M A S C C • S u p p o r t i v e C a r e m a k e s e x c e l l e n t c a n c e r c a r e p o s s i b l e

Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • www.mascc.org

May 2017

MASCC has made a very smooth transition to our new management team and you will all be able to meet Melissa and Don in Washington. The original intent of MASCC was to hold an annual scientific meeting for researchers and clinicians who had a special interest in supportive care. Our sphere of activities has grown since then, largely through the work of Study Groups and our association with ISOO. We now work on developing guidelines and research tools, supporting research projects, and producing textbooks and other educational materials. However, the Annual Meeting remains the primary focus for MASCC and an opportunity for all of us to get together and share the latest research in supportive care. It can only be successful if well supported by our members and their trainees, all of whom have contributions to make now and who represent the strength of the organization in the future. I urge you to come to Washington and share you experience and insights with the international supportive care community. I particularly welcome our new members and look forward to meeting you.

As you will see from the program highlights in this newsletter, we have included new topics and a broad range of speakers, so there will be sessions to engage the interests of all attendees. We also have a diverse group of workshops from which to choose, and each represents the contributions of two or more Study Groups.

This year’s meeting will be preceded by a Strategic Planning Meeting, at which we will set MASCC’s direction for at least the next three years. We are seeing initial reports from the various task groups, and there are many proposed initiatives to prioritize as we envision the MASCC of the future. We will also consider a range of suggestions to create new economic activities, better use of social media, and an increased and engaged membership.

See you in Washington! ~ Ian Olver

NEWSWelcome to the May Issue of the MASCC Society News This month, we bring you an exciting sneak-peek at the 2017 MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting and feature an in-depth look at the three Plenary Sessions. MASCC President Ian Olver emphasizes that the meeting features a wide range of topics and urges members to attend and to bring trainees as well. This issue also includes recent research by Christine Miaskowski et al. on chemotherapy-induced neuropathy in cancer survivors, reports of two recent supportive and palliative care conferences, and reminders of upcoming meetings. And we extend a warm welcome to all the new members who joined us in March!

All issues of the MASCC Society News are available online at www.mascc.org/society-news. Older issues (through August, 2016) can be found in the back pages of our journal, Supportive Care in Cancer.

~ Toni Clark, Editor

A Message from MASCC President Ian Olver

MASCC President, Ian Olver

M A S C C • S u p p o r t i v e C a r e m a k e s e x c e l l e n t c a n c e r c a r e p o s s i b l e

Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • www.mascc.org

The MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, DC, USA, June 22-24. This year’s meeting, MASCC’s 26th and ISOO’s 31st, will bring together world-renowned experts, clinicians, and researchers to address the theme of “Sharing Successes in Supportive Care in Cancer.” Meeting Chair Rachel Gibson, along with the Scientific Committee, has put together an exciting program of presentations, workshops, e-posters, discussions, and debates that showcase the progress made in the past three decades toward managing the symptoms and side effects of cancer and its treatment. The 2017 meeting offers an opportunity to celebrate the impact of supportive care on patient experience, treatment outcomes, and survival, and to collaborate with like-minded colleagues from around the world to continue making strides in the future. Join us in Washington!

PLENARY SESSIONS* Plenary 1: Financial Toxicity — Chair: Ian Olver, Australia Speakers: Pricivel Carrera, Ronan Kelly, Jonas de Souza.

Plenary 2: Side Effects of Immunotherapy — Chair: David Warr, Canada Speakers: Mario Lacouture, Karin Jordan, Joel Epstein.

Plenary 3: Precision Medicine — Chair: Rachel Gibson, Australia Speakers: Joanne Bowen, Janet Coller, Nicolaj Andreassen.

* See the SPECIAL FEATURE on our three Plenary Sessions below.

WORKSHOPS You can find full workshop descriptions in the December 2016 issue of the Society News and at MASCC2017.com.

Workshop 1: How Adherence to Guidelines Influences the Cost-Effectiveness of Supportive Care Interventions Workshop Chair: Bernardo Rapoport Study Groups: Neutropenia, Infection, Myelosuppression; Oral Care, Antiemetics, Psychosocial

Workshop 2: Update on Venous Thromboembolism: Approach and Challenges Workshop Chairs: Carme Font, Carmen Escalante, Tom Butler, Paz Fernández-Ortega Study Groups: Hemostasis, Education

Workshop 3: Integration of Oncology and Palliative Care: Why? What? Who? When? How? Workshop Chair: David Hui Study Groups: Palliative Care, Pediatrics, Education

Workshop 4: Communication Challenges in Geriatric Oncology: Perspectives of Patients, Family Caregivers, and Healthcare Professionals Workshop Chairs: Christopher Steer, Lidia Schiapira, Penny Schofield, Fran Boyle, Holly Holmes, Belinda Kiely Study Groups: Geriatrics, Psychosocial

Workshop 5: Circadian Rhythms and Chronobiology in Cancer: Relationship to Cancer-Related Fatigue and Other Toxicities Workshop Chairs: Oxana Palesh and Diwakar Balachandran Study Groups: Fatigue, Palliative Care, Rehabilitation/Survivorship/Quality of Life

PARALLEL SESSIONS Parallel sessions will feature some of the latest advances in managing the symptoms and side effects of cancer and its treatment. Topics include bone health, geriatric assessment, wound care, scalp cooling, neurological complications, the integration of oncology and dermatology, cross-cultural communication in cancer care, and much more! There will also be a special Joint Session with the Oncology Nursing Society and a session on perspectives from Southeast Asia.

E-POSTERS E-poster sessions will be mentored by leading world experts, many based at the National Cancer Institute or other US research centers.

Sharing Successes and Charting the Future:

A Sneak-Peek at the 2017 MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting

M A S C C • S u p p o r t i v e C a r e m a k e s e x c e l l e n t c a n c e r c a r e p o s s i b l e

Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • www.mascc.org

ISOO CE COURSE AND BUSINESS MEETING Chair: Ourania Nicolatou-Galitis

Oral Oncology in the Paediatric SettingSpeakers: Eric Loeffen, Faith Gibson, Caroline Nguyen

Osteonecrosis of the Jaw Speakers: David Yang, Cesar Migliorati

PATIENT SEMINAR: CANCER AND THE SENSORIUM Flavor Perception in People Affected by Cancer In connection with this year’s Annual Meeting, MASCC is sponsoring a Patient Seminar. This event is free for people affected by cancer and their friends or family. The program, which focuses on taste problems caused by cancer treatment, will provide an opportunity to hear from experts in the fields of taste, smell, flavor, nutrition, and sensory science.

• Learn how cancer and its treatment affect smell and taste. • Hear from dietitians, chefs, and health professionals. • Discuss your own smell and taste problems. • Join a workshop to improve your sense of smell.

Speakers include Anna Boltong (Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne VIC, Australia), Valerie Duffy (University of Connecticut), Kathleen Keller (The Pennsylvania State University), Beverly Cowart (Monell Chemical Senses Center), and Chris Kelly (UK), and Rachel Gibson (University of South Australia).

For more information and to register: www.mascc2017.com/scientific-information/patient-seminaror email mascc@kenes.com.

M A S C C • S u p p o r t i v e C a r e m a k e s e x c e l l e n t c a n c e r c a r e p o s s i b l e

Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • www.mascc.org

Plenary 1: Financial Toxicity Chair: Ian Olver, Australia Speakers: Pricivel Carrera, Ronan Kelly, Jonas de Souza. Financial toxicity refers to financial distress or hardship faced by cancer patients and stems from a combination of medical expenses and lost income or insurance. Seventy percent of cancer survivors report at least a 50% drop in income during and after treatment. About 30% do not return to work in the 5 years after diagnosis, and this is especially true of patients who have worked in blue-collar jobs. At the same time, the out-of-pocket medical costs are often higher for cancer patients than for those with other chronic diseases. The resulting financial burdens on cancer survivors mean a poorer quality of life. And some may forego needed treatment. Greater recognition of the problem should lead to research that addresses the dual problems of medical costs and lost income. Supportive care involves identifying patients at greatest risk for financial problems, developing support networks, and designing interventions that will allow cancer patients to return to work. Ian says that his interest in this topic was

triggered by the problems faced by patients who need very expensive anticancer treatments. It’s important to understand their priorities and choices in order to provide the best supportive care and guide patients in the future. Ian Olver, AM, is Professor of Translational Cancer Research and Director of the Sansom Institute for Health Research at the University of South Australia.

Plenary 2: Side Effects of Immunotherapy Chair: David Warr, Canada Speakers: Mario Lacouture, Karin Jordan, Joel Epstein. Immune-based cancer therapies are revolutionizing cancer treatment, including the management of many previously intractable types. These new treatments involve different side effects from those associated with more traditional treatments, and derive from deleterious immune system effects on healthy tissues and organs similar to the effects of autoimmune disease. Among the most common side effects are mucositis, fatigue and other flu-like symptoms, and skin reactions. These drugs can also affect blood pressure or breathing, cause edema or headaches, and in some cases, may cause more serious effects on the lungs, large bowel, liver, pancreas, and endocrine system. Session Chair David Warr notes that MASCC has formulated supportive care guidelines largely based on controlled clinical trials, yet the management of the adverse effects of immunotherapy is empirical. How will MASCC face this challenge in the future?

David Warr, MD, FRCPC, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and Head of Breast Cancer Medical Oncology and Solid Tumor Ward Chief at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto.

Plenary 3: Precision Medicine Chair: Rachel Gibson, Australia Speakers: Joanne Bowen, Janet Coller, Nicolaj Andreassen. Precision medicine includes prevention and treatment strategies that take individual variability into account in order to optimize treatment efficiency and therapeutic benefit. Some types of precision medicine have been used for decades (for instance, blood typing to guide transfusions). But recent advances in knowledge and technology have made possible more personalized approaches to medicine in general and cancer, in particular. Greater understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying cancer and the host response, as well as advances in molecular profiling, have broad implications for risk assessment, as well as diagnosis and therapy. We are now seeing the development of targeted therapies and new immunologic approaches that address cancer at the molecular level. Along with this progress in treatment come new challenges, such as drug resistance, emerging toxicities, and effects of drug combinations. Speaker Janet Coller notes that, in a perfect world, cancer

treatment would provide optimal benefit with minimal risk of adverse effects. Speaker Joanne Bowen adds that harnessing technology to provide personalized supportive care maximizes positive outcomes for individuals and their communities. Rachel Gibson, PhD, is Dean of the Academic Health Sciences Divisional Office at The University of South Australia in Adelaide.

REGISTERNOW! for the 2017 Annual MASCC/ISOO Meeting Registration Deadline: June 7, 2017

Ian Olver

David Warr

Rachel Gibson

PLENARY SESSIONS at the 2017 Annual Meeting

M A S C C • S u p p o r t i v e C a r e m a k e s e x c e l l e n t c a n c e r c a r e p o s s i b l e

Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • www.mascc.org

MASCC member Christine Miaskowski is the lead author on a recent paper on chemotherapy-induced neuropathy in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management,1 with MASCC members Judy Mastick and Kord Kober among the paper’s co-authors.

The study objective was to provide a phenotypic characterization of adult cancer survivors with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (CIN), a common, severe, and often long-lasting adverse effect. The

research team evaluated differences between survivors who did develop neuropathy (n=426) and those who did not (n=197) after being treated with platinum and/or taxane-based chemotherapy. Demographic and clinical characteristics were assessed, as well as measures of sensation, function, and postural control. All participants completed self-report questionnaires and underwent objective testing (light touch, pain sensation, cold sensation, vibration, muscle strength, grip strength, Purdue Pegboard test, Timed Get Up and Go test, and the Fullerton Advanced Balance test).

Of those who developed neuropathy, 4.9% had neuropathy in their upper extremities only, 27.0% in their lower extremities only, and 68.1% in both their upper and lower extremities. Demographic and clinical characteristics associated with neuropathy included older age, lower annual income, higher BMI, more comorbidities, being born prematurely, higher cumulative chemotherapy dose, and poorer functional status. Patients who developed neuropathy also had worse outcomes on objective measures of light touch, pain, temperature, vibration, upper and lower extremity function, and balance.

This study is the largest to date of CIN in cancer survivors, and it is the first to provide a detailed phenotypic characterization of CIN in those treated with a platinum and/or taxane compound. Although such neuropathy was once believed to be reversible, recent evidence suggests that it persists long into survivorship for many patients and there remains a need for more research. Miaskowski et al. have provided results that should serve as a benchmark for future work in this area. ___________________________________ 1Miaskowski C, Mastick J, Paul SM, Topp K, Smoot B, Abrams G, et al. J Pain Symptom Manage 2017 Jan 4 (Epub ahead of print] Christine Miaskowski, RN, PhD, FAAN, is a Professor in the Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0610, USA.

R E S E A R C H HIGHLIGHT

Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy in Cancer Survivors

Association for Palliative Medicine: Supportive and Palliative Care The Supportive & Palliative Care Conference, held by the Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland (APM), took place March 30-31 in Belfast, Ireland. Among the speakers were MASCC members Sam Ahmedzai, Gregory Crawford, Andrew Davies, and Amy Proffitt. Topics included numerous challenges and opportunities in end-of-life care, such as management of adverse effects, palliative medicine and outcomes, prognostication, and biomarkers for dying. Legal and ethical issues were considered, as well as education and training. APM is the world's largest representative body for doctors practicing or interested in Palliative Medicine, with a growing membership of over 1,000.

Supportive Care in Germany: State of the Art The Biannual Congress of Supportive Therapy and Rehabilitation in Cancer was held in Munich from March 31 to April 1st, with a theme of “State of the Art 2017.” The Congress, with more than 200 participants, was sponsored by the Working Community of Supportive Care in Oncology, Rehabilitation, and Social Medicine of the German Cancer Society. The Keynote Lecture was delivered by former MASCC President Richard Gralla and was titled “Supportive Care — Where Do We Come From and Where Do We Go?” Other speakers included MASCC members Jann Arends, Ingo Diel, Petra Feyer, Annette Freidank, Franziska Jahn, Karin Jordan, Petra Ortner, Dorothea Riesenbeck, and Herwig Strik. Plenary session topics included challenges in cancer immunotherapy, side effects of cancer and its treatments, and cross-sectional guidelines in supportive cancer care. The meeting featured nine workshops, which included current topics in interdisciplinary management, neurological problems, social-medical assessment, mucositis, nutrition and exercise with active tumor therapy, and new directions in supportive therapy and rehabilitation.

Conference Reports

Christine Miaskowski

M A S C C • S u p p o r t i v e C a r e m a k e s e x c e l l e n t c a n c e r c a r e p o s s i b l e

Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • www.mascc.org

May 4-7, 2017ONS 42nd Annual Congress Denver, Colorado, USAhttp://congress.ons.org/

May 8-9, 2017Grandangolo in Oncologia Focus on Supportive Care in CancerBologna, Italyhttps://focusterapiesupporto.accmed.org/

June 16-17, 20172nd Sapporo Conference for Palliative & Supportive Care in CancerSapporo, Japanhttp://www.sapporoconference.com/en/index.html

June 22-24, 2017MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting on Supportive Care in Cancer Washington, DC USAhttp://www.mascc.org/meeting

June 28 - July 1, 2017SIOG 2017 Advanced CourseTreviso, Italyhttp://siog.org/content/siog-2017-advanced-course-treviso-italy

July 9-12, 2017 International Conference on Cancer Nursing (ICCN) 2017Anaheim, California, USAhttp://www.isncc.org/?page=Conference

September 8 - 12, 2017ESMO - European Society for Medical Oncology, 2017 CongressIntegrating Science into Oncology for a Better Patient OutcomeMadrid, Spainhttp://www.esmo.org/Conferences/ESMO-2017-Congress

September 13-14, 2017Cancer Nursing CongressInternational Conference on Oncology Nursing & Cancer CareSingaporehttp://cancer.nursingconference.com/

Have any news items to share? Please send contributions to MASCCnews@mascc.org.

Tara Albrecht, United States Konstantinos Arnaoutakis, United States Geetika Bhatt, United States Asish Kumar Biswas, India Bene Cartmill, Australia Suthan Chanthawong, Thailand Sharmila Choudhuri, India Sara Colomer-Lahiguera, Switzerland Miguel Angel Cuervo Pinna, Spain James D’Olimpio, United States Thais de Oliveira Gozzo, Brazil Belle de Rooij, Netherlands Manuela Eicher, Switzerland Azurra Farnesi, Italy Bomi Framroze, India Adolfo Frau, Spain

Guglielmo Fumi, Italy Ying Guo, United States Ali Haider, United States Hong Han, Australia Hironobu Hata, Japan David Hausner, Canada Hiroshi Ishiguro, Japan Waqas Jehangir, United States Prince John, India Patrick Jung, Canada Nirachorn Kuchonthara, Thailand Alessandra La Salandra, Italy Alexa Laheij, Netherlands Roberto Magarotto, Italy Mariangela Manzoni, Italy Samantha Mayo, Canada

Andrew Mazar, United States Terence Meadows, Canada Janarthinakani Murugesan, India Linda Pang, United States Lucio Patoia, Italy Joao Rato, Portugal Anne Reb, United States Raquel Reinbolt, United States Naveen Salins, India Marta Scorsetti, Italy Adir Shaulov, Israel Kaori Tane, United States Marieke ten Tusscher, Netherlands Efstathia Tzatha, United States Meagan Whisenant, United States

MASCC welcomes the new members who joined us in March!

2017 MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting — Key Dates! Registration Deadline: June 7, 2017

Future MASCC Meetings — Mark your calendar! June, 2018 - Vienna, Austria June, 2019 - San Francisco, California, USA June, 2020 - Seville, Spain

U P C O M I N G C O N F E R E N C E R E M I N D E R S

R EG I S T E R N OW !