After two online editions due to the pandemic, the Congress of the European Society of Medical Oncology (Esmo) returns to Paris from 9 to 13 September in the name of sustainability. No congress bags, no programs and press releases printed on paper, cutlery, glasses and lunch boxes, all recyclable because – say the many billboards that you encounter while wandering around the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles congress center “Because Esmo Cares. And you Care!”. With over 1,900 abstracts and about 25,000 oncologists from all over Europe, the Paris appointment represents an opportunity to try to understand what scientific progress has been achieved in recent years despite the stop imposed by the pandemic and with the eyes now focus on the energy crisis which risks putting the brake on scientific research once again.
Esmo 2022, Aiom’s appeal: “Oncology is missing in the electoral programs. We need a plan for prevention “
by Irma D’Aria
How oncology can be sustainable
By placing the sustainability of oncology at the center of this year’s event, the European Society wants to demonstrate its commitment to take action to prevent the depletion of health resources, so that they remain available in the long term and make care accessible. oncology to all those who need it. “The first important way through which ESMO can, and contributes, to the sustainability of the general health system is by nurturing the professional development of oncologists and supporting them in their daily practice,” explained ESMO President Prof. Solange Peters.
The impact of the energy crisis on oncology
The urgency of environmental sustainability comes just as Europe is facing another crisis, the energy crisis caused by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. What consequences are feared for the health and oncology sector? “The pandemic crisis has catapulted us into a situation never seen before that has bent the health system in all countries”, he replies Rosa Giuliani, of the Clatterbridge Cancer Center, and ESMO’s Director of Public Policy, who adds: “The ongoing conflicts and the resulting energy crisis worry us. It is important to understand well how the resources that must be dedicated will be invested in order to have long-term effects and protect the health of European citizens. There is no doubt that this further difficult moment will inevitably also have an impact on health and oncology ”. Agree on this too Giuseppe Curigliano, member of the Aiom national board, professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Milan and Director of the Development Division of New Drugs for Innovative Therapies at the IEO. “I’m asking my staff to turn off the switches when they are not needed, to avoid wasting power and to turn off the computers when you leave the hospital. For the moment we are not seeing repercussions and I do not think that we will ever see serious consequences in hospitals because it is unthinkable but perhaps we should rethink our country’s energy planning in another way ”.
The risk of cutting down on prevention
What worries oncologists (especially Italians) is also the impact that expensive energy and the consequent increase in social poverty may also have on prevention and in particular on lifestyles. “If there is an economic recession – explains Curigliano – many families will have less access to treatment and this will cause an increase in health problems. If we also talk about prevention at the table, it is clear that those with economic problems will not be able to eat healthy because shopping by choosing healthy food costs more. For this we need long-term political programs and concrete commitments ”.
The Cancer Control Plan by 2023
However, initiatives to support physicians in their work cannot by themselves ensure the sustainability of the medical profession if the number of oncologists in a given healthcare system is not proportionate to the needs of the patient population they care for. “This is why – continued Solange Peters – ESMO is now taking action to minimize the overall impact of cancer on health resources by imposing a tangible commitment to cancer prevention and screening and taking care of the environment in which every oncologist works “. In this direction, the Company has been for several years the main strategic partner of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the development and testing of a national tool for determining priorities and costs for the control of WHO-IARC cancer to be launched in 2023. The tool will help governments step up their national cancer control plans.
Understanding the disease to provide better care for patients
The scientific program gives substance to this year’s slogan ‘Understanding disease to provide better care for cancer patients’. It specifically focuses on new treatment paradigms and innovations that promise to improve cancer care in the near future, including developmental therapies, AI-based tools, liquid biopsy and CAR-T cell therapy in solid tumors. .
Precision medicine and digitalization
In recent years, the greatest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients have occurred thanks to an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of the disease including through the use of molecular and digital tools that continue to gain momentum. “We are entering an era of modern oncology where drug data must be integrated with precision medicine, biomarkers, digital tools and artificial intelligence, so it’s really important that we oncologists discuss how to optimize the ‘implementation of these advances, “he says Fabrice Andreof the Gustave-Roussy Institute of Villejeuf, in France, presenting the scientific program of the ESMO 2022 Congress of which he is co-chair with Charles Swanton, of the Francis Crick Institute in London.
The role of pollution for lung cancers
As in previous years, the most important clinical data will be presented in the three afternoon presidential sessions. In the opening press conference of the Congress, Charles Swanton, of the Francis Crick Institute, London, UK, scientific co-chair of the ESMO 2022 Congress, anticipates that he will present a study exploring the links between air pollution and lung cancer, particularly as air pollution causes lung cancer in completely unexpected ways: not through direct mutational mechanisms, but through an inflammatory pathway.
Combinations of adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy
The second Presidential Symposium, on September 11, will focus on the results of adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy combinations. “The results of the CheckMate 914 study will show the use of adjuvant treatment with nivolumab plus ipilimumab compared to placebo in patients with localized renal cell carcinoma at high risk of relapse after nephrectomy,” continues Swanton. “This will be followed by the primary results of KEYNOTE-412, which examine pembrolizumab vs placebo in patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.”