Industry-sponsored symposia
Wednesday, 11 November
- GlaxoSmithKline symposium on HPV vaccines
- Merck-MSD symposium on HPV vaccines
- Novartis/Axios Glivec International Patient Assistance Program (GIPAP) symposium
Thursday, 12 November
- Pfizer Workshop on targeted therapies: the next generation of cancer treatment
Wednesday, 11 November
1. GlaxoSmithKline symposium on HPV vaccines
GlaxoSmithKline will hold a symposium on November 11th at the
2009 AORTIC conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Attending delegates will have
the opportunity to hear experts from three continents, Africa, Asia and Europe,
present on cervical cancer prevention and gain an insight into vaccine implementation
in an African setting based on a real case scenario. The symposium will focus on the
burden of cervical cancer in Africa and explore the link between oncogenic HPV and it
causal relationship with cervical cancer. Further to this, the immunology of HPV will
also be discussed, and why neutralizing antibodies are an important part of the
vaccine-induced immune response. The uptake and acceptance of a vaccine designed to
prevent cervical cancer in women has been studied in an African setting and this will
also be addressed during the symposium. Further information on the experts presenting
during this session can be found below.
PROFESSOR ISAAC ADEWOLE
A professor at the College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Isaac
Adewole is currently a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the University
College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, Nigeria. A leading advocate for nationwide access
to cervical cancer screening, Professor Adewole is a Guttmacher Institute’s 2008 Bixby
Leadership Fellow in Reproductive Health and the current chair of the sub-Saharan
African Cervical Cancer Working Group (CCWG).
DR NEERJA BHATLA
Dr Neerja Bhatla is an Additional Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. She has extensive
experience in gynaecological oncology, with a special focus on cervical cancer prevention
and early detection. Her research has been directed towards evaluation of screening by
low-cost methods, HPV epidemiology and genotyping, HPV testing (including the rapid
test), and HPV vaccine trials in India.
Dr Bhatla is a Founder-President of AOGIN-India (Asia Oceania research
organisation on Genital Infections and Neoplasia).
PROF LUTZ GISSMAN
Prof Lutz Gissmann currently holds the position of Head of the Division "Genome Modifications
and Carcinogenesis" at the Program “Infection and Cancer” of the German Cancer Research
Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg/Germany. He is a recipient of many international scientific
awards and has to his credit 181 peer-reviewed papers and 71 invited articles. He is also
an editor for many internationally-renowned scientific journals. Current area of interest
is papillomavirus infections and cancer in humans and the development of virus-specific
vaccines.
2. Merck-MSD symposium on HPV vaccines
NO COPY AVAILABLE ON THIS SESSION
3. Novartis/Axios Glivec International
Patient Assistance Program (GIPAP) symposium
Theme: Enhancing Partnerships in Africa to improve diagnosis, monitoring
and quality of treatment for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) and Gastro Intestinal Stromal
Tumors (GIST) patients.
This symposium scheduled for November 11, 2009 will provide physicians
with the opportunity to meet, network, and exchange information on their experience in
managing CML and GIST patients.
Over the course of an afternoon, the meeting comprises two sessions. Session
One provides a tailored training module on patient management, and an in-depth experience case
study. Session two features invited expert speakers who offer their insight on the impact of
quality of cancer drugs on clinical outcomes as well as a panel discussion on improving
partnerships and cooperation across the GIPAP program in the region.
By creating this forum, the symposium hopes to serve as a catalyst for
the formation of regional networks and working groups between physicians to improve the
regional capacity for GIST and CML patient management.
Participation in session one is by invitation only. Session two is
open to all registered delegates.
Thursday, 12 November
1. Pfizer Workshop on targeted
therapies: the next generation of cancer treatment
In recent years, the predominant approach to cancer therapy has
moved away from traditional chemotherapy drugs towards therapies directed at specific
pathways. These newer targeted agents, which include both monoclonal antibodies and
small molecule inhibitors, are now a component of therapy for a number of malignancies.
This symposium will provide historical insight into the discovery and research of these
molecular targets. It will also address the development of targeted agents, and
introduce some of the therapies now available. The development of sunitinib for metastatic
renal cell carcinoma will be used as an example of a small molecule inhibitor. Case
studies will further illustrate the clinical approach in treating metastatic renal cell
carcinoma and how therapy can be managed to maximise patient benefits.
Professor Patrick Schöffski is Head of both the Department of General
Medical Oncology and the Laboratory of Experimental Oncology at the University Hospitals
Leuven and the Catholic University Leuven, Belgium. He is Secretary-General of the Executive
Committee and Board of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer
(EORTC. Professor Schöffski is a member of many scientific societies and has published
widely in international peer-reviewed oncology journals.
