INCTR Awards 2003

INCTR President Ian Magrath (left) presents the 2003 Nazli Gad-el-Mawla Award to Dr Federico Sackmann-Muriel, of Buenos Aires.

Each year, INCTR gives two awards that are presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to cancer treatment or research in one or more developing countries.

The purpose of these awards is not simply to recognize and honor the recipients, although this is certainly an important element, but also to show, by their example, that much can be accomplished even when resources are limited. It is hoped that their work and philosophy, brought through the award lectures to a broader audience than would otherwise be the case, will inspire others to greater efforts.

Each of the awards is named for a distinguished oncologist. Each began their careers when there was so little knowledge about the causes of cancer, that people could only live in fear that they would one day be a victim, while the diagnosis was usually hidden from those unfortunate enough to develop cancer because so little could be done for them. It is thanks to the resolution and fortitude of Dr Nazli Gad-el-Mawla, Dr Paul P. Carbone, and others like them, who began their work at a time when cancer specialists were often accused of prolonging the misery of cancer victims through their efforts at treatment, that today, at least in the wealthier nations, more than half of those who develop cancer can be cured. Both Dr Nazli and Dr Carbone were responsible for training numerous young people, and so leave us a precious legacy through which their work will be continued.

The Nazli Gad-el-Mawla Award is given for outstanding contributions to cancer control by an individual from a country with limited resources. Nazli Gad-el-Mawla was a pioneer Egyptian oncologist, who, as a member of a small group of oncologists working at the National Cancer Institute in Cairo in the 1960s and 1970s, helped to build the institute into one of the premier cancer centers in the Middle East. She founded the Department of Medical Oncology in 1970 and, as part of it, developed a strong pediatric oncology program. She is known particularly for her work in the chemotherapy of cancer of the bilharzial bladder, which accounts for some 25% of all cancer in Egypt, and in hematological malignancies. She was highly respected both by her colleagues in Egypt and by the international community of oncologists in which she became increasingly active throughout her career.

The Award Lectures have become a much-anticipated feature of the Annual Meeting.

The 2003 Nazli Award was given to Dr Federico Sackmann-Muriel. Dr Sackmann-Muriel gained his medical degree at the Medical School of Buenos Aires University. Shortly after completing his pediatric hematology training with Dr. W.W. Zuelzer in Detroit, he returned to Argentina to join the Hematology Service of “Hospital de Niños” in Buenos Aires. At that time, he realized how important it was to conduct collaborative clinical trials in pediatric malignant diseases. He created in 1967, together with Dr. Santiago Pavlovsky and Dr. Marion Eppinger, the “Grupo Argentino de Tratamiento de Leucemias Agudas” (GATLA) and in 1973 the “Grupo Latinoamericano de Tratamiento de Hemopatias Malignas” (GLATHEM). These early collaborative efforts, initially in Argentina, then involving centers and investigators from several Latin American countries (Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, and Costa Rica), made a critically important contribution to improving the results and realizing the possibility of cure in childhood leukemias and lymphomas in Latin America. Dr. Sackmann-Muriel has received nine national awards and published more than 300 papers in national and international journals.

The Paul P. Carbone Award in International Oncology is given for outstanding contributions to oncology or cancer research in one or more developing countries by an individual from a resource-rich country. Paul P. Carbone was a pioneer American oncologist, who, as the Associate Director for the Clinical Oncology Program at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, played a critical role in the development of cancer chemotherapy. Subsequently, he continued his work as the Director of the Cancer Center at the University of Madison, Wisconsin. From the beginning, he recognized not only the needs of patients in developing countries, but also the contribution that scientific research conducted in such countries could and should make to the global efforts against cancer. Dr Carbone’s family has established the Paul P. Carbone M.D. Foundation for the support of scientific, educational, and charitable endeavors that reflect Dr. Carbone’s practice of the art and science of oncology and his lifelong dedication to teaching and mentoring.

The 2003 Carbone Award was given to Dr Max Parkin. Dr Parkin gained his primary medical qualification at Edinburgh University in 1968, and specialized in social and community medicine. He joined the International Agency for Cancer Treatment and Research (IARC) in 1981, and became Chief of the Unit of Descriptive Epidemiology (UDE) there in 1986. His department has collaborated for many years with members of the International Association of Cancer Registries, whose permanent secretariat is based in the UDE. One of UDE’s primary goals is to provide training, information and advice, as well as logistical and financial support for the establishment of cancer registries in developing countries.

Dr Joe Harford, Director of the Office of International Affairs, National Cancer Institute, delivered opening remarks.

The main emphasis of the descriptive studies has been geographic variations in incidence and mortality, as well as the study of time trends, and changes in the risk of cancer following international migration. The data from the numerous registries reporting to the UDE has provided information on the pattern of cancer throughout the world—the only comprehensive information on incidence outside the high-income countries. It is accessible via either the highly respected volumes, “Cancer Incidence in Five Continents” of which Dr Parkin is the senior editor, on-line, at the IARC’s website, or in CD-ROM format. Among the various data bases maintained by UDE are EUROCIM, The European Cancer Incidence and Mortality Database, and GLOBOCAN, a global cancer data base which permits the creation of graphical displays, maps, and tabulations of cancer incidence and mortality in the countries or regions of choice. It also contains data on population structure, and allows investigators to make predictions of future changes in cancer incidence and mortality using any assumptions they choose.

Based on these data and predicted demographic changes alone (population increases and aging), it has been predicted that the incidence of cancer is likely to increase by at least 50% by 2020, most of the increase being in developing countries, which by then will account for some 70% of all cancer. This is important information which sounds a warning bell to health authorities throughout the world. Data provided by or collected under Dr Parkin’s tutelage provides a foundation for the development of national cancer control programs as well as information from which hypotheses can be generated regarding factors that cause or predispose to cancer—hypotheses that can subsequently be tested in epidemiological studies.

Dr Parkin also edits several books on cancer in specific regions (e.g., Africa) and populations (e.g., children), and his department has a special interest in improving methodology for childhood cancer registration. He has many ongoing projects, including the evaluation of breast cancer screening by physical examination in the Philippines, the evaluation of early detection strategies for cervical cancer in various developing countries, the evaluation of oral cancer screening (in India and Cuba) and the evaluation of gastric cancer screening (in Latin America), and a variety of epidemiological studies in various cancers throughout the world. Dr Parkin has contributed more than 260 articles to the medical literature.