Support Care Cancer (2005) 13: 1057–1058DOI 10.1007/s00520-005-0907-3 S O C I E TY NEWS

Multinational Associationof Supportive Care in Cancer

Society News

Ronald Feld, MD, has been selected as thechair of the 2006 MASCC/ISSO Sympo-sium, which will take place in Toronto,Canada at the Sheraton Centre Toronto June22 – 24, 2006.

Dear Colleagues:On behalf of the Multinational Associationof Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) andthe International Society for Oral Oncology(ISOO), it is my pleasure to invite you toparticipate in the 18th International Sympo-sium on Supportive Care in Cancer to beheld in beautiful Toronto, CanadaJune 22 – 24, 2006.The MASCC/ISOO 18th International

Symposium on Supportive Care in Cancerfollows the tradition to bring together healthcare professionals from many countries andmany fields of expertise for an exceptionalforum of ideas, lectures and collegial inter-actions. The Symposium will discuss meth-ods to minimize cancer-induced side effectsand the symptoms and complications of itstreatment.Satellite Symposia presenting in-depth

analysis of cutting edge topics by renownedinternational faculty will enhance the valueof the meeting.MASCC and ISOO are excited to host this

extraordinary Symposium in the beautifulcity of Toronto, with all its multi-cultural at-tractions and exciting places to see. Pleasereserve a spot on your calendar for thisSymposium. I look forward to meeting youin Toronto in June 2006.

Sincerely,

Ronald Feld, MDChair MASCC/ISOO Symposium 2006

Call for AbstractsAuthors interested in presenting data shouldsubmit an abstract for review by ScientificCommittee at www.mascc.org. You do nothave to be a member of MASCC to submitan abstract. All accepted abstracts, whichwill be eligible for oral or poster presen-tations, received prior to February 15, 2006

will be published in Supportive Care inCancer and will be distributed to Symposiumattendees. Abstracts received after 5 PM ESTFebruary 15, 2006will not be considered. Foradditional information, including submissioninstructions and guidelines, please visit theWebsite at: www.mascc.org.

Society News December 2005

In our continuing effort to provide updateson MASCC/ISOO activities, we are pleasedto be able to have Douglas Peterson, DMD,PhD, Chair of the Professional LiaisonCommittee contribute the following in-depthreport of this important committee’s work.

Sussanne BorjesonRebecca Clark-Snow

Professional Liaison Committee Report

Multinational Association of SupportiveCare in Cancer & International Societyfor Oral Oncology

There were several key outcomes July 2004–November 2005 relative to the ProfessionalLiaison efforts of MASCC/ISOO members.These efforts have been directed towardscollaborating with other professional orga-nizations in order to advance the MASCC/ISOO mission worldwide. The specific pro-grams listed in Table 1 represent a partial listof these activities.The Professional Liaison Committee has

recently initiated work to expand upon suchcollaborations. This work includes both pro-gram planning as well as design of a strategicoversight model, as follows:• Fostering development of new collabora-tions for the latter part of 2005, and for2006;

• Development of a comprehensive StrategicPlan, based on discussion with theMASCC Board at the Geneva meetingthis past summer as well as more recentinput this Fall. It is anticipated that this re-port will be completed in Winter 2006, fordiscussion with the membership at large.

The new programs being develped are listedin Table 2.

In addition, Dr. E. Tiernan (Chair, MASCCPsychosocial Oncology Study Group), hasestablished contacts with the InternationalPsychosocial Oncology Society (IPOS).This discussion has been facilitated by Dr.D. Kissane (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Can-cer Center). Dr. Tiernan has recently becomea member of IPOS. Dr. Kissane hassuggested to the IPOS Executive Directorthat Dr. Tiernan become a member of thenewly established IPOS Advisory Board;this dialogue is proceeding.The interactions and outcomes represented

by these collaborations represent an impor-tant and exciting opportunity for MASCC/ISOO. The Committee thanks the member-ship for fostering these collaborations, andlooks forward to strategically increasing thescope and impact in the coming years.

Douglas E. Peterson, DMD, PhDChair, Professional Liaison Committee

Table 1

Collaborative Programs BetweenMASCC/ISOO and Other ProfessionalOrganizationsJuly 2004-2005

• International Society for Nurses in CancerCare (ISNCC)August 2004, Sydney, Australia

Drs. D. Keefe and D. McGuire participatedin a combined MASCC/ ISNCC plenarysession which focused on supportive care.The program took place in Sydney,Australia in August 2004. A two-partsession entitled “Innovations in Support-ive Care” featured presentation of state-of-the-science in gastrointestinal mucositis.Discussion included the MASCC/ISOOevidence-based clinical practice guide-lines, and presentation of current viewsregarding psychosocial care in breastcancer patients. Dr. McGuire co-chairedthe plenary session with the President ofISNCC, Margaret Fitch RN, PhD. Dr.

Keefe presented didactic content. Severalhundred attendees were present. MASCCmembership brochures and meeting an-nouncements were distributed to interestedindividuals.Both Drs. Keefe and McGuire are

MASCC members.

• MASCC was a supporter of two Fall 2004meetings in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia,and Istanbul, Turkey

The international education symposium“Supportive care in cancer patients” wasorganized in Belgrade under the auspicesof the Institute for Oncology and Radi-ology of Serbia, together with MASCCand was presented at the First BelgradeEducation Symposium, October 2, 2004.The goal of the symposium was topromote the supportive care discipline inCentral and Eastern Europe.

The Turkish Oncology Group (TOG)hosted the International Interim Meetingon Home Care & Hospice in Oncology atthe Grand Cevahir Hotel and CongressCenter, October 7 – 9, 2004 in Istanbul,Turkey. The meeting was co-sponsoredand supported by MASCC, with Drs.Declan Walsh and Eoin Tiernan invitedto represent MASCC as co-chairs of themeeting, together with Dr. Dincer Firat,President of TOG.

• Cynthia Rittenberg, RN, MN, AOCN,Executive Director of MASCC, chaired acombined Oncology Nursing Society(ONS)/MASCC International Symposiumduring the Thirtieth Annual ONS Congressheld in May 2005 in Orlando, Florida. Thepresentation was entitled, “A GlobalPicture of Pain Management in CancerPatients”. Speakers included:

Jolanta ToluiusieneDepartment of Nursing & CareKaunas University of MedicineKaunas, Lithuania

Jiang Yong QinTianijin Medical University CancerHospitalTianijin, China

David Makumi KinyanjuiThe Aga Khan HospitalNairobi, Kenya

All speakers are MASCC members.

• Christopher Desch, MD and StevenGrunberg, MD co-chaired an ASCO/MASCC 2005 Educational Session dur-ing the annual ASCO meeting May 2005in Orlando, Florida. “Challenges in the

Implementation of Supportive CareGuidelines” was discussed by the follow-ing participants.

Maurizio Tonato, MD, Perugia CancerCenter, Perugia, Italy“Design and implementation of antiemeticguidelines for prevention of chemotherapyinduced nausea and vomiting”

Paul Jacobsen, Ph.D, H. Lee Moffitt,Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida“Recognition and management of psycho-logical distress in the cancer patient”

Howard Ozer, MD, Ph.D, University ofOklahoma Cancer Center, Oklahoma City,Oklahoma“Appropriate use of hematopoietic cyto-kines during cancer therapy”

All participants are ASCO members. Drs.Grunberg, Tonato and Jacobsen are alsoMASCC members.

• Ninth Annual Brazilian Bone MarrowTransplant Conference (Campos do Jor-dão, Brazil). Dr. Elvira Correa served asa member of the program planningcommittee. Plenary sessions were forboth physicians and other health careprofessionals relative to head and neckcomplications in bone marrow transplantpatients. In addition to Dr. Correa, otherpresenters included Cesar Migliorati,Mark Schubert and Douglas Peterson.

• Combined European Oncology NursingSociety (EONS)/MASCC Symposium:“Rehabilitation: An Overlooked Areaof Supportive Care” This was acomponent of the ECCO 13 Meeting,October 30 – November 3, 2005, Paris,France. It was co-chaired by S.Börjeson, RN, Ph.D and A. Glaus,RN, Ph.D.Speakers included:

Agnes Glaus, RN, Ph.D and S.Börjeson, RN, PhD“MASCC and the interface betweenrehabilitation and supportive care”

Lena-Marie PeterssonRN, Ph.D, Sweden“Group rehabilitation for cancer patients:The effects, patient satisfaction andutilization in daily practice”

Lis Adamsen RN, Denmark“The role of exercise in supportive care”

Dr.Börjeson,Dr.Glaus andMs.Adamsenare MASCC members.

Table 2

Collaborative ProgramsDecember 2005 - November 2006

• Latin American Antiemetic Guidelinemeeting (December 2005, San Antonio,Texas). Dr. Richard Gralla will serve as aco-chair.

• Joint session between MASCC/ISOO andUICC (July 2006, Washington DC.) Dr.Judi Johnson has represented MASCC/ISOO on the planning committee. Thetopic of “Developing Evidence-BasedSupportive Care Guidelines for Clin-ical Practice” has been selected. ThreeMASCC/ISOO members have been in-vited to present material related to theprocess and outcomes for developingevidence-based guidelines.

• Supportive Care Oncology meeting (No-vember 2006, Buenos Aires, Argentina).With the leadership of Dr. MarisolMichelet, other MASCC/ISOO membersincluding Drs. E. Correa, C. Migliorati,D. Peterson and M. Schubert will be par-ticipate in the planning of this meeting.

For information about the MASCCsee our website:www.mascc.org or look atwww.symposium-online.de/mascc

If you want to submit materialto the section kindly contact theco-editors of the “Society Pages”:

Sussanne Börjeson, RN, PhD(for Europe)Linkopings University in SwedenE-Mail: Susbo@imv.liu.seorRebecca Clark-Snow, RN, BSN, OCN(for North America)E-Mail: rclark-snow@kumc.edu

For questions or further information,please contact:

Cynthia N. Rittenberg, RN, MN AOCNExecutive Director, MASCC500 Rue St. Ann, Suite 223Metairie, LA 70005, USAE-Mail: cindyrit@bellsouth.net

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