|
|
|
International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners
|
Vol 18, No. 3 September 2016
|
|
|
This is my final newsletter as Editor. I have very much enjoyed the challenge of producing quarterly newsletters which represent all aspects of oncology pharmacy practice and all of our global membership. My most sincere thanks to all contributors over the last 17 years but especially to the regular contributors and committee members who are too numerous to name but whose articles live on on the website. Best wishes to future Editors.
Yours Sincerely,
Jill Davis
ISOPP Newsletter Editor
|
|
|
|
Message from the President
It is with heartfelt gratitude and sadness that I inform you that after many, many years of dedication and creation, Jill Davis, our coveted Newsletter Editor is retiring from the position and this is her last issue. Jill has worked tirelessly to ensure that we all stay connected through updates, conference reports, listings of upcoming oncology pharmacy related events and ISOPP news on a quarterly basis. Her contribution to ISOPP has been an essential vehicle to keeping us all connected as a community, for which we thank her. She is so deserving of the Helen McKinnon award presented to her at the 2016 Symposium in Santiago. Thank you Jill for all you have done for ISOPP.
This leads us to the question of who will replace Jill. Evelyn Handel, general member of the Secretariat, has volunteered to be co-Editor. In Jill's own words, she is not going to leave the newsletter rudderless and will mentor the co-editors till April 2017. Would you like to make connections with oncology pharmacists around the World by keeping in touch with ISOPP members soliciting news and articles about oncology pharmacy and working with Evelyn? If yes, then this is an opportunity for you. If you would like to volunteer as co-Editor, please contact me at
[email protected].
Also, we are seeking proposals from national oncology pharmacy societies to host ISOPP's Symposium for 2019 and beyond. Visit the ISOPP News page under Communication for the Request for Proposal document outlining the submission requirements.
Lastly, in the August edition of the "Staying in Touch" Enews, I shared with you all the happenings since our wonderful Symposium in Santiago. The latter half of the year is just as busy. It is when registration for the next Symposium opens, the call for election and awards nominations begins, as well as the call for travel grant applications.
Now, read on, enjoy the Newsletter, and watch your inbox in the coming weeks for program and speaker information, as well as notification on how to nominate and apply for awards and grants.
PS.
Registration for ISOPP's 2017 Symposium taking place April 26-29 in Budapest, Hungary is open.
Sincerely
Harbans
Harbans Dhillon
ISOPP President
|
|
 Oncology Around the World
|
|
Highlights: VIII Conference of Brazilian Oncology Pharmacists
By Annemeri Livinalli, SOBRAFO, Sao Paulo, Brazil
With the theme "pharmaceutical assistance in oncology: where we are and where we are going?", the Scientific program highlighted the important roles developed by pharmacists in this area, offering diverse content with professionals that are considered experts in oncology pharmacy. In the following three days, presented lectures included economic issues, chemotherapy handling, education and clinic issues.
The first day was the pre meeting including the topics management, safety during chemotherapy handling, molecular biology and economic evaluation.
New treatment
In a round table format, new treatments and pharmaceutical technologies, were presented and speakers talked about highlights in the treatment of breast cancer, prostate cancer, non small cell lung cancer, and myeloma.
|
SOBRAFO Board
|
|
|
Reflections on the SOBRAFO VIII Meeting
By Barry Goldspiel, NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA
I was very fortunate to be an invited speaker to the VIII meeting of the Society of Brazilian Farmaceuticos Oncologia (SOBRAFO). This is the largest oncology pharmacy meeting in South America. This was my third trip to South America: first time to Sao Paolo for the first SOBRAFO meeting, second time to Chile just a month before this meeting for the ISOPP meeting; and, third to Florianoplis. Each time, my experience only gets better and better. The Brazilians are wonderful people. The hospitality of the organizing committee was exceptional. The meeting was fantastic.
The theme of the meeting was "Pharmaceutical care in Oncology: Where we are and where we are going? My talks focused on "Challenges for the future" during three sessions:
- Oncology Education from graduate to postgraduate: where we are and where are we going?
- Pharmaceutical Certification on an International Level: Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist (BCOP)); and,
- Pharmaceutical Care in Oncology: What to expect in next 15 years?
|
Barry Goldspiel and John Wiernikowski at SOBRAFO
|
|
Report on MASCC 2016
|
By Jenny Casanova, Haematology, Oncology & Palliative Care Repatriation General Hospital, Daw Park, SA, Australia
The MASCC (Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer) Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with the International Society of Oral Oncology, was hosted in Adelaide, Australia from June 23rd-25th, the first time that this meeting had been held outside of Europe or North America in its 25-year history. MASCC was formed in 1990 by collaboration between supportive care in cancer associations from Europe and North America, therefore the annual meeting has rotated between these continents. The 2016 meeting attracted 1075 registrants from 50 countries and the majority of delegates were from Australia & Asia.
MASCC's motto is "Supportive Care Makes Excellent Cancer Care Possible" and MASCC is a multidisciplinary organisation, open to all healthcare professionals involved in all stages of cancer care from diagnosis to end-of-life care. For a pharmacist involved in cancer care there are a number of ways to become a part of MASCC.
|
Jenny Casanova, ISOPP Member
|
|
|
By Marc Geirnaert, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Manitoba is a prairie province located in central Canada and its population is approximately 1.3 million. The Provincial Oncology Drug Program is responsible for the provision of parenteral oncology and hematology medications for the province of Manitoba. There are two main outpatient cancer centres in the capital of Manitoba in which the majority of oncologists and hematologists see patients. Besides the 2 main centres, there are 4 other outpatient centres in Winnipeg and 16 community cancer sites that are located outside of Winnipeg in which patients have the ability to receive their treatment closer to home.
The pharmacy department is busy with the maintenance and creation of electronic drug orders for computer physician order entry. In addition, our pharmacists are working with nursing to create a new version of our regimen reference orders to include additional information for safe drug delivery as well as removing any dangerous abbreviations.
|
Marc Geirnaert, ISOPP Member
|
|
Introduction of an Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant Service to the Austin Hospital
By Justine Hong, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Australia
In October 2015 the Austin Hospital situated in Heidelberg, Melbourne, Australia, set up a new allogeneic bone marrow transplant service. It was the first hospital in Australia in 10 years to be accredited to perform allogeneic bone marrow transplants for patients with haematological malignancies, severe bone marrow disease such as aplastic anaemia and inherited disorders like sickle cell anaemia. Previously patients of the Austin Hospital requiring an allogeneic BMT were referred on to either The Royal Melbourne Hospital or The Alfred Hospital for their transplants. The commencement of these allogeneic transplants has required the Austin Cancer Pharmacy team to develop a pharmacy service that has the skills, framework and capacity required to provide the necessary care for these complex patients.
Prior to the introduction of the allogeneic service, haematology patients were cared for on a mixed haematology/oncology 32 bed ward staffed by 1.8 EFT pharmacists. The original estimation for number of allogeneic patients to be treated was two per month. Anticipating the impact on the pharmacy and increase in requirements in order to provide care for this cohort of patients, involved evaluating the likely impact on the workload of the pharmacists working on the haematology ward. This included looking at what extra knowledge and skills would be required, as well as the expectations of the ward and medical staff of the pharmacy service.
|
Justine Hong, ISOPP Member
|
|
Navigating the ASCO Annual Meeting - 6 Things Oncology Pharmacists Should Know
By Thomas R.J. McFarlane, School of Pharmacy University of Waterloo, ON, Canada
Some of you among the ISOPP membership may have wondered what it's like to attend the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), given its prominence in our field of practice. The ASCO meeting is the single largest meeting of oncology professionals in the world, and it can seem rather daunting to those who are first-timers. Some of the most prominent names in the world of cancer treatment are typically in attendance, and it's the place where much of the evidence on which we base our day-to-day practice was presented for the first time. The meeting has a lot more to offer too, with sessions on almost every aspect of oncology practice imaginable. As such, it's a pretty exciting place to be for a few days every June. Add to that the attractions of a world-class city like Chicago, where the meeting is going to be held every year for the foreseeable future, and it makes for a very worthwhile excursion. The 2016 Annual Meeting was my seventh ASCO, and I've learned a few things (mostly by trial and error) over the years that have helped me, so I thought I would pass these along in the interest of helping others who might be thinking about adding it to their calendar.
|
Thomas R.J. McFarlane, ISOPP Member
|
|
ASCO 2016 Highlights
By Joe Bubalo, Oregon Health and Science University, USA
The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) took place from June 3 - June 7, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois in the USA. This meeting, of approximately 38,500 attendees, provides a wide variety of educational opportunities. Topics of focus for the meeting this year included documenting the value of therapy, special management of the elderly with cancer, treatment of fatigue, and an emphasis on immunotherapy, in addition to the reviews of therapeutics, and product specific research for compounds in various stages of the drug approval process that are presented every year. My focus for the meeting continues to be on patient care topics and new information on the dosing, side effect management, or therapeutic use of pharmaceutical or supportive care agents. I look for information that can be integrated into current practice as well as to learn new trends and upcoming products for the coming year. If you are looking for information on the topics mentioned above, or other areas of therapeutic review, the programming from the meeting which is available via internet. Many of the presentations, including slides sets are available via the virtual meeting (subscription required).
|
Joe Bubalo, ISOPP Member
|
|
Challenges for a Hospital with Off-Site Chemotherapy Manufacture and Responsibilities for Rural Sites
By Kimberley-Ann Kerr, Lyell McEwin Hospital, Australia
The Lyell McEwin Hospital is situated in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia, and is one of the three major tertiary hospitals in the city. It has grown in size rapidly over the ten and a half years I have worked at the hospital. The cancer centre in particular has grown from a two chemotherapy chair centre with an off-site pharmacy supplying chemotherapy and no clinical service, to a ten chemotherapy chair centre with two radiotherapy bunkers, and called the Northern Adelaide Cancer Centre (NACC). We currently have a full clinical pharmacy service, however do not have any onsite manufacturing. Additionally, we service multiple rural cancer centres, which create further logistical considerations. I thought I would share some of the challenges I have had with you, which may assist if you are new to oncology pharmacy. If you have had similar challenges, I would love to hear how you have dealt with them.
|
|
|
ECOP 3 - Dubrovnik, Croatia, 19-21 May
By Shaun O'Connor, Eastern Health, Melbourne, Australia
Dubrovnik was the wonderfully scenic setting for the third European Conference of Oncology Pharmacy, hosted by the European Society of Oncology Pharmacy (ESOP).
|
Shaun O'Connor (far right) at the ISOPP Meet'n'greet
|
The Croatian folk music accompanying the opening ceremony was a beautiful way to open this congress and really set the scene as an international gathering of experts in Oncology to share knowledge and promote cooperation, a role clearly prioritised by the organising committee and the support of ESOP.
Several highlights of the program included robust presentations surrounding the price movements of medications in a multinational environment specifically analysing the effect of determining price based on comparator nation pricing, presentations on viruses and immunotherapy and an intriguing debate on upcoming nationalised dose banding occurring in England. It will be very interesting to watch the effects that this has on the individual health services as well as the wider patient based and industrial implications.
|
ISOPP Business and News
|
|
ISOPP 2017 Symposium
|
The XVI International Symposium will take place April 26-29, 2017 in Budapest, Hungary.
Submit your abstract
for ISOPP by Tuesday, November 1 at midnight UTC
. The abstract submission information and guidelines can be viewed on the
ISOPP 2017 website
.
ISOPP offers members Travel Grants to attend ISOPP 2017.
Up to THREE travel grants of $2,000 CAD each are available for members who have paid their 2016/2017 membership fees.
To find out more and to submit an application, visit the
Travel Grants page of the ISOPP website.
The deadline for submitting an application is January 23, 2017.
A number of grants are also available to assist ISOPP members in the Australasian Region in attending ISOPP
|
Virtual Journal Club
Accessing JOPP is easy! Log in as a member, go to the JOPP Access page and click the Access JOPP button. You have instant access.
The thirty-first issue of the
Virtual Journal Club (VJC)
is available on the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP) website. To access it, visit the
Virtual Journal Club Surveys page
or follow the
direct link
to the survey.
"Baxter elastomeric pumps: Feasibility of weight estimates"
Carole R Chambers, Mica Pabia, Michael Sawyer and Patricia A Tang
J Oncol Pharm Pract, first published on June 29, 2016
Learning Objectives:
- To understand variability in the flow rates of Elastomeric pumps; and
- To consider alternate weighing method for patients to assess pump functioning.
"Taxane-induced arthralgia and myalgia: A literature review - multiple choice questions"
Nicholas Chiu, Leonard Chiu, Ronald Chow, Henry Lam, Sunil Verma, Mark Pasetka, Edward Chow, and Carlo DeAngelis J Oncol Pharm Pract 1078155215627502, first published on January 24, 2016
Learning Objectives:
- To become familiar and understand the incidence of taxane-induced arthralgia and myalgia; and
- To understand the incidence of arthralgia and myalgia in patients being treated with the paclitaxel, docetaxel, and nab-paclitaxel; and
- To understand optimal therapeutic and preventative treatments as well as different risk factors for taxane-induced arthralgia and myalgia.
"Safe handling of oral antineoplastic medications: Focus on targeted therapeutics in the home setting"
Yaakov Cass, Thomas H Connor and Alexander Tabachnik J Oncol Pharm Practice March 22, 2016 DOI: 10.1177/1078155216637217
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the challenges that are associated with using oral targeted antineoplastic medications in the home setting
- Understand the basics of carcinogenic, genotoxic and embryo-foetal toxicity of oral targeted antineoplastics; and
- Discuss the limitations of the current information on the actual amounts of unchanged drugs and /or its active metabolites present in excreta; and
- Understand the role of the pharmacist to provide counseling for patients and their caregivers regarding the safe use of oral targeted cancer chemotherapy as an important component of optimal patient care.
As a reminder, ISOPP's Virtual Journal Club features online articles from the Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice (
JOPP
). Members are encouraged to read articles and then answer a series of multiple choice questions through the
Virtual Journal Club Surveys
.
After completing the questionnaire, a certificate will be emailed to you. Although not formally accredited for continuing medical education (CME) points, participation is equal to one hour of CME activity.
Members are also encouraged to use the Member Discussion Forum to stimulate discussion about articles they have read. Your
ISOPP membership
provides many great benefits and we are hopeful you will find the Virtual Journal Club another asset to your oncology pharmacy practice.
Regards
Felice Musicco
Publications Chair
|
|
ISOPP's Society &
Symposium Management Office
Sea to Sky Meeting Management
is ISOPP's Society and 2016 & 2017 Symposium Management Office. If you have any questions about membership, services, ISOPP 2016, ISOPP 2017 or the Society, please contact the ISOPP Office directly as follows:
Direct: +1-778-338-4142
Fax: +1-604-984-6434
Suite 206, 201 Bewicke Avenue
North Vancouver, BC Canada V7M 3M7
www.seatoskymeetings.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
