Health Matters - BBC World Service

Dr Magrath participated in a BBC World Service broadcast of the program "Health Matters"on October 25 which covered cancer prevention, and particularly cervical cancer screening, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and palliative care. In the same program, Dr Suresh Advani, of the Leukemia Study Group of India (see below), pointed out that treatment results have improved from 25% to some 60% long-term survival in the last 30 years. These results have been achieved with a treatment protocol, MCP841, designed for a collaborative program among three major Indian centers and NCI/INCTR.

Meeting of the Brazilian Society of Pediatric Oncology and INCTR's Brazilian Branch

Dr Magrath participated in a meeting of the Brazilian Society of Pediatric Oncology between 30 October to 1 November, in particular in a session on the early detection of retinoblastoma. He also met with Dr Sidnei Epelman concerning the opening of the new INCTR Branch in Brazil and with representatives of the Bank of Brazil, which has supported the development of pediatric oncology centers in Brazil. This program has been very successful and INCTR will undertake discussions with the Bank to explore possibilities of working together in Brazil.

Progress in Leukemia Study Group of India (LSGI)

In late November, at the time of the SIOP Asia Meeting in Delhi, the LSGI, a subcommittee of INCTR's Leukemia Strategy Group, also met. In the course of this meeting a new treatment protocol for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was finalized, and plans were made for implementation in mid-2003. A meeting was also held with the Sir Ratan Tata Trust in Mumbai regarding possible funding of this project along with plans to extend treatment with the existing protocol (MCP841) to other centers in India, which will work closely with the three major centers presently using this protocol (Cancer Institute, Chennai, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and Tata Memorial Hospital). The achievements of our Indian colleagues was mentioned in a recent news article in Lancet Oncology.

Meeting with UICC and ESO Representatives in Antwerp

A meeting took place in Antwerp, on the occasion of a meeting on Women's Cancer in Europe, with several members of the UICC—including Dr Louis Denis, Treasurer, Dr Robert Hudson, Chairman of the UICC Copes program, Dr Arun Kurkure of the Lady Ratan Tata Medical and Research Center in India—and Dr Alberto Costa, Director of the European School of Oncology, to discuss possible areas of collaboration between these organizations. It was agreed that there would be much to be gained by working together, and cervical cancer was singled out as a worthy initial focus of concerted efforts.

Meeting on Development of an INCTR E-Learning Program

A meeting took place with Dr Jean-Claude Kurdziel and Dr Ali Khan on October 25 to discuss the development of an e-learning program for INCTR. Dr Kurdziel has extensive experience in the development of e-learning modules, and is willing to provide his services gratis to INCTR. It was recognized that INCTR must utilize modern educational tools in its programs, and further discussions on how this project can be moved forward and funded are planned.

Collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)

INCTR is undertaking collaboration with IARC in the context of cervical cancer, and in the establishment of a population-based cancer registry in Lahore. A meeting was held with Dr Max Parkin and Dr Sankaranarayanan of IARC on December 4 to discuss these projects. Training in both areas will be carried out by IARC, and INCTR will assist in coordination and data management relating to these projects. Additional projects, including collection of information on resources for cancer treatment and research and pediatric cancer registration were discussed. All expressed interest in expanding IARC/INCTR collaboration in these areas.

Ian Peter Rennert Lecture in Pediatric Oncology

Dr Magrath was invited to give the first Ian Peter Rennert Lecture at Georgetown University, Washington DC, on November 6. His lecture was entitled Lessons from Burkitt's Lymphoma. This provided an opportunity to discuss INCTR's work with several members of the Vincent Lombardi Cancer Center, including the Director, Dr Richard Pestell, and Dr Aziza Shad, a member of INCTR's Governing Council. Possibilities of working more closely with the Lombardi Cancer Center, and in particular, in the context of e-learning in pathology, were discussed. Dr Magrath also took the opportunity to visit NCI and to meet with Drs Harford and Welsch of the Office of International Affairs.

Lymphoma Strategy Group Meeting

A sub-committee of the Lymphoma Strategy Group met on December 6 and 7 to discuss a collaborative treatment program for patients with Burkitt's Lymphoma (BL) in Africa. Investigators representing five institutions in Africa (Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda) participated. The problems encountered by each of the investigators were discussed in detail. A uniform treatment regimen for newly diagnosed BL patients was agreed upon. It was anticipated that a year will be required in order to put into place the necessary infrastructure to conduct a formal clinical study. In this time, data managers will be appointed and common data collection forms will be created. A formal protocol will be developed during this time. A follow-up meeting is planned for May 2003.

Data Manager Training

Ms Bhasha Kolhatkar of the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai received training relating to ethics, good clinical practice and data management practices in INCTR's Clinical Trials Office (CTO) in December. The experience proved extremely useful for both Ms Kolhatkar and the staff of the CTO. The exchange of information that took place during the two-week training period will be invaluable in preparing a formal training course for data managers in India.

Meetings of the Corporate Liaison Committee

INCTR's corporate Liaison Committee met on December 20 to discuss approaches to the development of sponsorships of INCTR's programs and meetings by the corporate world. Recent interest expressed by the presidents of two pharmaceutical companies in projects in Africa and in palliative care were mentioned. Several specific approaches were discussed and have been acted upon.

Autumn Visitors

Dr Norman Coleman, Associate Director of National Cancer Institute's Radiation Research Program and Chief of Radiation Oncology at NCI, visited INCTR to discuss potential collaboration, particularly in the area of telemedicine. Dr Coleman said that he thought the "progress (made) in two years by INCTR is remarkable."

Dr Pierre Scalliet, Professor of Radiation Therapy at the Catholic University of Louvain at St Luc University Hospital in Brussels, visited INCTR to discuss his interests in radiation therapy training in developing countries and the possibility of working with INCTR in this area of endeavor.

Dr Birendra Amatya, a pathologist from Nepal who has been undertaking advanced training in Leuven, will be the only hematopathologist in Nepal, and asked for assistance in establishing a program in Kathmandu. The possibility of INCTR assisting in the establishment of a collaborative program to be established in Nepal, with Dr Naresh, a hematopathologist in Mumbai, was discussed.

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