Looking back: PanCare Torino 2021
The 27th PanCare meeting took place in Torino from 4th to 6th of May. This was the first live meeting after two and a half years and therefore, there was great enthusiasm among 135 participants from 27 different countries. This meeting was organised by colleagues from Pediatric Oncology Department in Torino together with U.G.I. (Unione genitori italiani contro il tumore dei bambini) and was held at the Cavallerizza Reale in Torino, Italy. Travel and accommodation stipends were made available to some survivors and parents to support their attendance.
Prior to the PanCare meeting a half-day educational meeting was organised for young researchers to provide background information on childhood cancer (survivorship) and scientific work and methods. Meeting started with many interesting presentations of our Italian hosts about follow up care for childhood cancer survivors, including introduction of survivorship passports, and some research on late sequelae. In the next session PanCare EU research projects were presented. These are PanCareSurFup, PanCareLife, PanCareFollowUp and PanCareSurPass.
Next morning PanCare members attended the annual General Assembly where we learned of the results of election to the PanCare board. We were happy that both new PanCare board members are childhood cancer survivors. Anna Apel from Poland and Ana Amariutei from Romania are young, enthusiastic women who want to contribute to our society. There was lively discussion about many other important matters for PanCare society, maybe the most important being the question about effective dissemination of PanCare research results to survivors, parents and healthcare professionals.
Many very interesting and exciting abstracts were presented in next sessions covering very different topics, among others implementation of survivorship passports, fertility preservation, problems of transition of long-term survivors of childhood cancer into adult care. There were presentations on analysis of risk factors for heart failure, subsequent colorectal and oral cancer in a cohort of PCSF study, on toxicity of childhood cancer treatment on endocrine system, liver, spleen and reports on psychosocial outcome after childhood cancer treatment.
We were most touched by the presentation of a young colleague from Armenia Irina Melnichenko who presented their efforts to improve the treatment of children with cancer in their country and to establish long-term follow-up for childhood cancer survivors within twinning programme with Lars Hjorth from Sweden. She told us that this was her first talk in front of such a large but friendly audience. In some way, she drew attention to the missions of our society.
In the last session there was presentation of the work of various groups working within the PanCare: plain information group, guidelines group, communication group, research group and survivorship passport group. PanCare members are encouraged to participate in these groups.
At the end of meeting, Zsuzsanna Jakab wished us warm welcome to the next PanCare meeting that will be held in Budapest in October this year. Leontien Kremer invited us to the newly branded International Symposium on Late Complications after Childhood Cancer (ISLCCC) ISLCCC meeting which will take place in the Princess Maxima center in Utrecht. Online participation will be possible as well.
For the first time, an award was presented for the best abstract. The winner was Emma Plant with her abstract on the risk of intestine cancer to survivors. Congratulations.
Organisers of the meeting enabled us to socialize lively during two beautiful social events: Dinner on the Po river (Canottieri Armida) and Tour of Turin Cinema Museum.
Big thanks for perfect organisation of meeting to Franca Fagioli, the director of the Pediatric Oncology Department in Torino, Enrico Brignardello, Professor Enrico Pira, president of U.G.I. and all others who were involved in organisation of this event.
I am sure that the programme of Torino meeting was of interest for everyone connected to PanCare: Survivors, Parents, Researchers, Healthcare professionals and everyone else that is interested.
Full of wonderful impressions we said goodbye to PanCare friends with the desire to meet again in Budapest in October this year.
Lorna Zadravec Zaletel