Rare Cancers - Common Goals

By ahhb
Tuesday, 15 September, 2015

The Clinical Oncology Society of Australia’s 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting
A rare cancer is defined as a cancer type found in less than 6 per 100,000 Australians per year, and less common cancers found in between 6 and 12 per 100,000. Almost 125,000 cases of cancer are diagnosed in Australia each year, and 42,000 Australians diagnosed with a rare or less common cancer, making up about 30% of all diagnoses in a year (sounding less rare and more common).

Recently there have been significant improvements for many patients with common cancers (such as breast and prostate); however this is not the case for the majority of patients with a rare cancer diagnosis.
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Associate Professor Clare Scott Chair, COSA Rare Cancers Group[/caption]
The Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) is the peak national body representing health professionals from all disciplines whose work involves the care of cancer patients. COSA recently established a Rare Cancers Group, and appointed Associate Professor Clare Scott, Medical Oncologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Laboratory Head at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, as the inaugural chair.
Professor Scott is an active campaigner for rare cancers in Australia and internationally. She is the founding Chair of the International Rare Cancers Initiative Australia, which was formed to build a cohesive network and promote a national approach to the diagnosis, classification and development of best practice guidelines for rare cancers. Recognising that the numbers are small for each cancer type, it becomes critical to ensure we are building new knowledge and providing the best treatment possible to all Australians with a rare cancer.
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Dr Allison Black
2015 COSA ASM Co-convenor[/caption]
The COSA Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) is considered the premier gathering of cancer health professionals in the region each year. The conference welcomes all health professionals working in cancer care and control including clinicians and researchers, medical and radiation oncologists, cancer surgeons, nurses, pharmacists and other allied health workers.
With the theme of “Rare cancers: Common goals” COSA’s 42nd ASM program will focus on rare cancers. This is a new theme for COSA and a growing area of concern placing increased strains on our health care system.
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Dr Louise Nott
2015 COSA ASM Co-convenor[/caption]
With eight international experts and over 50 Australian specialist speakers confirmed, the program is sure to include something of interest to everyone working in cancer. Part of COSA’s strength is its multidisciplinary membership and this is reflected in every session. The opening plenary will set the scene to define what rare cancers are, how we classify them, how we diagnose and treat them, and how patients cope with them. Speakers include a world renowned pathologist from Italy Angelo Paolo Dei Tos, the author of the text book on rare cancers Derek Raghavan from North Carolina USA, the head of the Office of Population Health Genomics at WA Health Hugh Dawkins, and David Kissane an academic psychiatrist, psycho-oncology researcher and palliative care physician who recently returned to Australia to take up a position at Monash University and Monash Medical Centre.
The second plenary features a talk on three common rare cancers – sarcoma, neuroendocrine tumours and rare melanoma, followed by a concurrent session on each which will investigate each disease in more detail. As well as hearing from various health professional experts, the sarcoma and NETs sessions will also include talks from patients.
On behalf of the COSA ASM Organising Committee and the co-convenors, Drs Louise Nott and Allison Black, Medical Oncologists at Royal Hobart Hospital, and the COSA Board and Advisory Council we look forward to seeing you in Hobart.