ESMO-ASIA Conference Report

Why ESMO should be congratulated for organizing its first Asia-specific conference

Authors: A. Shukla, R.M. Dokala

Disclaimer: The article is based on our learning gained via interaction with attendees and selected sessions on indications such as lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and other general topics. The views expressed here are our own.

Introduction

​As this was the first time that an international organization, like ESMO, was organizing an Asia-specific conference, we decided to attend ESMO-ASIA to find out how this conference would help oncology professionals practicing in Asia. Due to the time constraint, we could share only key updates (via twitter handle @oncofocus), during the conference. Now that the conference is over, we would like to share our learning.

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ESMO and its Asian connection

​ESMO, as a platform, is known for its quality of sessions and its facilitation of in-depth discussion on key emerging topics. This is probably the reason why one finds large number of Asians attending ESMO meetings, though ESMO is a primarily European organization. The sheer strength of ESMO’s Asian connection can be understood by the fact that about a quarter of ESMO members are from the Asian region (Ref 1). Prof Ralph Stahel, current president of ESMO, mentioned, in the opening ceremony, that about half of the ESMO-ASIA organizing committee was represented by the Asians (Ref 2).

Oncology and Asia

Oncology practice has a number of commonalities across the world, but it must not be lost on us that there are several region-specific differences as well. For example – an East Asian adenocarcinoma lung cancer patient has higher likelihood of harbouring EGFR mutation when compared to his/her Caucasian counterpart.
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To discuss these Asia-centric issues, there are country-specific oncology societies – like CSCO, ISMPO, JSMO, KACO, MOGA, SSO – as well as a pan-Asian oncology society by the name of ACOS. However, there exists a need for an international platform where ‘West’ would meet ‘East’ to discuss issues pertaining to ‘East’. 

ESMO-ASIA and its achievements

About 2,200 professionals attended ESMO-ASIA and, notably, though the demographic was predominantly Asian, there were several participants from Africa, the Americas, Australia, and Europe.
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Based on our discussions with multiple attendees and from the sessions we attended, we are enumerating the key achievements of the ESMO-ASIA 2015 conference below –

• Dedicated sessions for cancers more prevalent in Asia: The cancers which have lower incidence in Western population compared to Asian population are often ‘neglected’ in international conferences organized in US and Europe. ESMO-ASIA, due to its Asia-centric theme, was successful in highlighting these indications. A case in point is the special symposium organized on Nasopharyngeal cancer (Ref 3). Similarly, there were multiple presentations and sessions to discuss oesophageal, gastric and cervical cancers which are mostly Asia-centric.
  
  
• Special session on Geriatric Oncology: One element which often does not get highlighted in many international conferences is the fact that the Asian population age at a faster rate when compared to the Western population. Thus, there is a need to increase awareness among Asian oncologists on how to deal with this evolving situation.
  
  ESMO, in collaboration with SIOG, conducted a dedicated session on geriatric oncology, which served as the stage for sharing best practices/ideas among Asian oncologists (Ref 4). The point which clearly emerged from the panel discussion (from Singapore, Korea and Australia) was the important role of a proper geriatric assessment tool as a treatment aid in determining therapeutic options for elderly patients. The presented data also glaringly pointed towards lack of geriatric oncologists and the pressing need of a multidisciplinary approach to treat elderly oncology patients.
  
  
• Introduction of ESMO’s Public policy initiatives to Asian stakeholders: The data from two ESMO public policy committees were presented in a special session on ‘Managing resource constraints as a barrier to lung cancer management: Developing nations’ (Ref 5). Here are the key points –
  • Clinical benefit comparison via Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (MCBS)5, 6: Similar to ASCO’s value framework and MSKCC’s DrugAbacus, ESMO has developed a clinical benefit comparison tool – MCBS – data from which was presented to explain its utility (Ref 5,6).
    
    At a time when more and more premium targeted therapies are replacing existing treatment options, this session gave Asian oncologists a clear view of the utility of MCBS in their daily practice.
    
    As there is a relative lack of strong public policy institutions in many Asian countries, one can imagine the huge benefit this tool can provide if ESMO evolves this framework to include cost and provides country-specific cost-effectiveness data to oncologists. However, we are aware of the inherent complexity (bordering on impracticality, sometimes) in such an initiative.
• Drug availability and accessibility in the developing world: Cancer drug availability data presented by Dr Alexandru Eniu, the Chair of ESMO’s Emerging Nations Committee, pointed out the extent of non-availability of and limited access to novel lung cancer treatments, like crizotinib and afatinib, in Asia when compared to West (Ref 5,7).

 
Another interesting fact highlighted by Dr Eniu was that even in the developed EU region, there is lack of availability of cheaper, generic drugs listed in WHO, like tamoxifen, cisplatin, etc. A more shocking revelation was that this non-availability is not because of cost issues but due  to drug shortages.

Conclusion

​Overall, from the Asian perspective, ESMO-ASIA 2015 was a great platform for networking and exchanging ideas on issues of interest to the Asian community. ESMO should definitely be congratulated for this effort.

References

1. A Word from the ESMO President: http://hubspot.esmo.org/esmos-continuing-journey-ahead?hit=ehp
2. Opening session & Keynote addresses. R. Stahel, F. Ciardiello, Dec 18, 2015
https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/library/esmo/browse/itinerary/5225/2015-12-18#2y6z
3. Special Symposium: Nasopharyngeal cancer. A. Chan, J. Wee, Dec 20, 2015
https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/library/esmo/browse/itinerary/5225/2015-12-20#2y62D
4. Special Session: Geriatric Oncology in Asia. R. Kanesvaran, Dec 18, 2015
https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/library/esmo/browse/itinerary/5225/2015-12-18#2y62Y
5. Special Session: Resource constraints as a barrier to lung cancer management: Developing nations. S. Thongprasert, A. Eniu, Dec 20, 2015
https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/library/esmo/browse/itinerary/5225/2015-12-20#2y62X04L
6. ESMO Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale. http://www.esmo.org/Policy/Magnitude-of-Clinical-Benefit-Scale
7. Anti-Cancer Medicines Availability Study. http://www.esmo.org/Policy/Anti-Cancer-Medicines-Availability

Abbreviations: ACOS – Asian Clinical Oncology Society; CSCO – Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology;
ISMPO – Indian Society of Medical & Paediatric Oncology; JSMO – Japanese Society of Medical
Oncology; KACO – Korean Association for Clinical Oncology; MOGA – Medical Oncology Group of Australia; SSO – Singapore Society of Oncology