2019    The 23rd Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Supportive Care, Hospice, and Palliative Medicine will be held October 18-19, 2019 at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, USA. Palliative and supportive cancer care are critical to the delivery of optimal care to cancer patients. Many clinicians are unaware of the need for whole-patient care from symptom management to quality of life beyond the treatment of the primary disease. Caring for the cancer patient in the advanced stages of disease is especially challenging and includes medical, psychosocial, ethical, and spiritual dimensions. The conference will help participants learn how to implement new techniques and treatments in clinical practice to improve patient care and outcomes. (Complimentary registration for September 2019 Board Review Attendees!)

2019    Updates in Hospice and Palliative Medicine and Intensive Physician Board Review, September 24-26, 2019

2019    The second Best of MASCC India Meeting, hosted by the Indian Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (IASCC), will be held September 14-15 at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. The program will include presentations, workshops, and discussions on treatments and techniques for minimizing the symptoms and side effects of cancer and its treatments, including the psychological, social, and economic dimensions of cancer diagnosis and treatment. The meeting is intended for physicians, nurses, and other oncology professionals. For more information about the program, faculty, and registration, see Best of MASCC/IASCC 2019 or contact [email protected].

2019    MASCC will have an exhibit at the 2019 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the European Nursing Society (EONS), both of which take place September 27th to October 1st in Barcelona, Spain. If you are there, please stop by and say hello at Booth S21 in the Society Village!

2019    MASCC’s Mucositis Study Group (MSG) has announced the latest update of the MASCC/ISOO Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Mucositis Secondary to Cancer Therapy. An editorial by MSG Chair Sharon Elad, DMD, MSc, and seven articles have just been published (July 2019) in a Special Section of Supportive Care in Cancer (SCC). This is the first set of papers generated as part of this guideline update and it represents several types of interventions for oral mucositis: anti-inflammatory agents; photobiomodulation; vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements; and protocols categorized as basic oral care.

2019    Anthracycline therapy is a mainstay for breast cancer and many other cancers, but it is associated with a rate of incident heart failure more than five times the average. Preclinical studies of anthracycline-induced myocardial damage show that the substrate for heart failure is myocardial fibrosis preceded by myocardial edema or inflammation. Loss of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may also contribute to myocardial damage. The detection of early changes via blood biomarkers is challenging. However, recently, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has been successfully used to detect post-treatment anthracycline-induced fibrosis through T1 mapping, paralleling a decline in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

2019    Alex Molassiotis and Alex Chan are among the co-authors of a recent study of risk factors for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) among patients receiving taxane-based and platinum-based chemotherapy.¹ CIPN is a significant side effect of neurotoxic chemo-therapies and one that is difficult to manage. Although several risk factors for CIPN have been identified, methodological limitations in much past research limit knowledge about such risks. Molassiotis and his colleagues undertook this study to assess the relative contributions of a wider range of potential risk factors than previously studied.

2019    Chair Maryam B. Lustberg, MD, MPH, is a Medical Oncologist and tenured Associate Professor in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University and a member of the Cancer Control Program at The Ohio State University’s James Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC). She has specialized in breast cancer and works as a medical oncologist at the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center. She is the Director of Breast Cancer Survivorship and the Medical Director of Cancer Supportive Care Services at OSUCCC and physician champion for the Adolescent and Young Adult Program. She has led numerous clinical trials, including research on the early detection of heart damage in patients treated with chemotherapy. She was recently awarded an R01 from the National Cancer Institute on focused on targeted therapies for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. Maryam has authored or co-authored of numerous research papers on such topics as physicians’ perspectives on survivorship care for older breast cancer survivors, prevention of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, and early detection of chemotherapy induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer survivors. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Neuropathy Task Force and the ASCO Survivorship Education Track, and member of Alliance and Southwest Oncology Group Cooperative Group Networks in the USA. In addition to the Neurological Complications Study Group, Maryam is a member of MASCC Study Groups on Nutrition and Cachexia and Survivorship.

2019    As Dr. Rajesh Lalla noted in his President’s Message in our July issue, MASCC has recently signed an affiliation agreement with the Russian Society of Supportive Care in Oncology (RASSC). RASSC is led by Dr. Anton Snegovoy, Chairman of the Board, and Dr. Inessa Kononenko, Executive Director. The affiliation includes the reciprocal agreement that all members of RASSC automatically become MASCC members and all current MASCC members residing in the Russian Federation become members of RASSC.

2019    A new MASCC/ISOO/ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline on Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw has been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. (Yarom N et al, J Clin Oncol 2019 Jul 22:JCO1901186. Epub ahead of print). 

2019    Frederik K. (Fred) Spijkervet, DDS, PhD, Head of the Department Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, is the recipient of ISOO’s 2019 Distinguished Service Award, the Society’s highest honor. The award was given in recognition of many years of meritorious service to ISOO dating back to 1993, when Fred served as the Program Chair for the first international meeting of the Society in Amsterdam. He went on to serve as Vice President of ISOO from 1994 to 1995, as President from 1995 to 1997, and as Scientific Program Chair for the 1997, 1998, and 1999 annual meetings. From 2004 to 2011, Fred chaired the Oral Care Study Group and was an active member of the Mucositis Study Group. From 2008 to 2014, he served as a MASCC Board member and, in 2013, was part of the Scientific Program Committee for the 2013 MASCC/ISOO meeting held in Berlin.

2019    At the 2019 MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting, seven Study Groups recognized high-quality work by junior investigators in their disciplines. The Fatigue Study Group was the first to honor outstanding young investigators with junior faculty and trainee awards as a means of professional recognition and a way to showcase cutting-edge work by up-and-coming researchers. The awards are based on the quality of abstracts submitted to the Annual Meeting. This year, junior investigator awards were conferred by the Study Groups on Fatigue, Geriatrics, Mucositis, Neurological Complications, Pediatrics, Psychosocial Issues, and Survivorship. In addition, the Fatigue Study Group recognized Debra L. Barton, PhD, FAAN, RN, as Distinguished Scientific Laureate.

2019    MASCC has initiated two new awards to recognize outstanding work by a MASCC Study Group and an outstanding Study Group Leader. Projects carried out by our Study Groups result in clinical practice guidelines, position papers, publications, and other products that advance supportive care in cancer. Through these new awards, MASCC recognizes excellent work by its Study Groups and the leaders who drive these efforts. The MASCC Mucositis Study Group was named the 2019 Outstanding Study Group, and Mucositis SG Chair Sharon Elad, DMD, MSc, was named the 2019 Outstanding Study Group Leader.

2019     Cynthia N. Rittenberg Travel Scholarship Award 2019 - Radhika R. Pai, MSc (India)
From among the Travel Scholarship applicants, the nurse applicant with the highest-ranking abstract is awarded the Cynthia N. Rittenberg Travel Scholarship. This year, the award went to Radhika R. Pai, MSc (India) for her abstract titled “Evaluation of an Oral Care Protocol for Chemotherapy- and Radiation Therapy-Induced Oral Complications in Head and Neck Cancer Patients.” Radhika is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Fundamentals of Nursing Manipal College of Nursing in Udupi, India. A member of MASCC and ISOO, Radhika belongs to MASCC Study Groups on Oral Care, Hemostasis, and Palliative Care.

2019    Derek K. Smith, DDS, PhD, is the recipient of MASCC’s 2019 Outstanding Young Investigator Award for his research on the efficacy of gabapentin in reducing neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients receiving primary or adjuvant chemoradiation for head and neck cancer. Derek is Research Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery and Assistant Director of Supportive Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. He is particularly interested in the impact that cancer therapies can have on oral health, and how the healthcare system can address the unique challenges of maintaining good oral health in cancer patients. He is a member of MASCC and ISOO and of the Oral Care Study Group.

2019    Jane Ussher, PhD, of the University of Western Sydney, Australia, is the winner of MASCC’s 2019 Steven M. Grunberg Memorial Award for her research titled “Sexual Issues in Partners of Cancer Patients.” The Steven M. Grunberg Memorial Award is reserved for the author of the highest-ranking abstract submitted to the Annual Meeting and rewards demonstrated excellence in supportive care in cancer. At this year’s Annual Meeting, Jane presented her study of sexual embodiment and subjectivity after cancer across a range of cancer types and stages in partners of people with cancer, across both heterosexual and LGBT relationships.

2019    Rachel Gibson, PhD, is the recipient of MASCC’s 2019 Distinguished Service Award. The DSA, MASCC’s highest honor, is made in recognition of meritorious achievement and outstanding contributions to the society. Candidates are nominated by their peers in recognition of exemplary leadership and accomplishments in support of MASCC’s mission and goals. Rachel has just been appointed inaugural Professor and Director, Allied Health in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Adelaide, a position that will commence in July 2019. She is also Co-Head of the Cancer Treatment Toxicities Group at the Adelaide Medical School and previously served as Professor and Academic Dean in the Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia.

2019 The 2019 MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting offers an exciting variety of sessions and speakers.

2019    This year’s Annual Meeting will feature three plenary sessions focusing on digital health, treatment toxicities, and sexual health.

2019    In February 2019, the MASCC Nutrition and Cachexia Study Group offered a webinar, “The Cachexia Clinic — Building a Supportive Care Necessity.” The webinar, featuring speakers Liz Isenring, PhD, Egidio Del Fabbro, MD, and Rony Dev, MD, provided information and practical considerations for establishing and operating a cachexia clinic within a cancer center. Topics concerned service and team composition, assessment, management, and outcome measures. A detailed description of the webinar is available here. A replay of the webinar is available at Cachexia Clinic Webinar.