INCTR'S Annual Meeting


INCTR's Annual Meeting has become an important event which serves to bring together INCTR Associate Members from many different countries to strengthen international collaboration in all aspects of cancer treatment and research, to report progress that has been made in INCTR projects in the last year and to identify focal points for discussion that may lead to the development of new projects. While it is essential that key figures in cancer treatment and research are involved in these discussions, it is essential, in the interests of ensuring long term viability of programs, that young health professionals participate. Professional education - including continuing education - underlies much of the meeting content, and although primacy is given to an exchange of views among health professionals from a variety of backgrounds, didactic elements are included in order to provide a foundation on which discussion can be based.


It must be recognized that cancer control, although founded on the same basic principles throughout the world, must contend with even greater obstacles in developing countries than those present in more affluent nations - obstacles that ultimately arise from the economic difficulties faced by the populations susceptible to cancer, and the paucity of resources available to study predisposing factors, and to determine the best approaches, in the local settings, to prevention, early detection and treatment. For these reasons, essential research relevant to cancer control in developing countries must, in part or in whole, be conducted in those countries themselves, where the pattern of cancer may be regionally unique, where the lifestyles, nutritional status and co-morbidities of potential and actual victims of cancer differ so profoundly, and where the availability or access to treatment may be poor or even absent. It will be essential to improve and supplement available resources - human and institutional - for the control of cancer and also to involve the entire family and local community in the process -particularly since success, to a large degree, is dependent upon the avoidance of cancer, or its detection at the earliest possible stage of its evolution - before it has become a true "invasive” cancer. Diagnosing cancer earlier is a critical factor in reducing mortality rates and this will require knowledge of the symptoms and signs of cancer (among health professionals and the population at large), and in those cases where it is known to be beneficial, screening of asymptomatic populations. Demonstrating success is essential to generating a lower threshold for diagnosing cancer, and a political will to grapple with the problem.

	Meeting Evaluation
	QUESTIONS	VERY GOOD	EXCELLENT
	Understanding of the epidemiology and management of selected cancers in developing countries: head and neck, bladder, retinoblastoma, osteosarcoma, cervical cancer.	33%	27%
	Overall rating for the quality of the education offered at this Annual Meeting?	32%	37%
	Was the information useful and relevant to your work and practice techniques?	30%	49%
	Did you feel that the presented information was well balanced and supported with adequate evidence?	23%	53%
	Did the program allow adequate time for discussion and questions?	32%	38%
	How would you rate session 3A and B "Proffered Papers”?	25%	40%
	Should the Annual Meeting include a poster session?	-	93%
	How would you rate the management of this meeting?	23%	72%
	How would rate the pre-conference registration service?	22%	74%

INCTR's annual meeting is unique in having, as its entire focus, the problems encountered in developing countries, and in bringing together experts both from within those countries and from affluent nations to discuss possible approaches, as well as the evaluation of such approaches, to the control of cancer; a problem that is becoming more and more immediate as communicable diseases are overcome, and populations age and adopt the bad habits of affluent societies, particularly smoking.

In addition to the INCTR Award Lectures and oral presentations of participants own work, this year's meeting featured a series of presentations on cancers that are particularly frequent in Africa and the Middle East, but also in many other countries in less developed world regions, and several discussions pertaining to more general issues of cancer control, including ethics and palliative care. A plenary session in which INCTR members presented their own work was held, and posters were left up for viewing throughout the meeting. As usual, the "ever increasing" role of technology in helping to control cancer in developing countries was discussed. This year, there was a particular focus on information technology (IT) and the development of INCTR's IT program.

Some of the additional meetings in Cairo

• A meeting of the Breast Cancer Strategy Group took place, in which decisions re: data collection for the retrospective breast cancer survey were made and members were asked to review the first draft of the new protocol for the treatment of locally advanced breast cancer. It was also decided to send two persons to attend the conference organized by the Breast Health Global Initiative to be held in Bethesda early in 2005.
• The Middle East Cancer Consortium met and decided to pursue the development of a uniform data collection system to be used by all participating centers, at least with respect to presenting features and disease characteristics.
• An update of the phase II study in Burkitt's lymphoma, recently commenced in sub-Saharan Africa was provided and problems being encountered discussed.
• A Lymphoma Strategy Group Meeting took place to discuss initiating a study in diffuse large B cell lymphoma treatment, using standard "CHOP” therapy as well as Rituximab.
• The Special Panel of the Advisory Board met to finalize the list of nominees for INCTR Awards in 2005 and the rules to be applied to eligibility. A proposal to award a third prize to a deserving organization was made but no decision taken. Members also discussed the Annual Meeting 2005 and decided that the 2006 (or possibly early 2007) meeting should be held preferably in Brazil, but otherwise, in Brussels.
• The Tissue Banking Committee met again to discuss the importance of a high quality tissue bank under INCTR auspices and to develop a questionnaire to determine the needs, experience, regulatory issues etc. faced by collaborating centers who might potentially participate in its development. It was also decided to hold training courses in tissue banking.
• Meeting of INCTR Offices and Branches. A closed session of INCTR offices and branches was held at which each branch presented a report, and its priorities for the coming year. There was general en- dorsement of the draft INCTR Charter, which outlines the guidelines and policies of the entire INCTR network.
• A Meeting of the Education Committee was held to discuss priorities for the next year, as well as collaboration with the NCI Office of International Affairs.
• Three members of INCTR's palliative care team provided informal training in palliative care for 15 persons from the African continent, India and France.
• An educational session on how to write an abstract was given by Dr. Rohatiner, who organizes the proffered papers session.