INCTR Award Winners, 2004 Paul P. Carbone Award in International Oncology Franco Cavalli, Switzerland Nazli Gad-el-Mawla Award Mahmoud Mafouz, Egypt

Pediatric Oncology and Nursing Training in Central America

A meeting was held in early April at the Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington DC, attended by members of INCTR’s Education Committee, the Outreach Program of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Pediatric Oncology Program of McMaster’s University and the Pediatric Oncology Division of the Lombardi Cancer Center. Discussions focused on the development of a training program for pediatric oncologists and pediatric oncology nurses in four Central American countries—Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica—in conjunction with AHOPCA, a regional pediatric oncology society. The basic details of the program were agreed upon and some funding sources have been identified. It is anticipated that this program will be initiated in 2004.

Retinoblastoma Video

Dr Sidnei Epelman, a Brazilian pediatric oncologist and co-chairman of INCTR’s Retinoblastoma Strategy Group, announced that a short video to increase public awareness of the early signs of retinoblastoma, which has been produced in Brazil, is now available in multiple languages and can be used by INCTR Strategy Group members. Public education efforts about retinoblastoma in Brazil have resulted in early diagnosis in children from distant, low resource regions, who almost certainly would not otherwise have been diagnosed so early in their disease. To obtain a copy of the video, contact INCTR headquarters in Brussels.

Linda Patmore’s visit to Kathmandu is part of INCTR’s effort to bring professional training to developing countries. Patmore (center) shared information about safety issues, administrative structures, family grief and patient flow with key personnel in the facilities that are developing palliative care programs in Nepal.

Palliative Care in Nepal

Progress in developing the palliative care program in Nepal continues. Several Nepalese physicians will be trained in a well-established palliative care program in Calicut, India.

Linda Patmore, a palliative care nurse specialist from King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, shared her expertise during a visit to Nepal in April.

Patmore presented in-depth lectures to personnel from Bhaktapur Cancer Center, Hospice Nepal, Bir General Hospital, Scheer Memorial Hospital and the Katmandu University Medical School. She also met with senior TUTH nurses.

Her main focus was pain control, but she also discussed other areas of symptom management, especially gastrointestinal and respiratory problems. She encouraged evidence-based practice and the use of adult and children’s pain scales.

INCTR Meetings and Outreach

INCTR held its Annual General Meeting, followed by a Governing Council meeting on 15 February. INCTR thanks departing Governing Councilor Heinz Ludwig for his support over the last four years and welcomes Dr Kishor Bhatia to the Council.

A meeting of the Advisory Board of the London office of INCTR took place on 2 April.

Dr Magrath participated in a meeting at the King Hussein Cancer Center to develop a strategy to help pediatric cancer patients in Iraq. The meeting was attended by representatives from many NGOs, NCI's Office of International Affairs, and many pediatric cancer centers in the Middle Eastern region, including Iraq (Baghdad).

INCTR staff also attended the opening ceremony of the new office of INCTR's French Branch, AMCC, located at the Val d'Aurelle Cancer Center in Montpellier. Prof de Thé, President of AMCC, Prof Dubois, Director of Val d'Aurelle, Prof Sancho-Garnier, head of Epidemiology, and Prof Pujol, Director of La Ligue National Contre le Cancer, also participated. INCTR thanks Centre Val d’Aurelle for providing office space for Mme Sabine Perrier-Bonnet.

International Award for INCTR’s President

Dr Ian Magrath was the recipient of a Special Award of the Excellence Committee of the First International Symposium on Childhood and Adolescent Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The award, presented at a meeting in New York on 12 April, was made for International Contributions to Pediatric Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

New INCTR Staff

Lolita Lantican, a highly trained clinical data manager, joined INCTR’s Clinical Trials Office in April. Corinne Claes, who worked in INCTR’s administrative office as a trainee, recently joined the Clinical Trials Office as a permanent staff member.