2020    As mentioned in the April newsletter, COVID-19 presented challenges to deliver the MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting safely, with the only responsible course of action to postpone to June 24-26, 2021 in the same location - Seville, Spain. We have asked members who planned to attend to please change or cancel any travel or hotel arrangements you have made independently. If you have not done so, please remember to do so as soon as possible as most airlines are currently waiving change fees and providing a full credit for tickets that normally do not allow changes.

2020    Applications due May 12th, 2020.   MASCC is searching for an Annual Meeting Chair (AMC).  This exciting voluntary senior leadership position is your opportunity to network internationally and serve the greater cause of expanding supportive cancer care. The AMC has overall responsibility for working in cooperation with the Professional Conference Organizer (PCO) on all aspects of MASCC’s annual meeting organization.

2020    POSTPONED: MASCC/ISOO 2020 Annual Meeting in Seville, Spain
The 2020 MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting is postponed to 24-26 June 2021 in the same location - Seville, Spain.
This postponement is due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly worsened since our last communication. It takes into account the health and safety of attendees, as well as the border closures and travel restrictions that are currently in place. The decision is based on consultation between the MASCC Executive Committee, the MASCC Board, ISOO, and our conference organizers MCI.

There is still time to submit your research for the MASCC/ISOO 2020 Annual Meeting in Seville, Spain. The late-breaking abstract submission allows submission of recent research results which may not have been ready for presentation at the regular submission deadline or would be findings that complete a comprehensive dataset ready for publication in the journal. Abstracts submitted for the annual meeting will be published in Supportive Care in Cancer (electronic version only). For more information on all abstract submission deadlines and policies, click here.   
Late-Breaking Abstract Submissions are open until March 26, 2020, 23:59 CET.

2020    The MASCC/ISOO 2020 Annual Meeting focuses on three themes of critical importance in supportive cancer care: models of supportive care, cardio-oncology, and bioethics. There will also be sessions featuring digital health, palliative care, and cancer survivorship, as well as sessions reflecting the interests of MASCC/ISOO Study Groups.

This year MASCC celebrates our 30th anniversary at the President’s Dinner held during the annual meeting in Seville, Spain.  We will look back on 30 years of innovative research and education on supportive cancer care.  The dinner will be celebrated in true Sevillian style at the exquisite Villa Luisa in a magnificent glass pavilion, offering breath-taking views of gardens, historic fountains and pergolas. We look forward to continuing to engage our members as we continue to build on MASCC’s strong foundation over the next 30 years! For more information on the President’s Dinner, click here.

2020    The MASCC Distinguished Service Award (DSA) recognizes meritorious achievement, exemplary leadership, and outstanding contributions to MASCC and its mission. Any MASCC member can nominate a candidate for this award. Nominees must be current members of MASCC in good standing and must have made a significant contribution to research, education, and/or clinical supportive care in cancer. The DSA is presented each year at the MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting. The most recent recipients include Drs. Rachel Gibson (2019), Charles Loprinzi (2018), David Warr (2017), Matti Aapro (2016), Jørn Herrstedt (2015), Dorothy Keefe (2014), Declan Walsh (2013), and Paul Hesketh (2012). Nominations for the 2020 DSA are due by April 1st. See the award policy, selection process, and nomination form at MASCC Policies and Forms.

2020    MASCC is pleased to announce the first four MASCC-Designated Centers of Excellence in Supportive Care in Cancer. MASCC’s certification program, initiated in February 2019, aims to promote and recognize oncology centers around the world that demonstrate best practices in supportive cancer care by successfully integrating oncology and supportive care, upholding high standards, and maintaining comprehensive supportive care services. MASCC’s certification program also aims both to educate and to encourage a supportive care focus among oncology healthcare professionals globally. Certification criteria include a supportive care focus in clinical activities, research, and educational initiatives, as well as adherence to international guidelines. Qualifying Centers may apply to MASCC’s Certification Program.

2020    MASCC is pleased to announce four exciting Pre-Conference Workshops to be held at the 2020 MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting. All of the workshops will take place on Thursday, June 25, from 8:00 to 11:00 AM. Workshop attendance requires registration in addition to registration for the Annual Meeting. Register at the official 2020 Annual Meeting website. Early-bird registration rates (for both the conference and the workshops) are in effect until March 10.

2020    The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) hosted the inaugural Best of MASCC Singapore meeting on November 30, 2019, with the theme of “Supporting Cancer Patients and Survivors.” MASCC Board member Alex Chan, PharmD, MPH, FCCP, BCPS, BCOP, played a key role in organizing this event, the goal of which was to increase awareness of supportive and survivorship care and to advance supportive care practices in Singapore. Raymond Chan, PhD, MAppSc, BNurs, RN, MCNSA, Chair of MASCC’s Survivorship Study Group, delivered the Keynote Address on "Survivorship Issues across the Age Continuum.” Dr. Chan is Chair of Cancer Nursing, Queensland University of Technology and Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The second Best of MASCC India meeting, hosted by the Indian Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (IASCC), was held September 14-15 at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai and included more than 130 attendees. IASCC, a subdivision of Nag Foundation, a public charitable trust in Pune, Maharashtra, India, became a MASCC affiliate in May 2019. The meeting was organized by IASCC President Dinesh C. Doval, MD, DM, and Vice-Presidents Sudeep Gupta, MD, DM, and Shona Nag, MD, along with organizing secretaries Vikas Ostwal, MD, DM, Anant Ramaswamy, MD, DM, and Anant Gokam, MD, DM.

2019    The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) will host the inaugural Best of MASCC Singapore meeting on November 30, 2019, with the theme of “Supporting Cancer Patients and Survivors.” MASCC Board member Alex Chan, PharmD, MPH, FCCP, BCPS, BCOP, played a key role in organizing this event. The goal of the meeting is to increase awareness of supportive and survivorship care and to advance supportive care practices in Singapore. There is no fee to register.

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    Presentation slides and select session videos which include speaker slides and audio from our 2019 Annual Meeting in San Francisco are available on the MASCC website. (Member login required)

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    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     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    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    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    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.