Grants
Travel grants have been awarded to four veterinary universities – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cambridge. These are the four universities that have a resident RCVS recognised specialist in veterinary oncology. The grants will assist four veterinary oncology juniors to travel to either the Veterinary Cancer Society Annual Conference in Florida, USA, or the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Annual Conference in Budapest, Hungary.
These grants will assist our next generation of specialists in veterinary cancer care.
The first report from one of the recipients, David Killick, from Liverpool University has been received and is printed below.
The Veterinary Cancer Society Annual Congress Nov 2007: First Impressions.
David Killick, BVetMed MRCVS
Oncology Resident, University of Liverpool Small Animal Teaching Hospital.
The Veterinary Cancer Society annual meeting was held in Fort Lauderdale in November. It was the first overseas conference I had attended and the first oncology specific conference since starting my residency so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was delighted to find the conference was excellently organised with a very friendly atmosphere.
One of the great strengths of the conference is the encouragement and support offered to the residents. The conference started with a review in which Drs’ Bergman and Fan gave the 80 or so residents a useful overview of the principles and current applications of immunotherapy in veterinary oncology. The next day saw the start of the conference proper, the main body of this consisting of clinical and basic science abstracts. There were sessions for residents as well as the general sessions.
The resident presentations covered a broad range of subjects and there were several excellent abstracts. Topics covered included changes in the location of injection site sarcomas since the publishing of the Vaccine Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force guidelines, the differing radiation responsiveness of different nasal carcinomas, which identified a poorer prognosis for squamous cell and transitional cell carcinomas as compared adenocarcinomas. One of the best presentations covered work demonstrating the antineoplastic effects of dihydroartemisinin (an antimalarial agent) on osteosarcoma cells, these investigations should lead to clinical trials of these agents (Dr Hosoya, Ohio State).
The general sessions covered numerous topics including the identification of novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets, refinement of existing treatment strategies and development of more novel treatment strategies such as immunotherapy. Abstracts of particular interest included one examining recurrence of soft tissue sarcomas on distal extremities after marginal excision which identified a lower than expected recurrence rate (Dr Chavanaugh, University of Florida). Two exciting abstracts discussed work looking at targeted viral therapy for the treatment of tumours. The presentation that I found most interesting looked at the effects of chemotherapeutic agents on dendritic cell function (which is likely to be an important target in immunotherapy treatments). The results showed a stimulation of dendritic cells after doxorubicin treatment in mice. If these results are repeatable in dog and cats this would suggest that combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment of cancers might lead to beneficial outcomes (Dr Biller, Colorado State).
The breaks in abstract sessions and evening events, which included a poolside cocktail party and a gala dinner with salsa dancing, provided a fantastic opportunity to meet members of the much larger American oncology community. Of course, it would be criminal to go to Florida and not soak up some sun and the scientific sessions were scheduled to allow some time to explore Fort Lauderdale. Before I make myself unpopular I should say that I arrived in to a storm (later upgraded to a hurricane) and on the first day three foot sand drifts blocked the doorways of the beach front shops. My main memories of Fort Lauderdale itself are the astonishing houses and $20 million yachts moored along the waterways.
Having greatly enjoyed my first VCS I am really looking forward to the forth coming joint ESVONC and VSC meeting in Copenhagen at the end of February. This promises to be an excellent event and should be well supported by American and European oncologists alike, thus strengthening cooperation and communication between the European and American oncology communities.
Finally, I would like to express my thanks to the Animal Cancer Trust (www.animalcancertrust.org.uk) whose financial support made my trip possible.
The second report has been received from Jenny Rose Helm of Glasgow University who attended the European Society of Veterinary Oncology Congress in Copenhagen and can be seen below.
ESVONC/VCS meeting in Copenhagen
Miss Jenny Rose Helm BVMS MRCVS, Resident in Veterinary Oncology and Internal medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Div. Companion Animal Sciences,
University of Glasgow
Arriving in Copenhagen in early spring was beautiful, and walking into the faculty of Veterinary medicine at the Life campus in Frederiksberg on the first day of the ESVONC congress was equally stunning. The old buildings surrounding a magnificent courtyard leading into an ornate lecture theatre prompted the thought that this year’s congress was going to be something special.
I was not disappointed; speakers renowned for their work in the veterinary oncology field led a programme with state of the art lectures and master classes. Intermingled were the abstract presentations which allowed a wide variety of researchers, PhD students and clinicians to share their recent advances, either through scientific workings or from the various clinics that they represented. The organisation was wonderful, with inspiring introductions from the presidents of both ESVONC and the VCS reminding us of the common aim – to cure cancer.
On Friday morning it was my turn to present a small laboratory project that I had undertaken in the first year of my residency programme. I have to admit to being more than a little nervous, but the atmosphere amongst such important oncologists was friendly and I soon settled and was able to gain tremendous experience from speaking to such a great group of people.
Friday was finished by a dinner dance in a Danish Palace which provided the combination of good food, dancing and great company. I think I can safely say that a fantastic time was had by one and all.
Hence sadly, after another packed day of lectures, I sadly left Copenhagen late on Saturday afternoon. I would therefore like to thank the Animal Cancer Trust for the travel grant which allowed me to be a part of this congress, and I look forward to the next meeting, and also to more joint meetings with the VCS - allowing the collaborative work to continue in this field and to one day fulfil that common goal.
April 2008
A report has been received from Magda Gerou-Ferriani who attended the ECVIM Congress in Porto in 2009:
ECVIM Congress in Porto (September 2009)
The congress started on Tuesday and what a terrific location they had picked up, by the river that divides the city in two! During lunch we used to sit by the river against the sun, eating lovely Mediterranean food!
The congress was wonderful! a programme with state of the art lectures and master classes, very competent speakers and a very nice organization. On the first day of the congress there were several very interesting lectures on genetics and especially genetics and endocrine diseases (hypothyroidism, diabetes and hyperparathyroidism) given by well recognized specialists (Dr. Skelly, Short, Ferm, Galac and others). Also very interesting were the sessions in gastroenterology with a special interest this year on medical (instead of the classical surgical) treatment of portosystemic shunts (“Medical versus surgical treatment of congenital porto-systemic shunts” by Dr. P.Watson). In cardiology several new techniques have been described for the treatment of different types of genetic cardiac defects. New ideas were expressed about vaccination in small animals and especially in feline medicine while in oncology new considerations were made about treatment in prostatic cancer and squamous cell carcinoma in dogs and cats. A whole session was dedicated to describe platelet defects in small animal medicine by well known specialists Dr. Kristensen, Tvedten and Reininger. In the abstract sessions several famous researchers and lots of younger ones presented their results, their ideas and their expectations! My head was filled with new questions that needed to be answered.
I presented my abstract on Wednesday afternoon “The use of lomustine in non resectable canine intracranial tumors” with very positive feed back. It is incredible how much experience you gain when you speak to such a competent crowd. Before the end of my presentation I already had several ideas for new projects.
Of course the congress is a great excuse to see old friends and meet new people. The congress organization had arranged several tours to see the city and to taste the local wine (the very famous Porto!). With surprise I learned how Porto is being produced, how much work a single glass of this famous local product carries!
The dinner of the congress was on Thursday night and it concluded the congress. Once again the organization, the selection of food and the entertainment were excellent.
I would like to thank the Animal Cancer Trust for funding my trip and giving me the opportunity to have such a great memory of this place.
Magda Gerou-Ferriani, DVM, CertSAM
Sponsorship
The Animal Cancer Trust sponsored the keynote speaker at the European Society of Veterinary Oncology congress. The congress was held in Cambridge at the end of March and brought together a large number of veterinarians interested in oncology from the UK and Europe. The keynote speaker was Professor Bob Rees from Nottingham Trent University who will speak on ‘Cancer Biometrics – a route to immunotherapy’.
The sponsorship will help further educate veterinary oncologists on some of the latest research in the field. See congress report under Education
You can contact us at
Animal Cancer Trust
5 Flag Business Exchange, Vicarage Farm Road, Peterborough, Cambs PE1 5TX
08701 644225
www.animalcancertrust.org.uk
info@animalcancertrust.org.uk
Registered charity no. 1094779 Animal Cancer Trust is a Registered company limited by guarantee in England & Wales no. 04434009. The registered address of the company is Lacon House, 84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 9AA. Please use address above for correspondence.
