharmacology, Nervous system -- Surgery -- Children, Cancer -- Nursing -- Children
Citation
Khalek, E. R., et al. 2019. Highlights from the 13th African Continental Meeting of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), 6–9 March 2019, Cairo, Egypt. Ecancermedicalscience, 13:932, doi:10.3332/ecancer.2019.932