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International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners
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Vol 19, No. 4 December 2017
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Message from the President
Dear
2017 came and went quickly and with that I wish you all a very Happy New Year and all the best for a successful 2018.
The ISOPP Secretariat and its Committees, Task Forces, and Work Groups have been working diligently on bringing the strategic priorities to fruition. As a reminder, and to those new to ISOPP, the three strategic initiatives were identified for ISOPP as follows:
- Engage members around the ISOPP vision and inspire the global Oncology Pharmacy community to take action;
- Deliver enhanced professional development resources; and
- Develop and mobilize Oncology Pharmacy collaborative advocacy initiatives.
All essential to advancing global cancer care and enhancing the Society's value over the next few years.
The work of our volunteer members is paying off with positive results:
- Membership and member participation has increased.
- ISOPP recently launched ISOPP's very own Virtual Education Resource Library (the Virtual Library), which serves as a hub for oncology pharmacy practitioners from around the world to access the breadth and depth of knowledge of ISOPP members and others on a 24-hour basis.
- The Standards of Practice are being revised and new content created to be used as a tool in developing skill sets required in training of oncology pharmacy practice practitioners. An update will be presented at ISOPP's 2018 Symposium in Shanghai.
- ISOPP's inaugural Masterclass took place in Shanghai in December and two more are planned for April, also in Shanghai and in conjunction with the Symposium. We are working on holding additional Masterclasses in other regions of the world as well.
- Patient care initiatives through our partnership with the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) - more information to follow soon.
- The Virtual Journal Club (VJC) continues to feature articles from the Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice (JOPP) encouraging you to read and discuss the scholastic articles, and then test your knowledge.
- Another excellent and comprehensive Symposium program addressing leading edge topics - the best of the East and the West - during plenary, panel and concurrent sessions planned for April in Shanghai.
In 2018 and beyond, we will continue to work on the above initiatives, and on others as identified during the Global Oncology Summit, which took place prior to the 2017 Symposium in Budapest.
Thank you to all those who give their time, knowledge, and expertise. Please let me know if you would like to volunteer as well as we continue to work on ISOPP's strategic priorities to advance global cancer care.
Are you attending an oncology pharmacy meeting in the next few months or would like to provide a '
Day in the Life of
an oncology pharmacist / practitioner"
article? Submit your story and/or meeting update with photos for the March Enewsletter. The deadline to submit to
[email protected]
is March 12th.
Enjoy the December edition of our Newsletter. It continues to keep us all connected and informed about the activities of our colleagues and friends around the world.
Be sure to register before the February 26th early bird deadline for ISOPP's 2018 Symposium and see you in Shanghai in less than three months!
Sincerely
Harbans
Harbans Dhillon
ISOPP President
PS If you missed reading the most recent edition of the Staying in Touch Enews or any other issue this year, visit the
Staying in Touch archive page
on ISOPP's website to catch up. A reminder too, that past editions of the Newsletter are also available on ISOPP's website on the
Newsletter page
.
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 Oncology Around the World
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Workshop Report: The Shanghai Masterclass, December 2, 2018
By Lisa Ng, Beacon International Specialist Centre, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
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Demonstrations and practical training during Spill Management Session |
At the start of December, 35 enthusiastic hospital pharmacists throughout main-land China gathered in Shanghai for ISOPP's first Masterclass. This Masterclass was conducted in English with interpretation to Mandarin done by Miguel and his team. The Masterclass was a collaboration between ISOPP, Committee of Oncology Pharmacy - Shanghai Anticancer Association (COP-SACA) and Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Centre. The one day event was held at the Kerry Hotel, Pudong, Shanghai which is also the location for ISOPP 2018.
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By Shaun O'Connor, Oncology Pharmacist, Eastern Health, Melbourne, Australia
In the temperate climates of Sydney in November, over 1000 oncology physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, nurses and colleagues were taken on a journey towards safer and improved treatment through further examination of immunotherapy, the emerging role of data in the Australian environment and a focus on quality systems to reduce deviation in the system.
The invited keynote speaker, pilot Richard De Crespigny, gave a fascinating lecture on the systems utilized by pilots and staff to ensure that passengers get from A to B each and every day.
The comparisons between aviation and healthcare, whilst not one-for-one at all times, do provide some guidance on some avenues that healthcare may become better at following in order to ensure the safest possible journey for our patients.
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By
Tiene Bauters, Clinical Pharmacist, Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
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Poster discussion (from left to right): A. Mannaerts, T. Bauters, G. Laureys |
The 49th Annual Congress of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) was held in Washington DC, USA.
SIOP is one of the largest international, professional organizations dedicated to pediatric oncology and is an important partner in advancing knowledge in all aspects of childhood cancer. SIOP provides educational opportunities and serves as a platform for international exchange for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, psychologists, parents, patients, survivors and volunteers.
Some of the highlights of the conference that
could be of interest for pharmacists are
presented here.
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By Annemeri Livinalli, Sociedade Brasileira de Farmacêuticos em Oncologia, Sao Paulo, Brazil
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SOBRAFO Board (left to right): Elaine Lazzaroni, Pablicio Nobre, Mayde Torriani, Annemeri Livinalli, Ney Moura, Claudia Fonseca, Rafael Risch. |
Throughout 2017 the Brazilian Society of Pharmacists in Oncology (SOBRAFO) promoted the 5th edition of the regional seminars. The purpose of this activity is to promote events in 4 different regions of Brazil, offering a day of scientific programming for a group of professionals from the state and the region. The board of directors has been responsible for choosing 4 capitals for each edition, so that in the last 5 editions we already were in 17 of the 27 capitals. Considering the size of our country, it is fundamental to provide this cycle of regional activities. Firstly, because it is a way to offer a scientific program among our congresses that occur every two years, secondly, it is an opportunity to offer updates to those who could not attend the congress and have less access to scientific meetings near the local area where they work, because of the distance and other limitations.
Almost 400 participants registered to learn and review important issues, related to pharmaceutical practices and the treatment of cancer. We innovate by offering content organized on two levels: basic and advanced. In each one we offered 6 lectures. At the basic level the objective was to meet the demands of professionals with less than 5 years of activity in the area. The highlights in this program was the content about safety in handling, implementation of a palliative care service, patient safety, certification and pharmacovigilance, plus the introduction to immunotherapy in oncology, addressing the main concepts. In the advanced level, the programming was elaborated to update the professionals involved in clinical activities. Thus, the lectures included updates in the treatment of breast, prostate, lymphomas, lung, colorectal, and thyroid cancers. Following the update cycle in different tumours, there was a lecture on interchangeability between biosimilars, a topic that in Brazil is still controversial, and many pharmacists are still confused with issues about switching.
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By Shinya Suzuki, Department of Pharmacy, National Cancer Center Hospital East, National Research and Development Agency, Director and Delegate of the Japanese Society of Pharmaceutical Oncology, Kashiwa, Japan
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Conference Chair Shinchiro Saito and ISOPP President-Elect Alexandre Chan
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The Japanese Society of Pharmaceutical Oncology (JASPO) consists of over 2,500 hospital pharmacists, community pharmacists, and various healthcare pharmaceutical professionals who work for cancer care in 2017. The JASPO held its 5th meeting in Niigata in 18-19 March 2017 and the conference chair was Shinichiro Saito and the executive committee chairperson was Hisanaga Nomura. Shinichiro and Hisanaga work as pharmacists at the National Cancer Center Hospital East. There were more than 2,000 attendees from various professional areas, including not only hospital pharmacists and community pharmacists, but also doctors, nurses, pharmacy school faculty staff, researchers, students, and pharmaceutical company researchers and
medical representatives.
The m
ain theme of the annual conference was "Live with Cancer: Pharmacist-led Cancer Medicine". The annual meeting highlighted the value of pharmacists in various settings in cancer care.
During the two-day annual conference, there were one presidential lecture, three
special lectures, twelve symposia, one public open symposium, six basic educational seminars and two workshop sessions at the Toki Messe.
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ISOPP Business and News
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ISOPP 2018 Symposium
If you did not receive an email with your personalized link, or would like it resent, please contact the association management office at
[email protected].
T
he theme
is East Meets West: Past, Present, and Future.
We share a common mission: advancing cancer patient care. Differing medical practices to achieve our mission creates an opportunity. As the role of oncology practitioners in the care of cancer patients evolves, we seek to integrate the best practices in our care of cancer patients. We welcome you and others to share your best practice - the best of the East and the West - so that we can all learn about the evolution of these practices to enhance the care of all cancer patients.
Platinum Sponsor
To become a sponsor and/or exhibitor, contact Sandy Becker, Symposium Manager, at [email protected].
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Two
Masterclasses
are scheduled for April 14, 2018 and organized by ISOPP and the Shanghai Anti-Cancer Association (SACA)
. These full day practical workshops, specific to the needs of oncology pharmacy practitioners, will be facilitated by ISOPP leaders and oncology pharmacy experts.
Masterclass #1: Safe Handling
The Masterclass is designed for pharmacists who are interested in learning how to handle hazardous drugs safely to minimize exposure in healthcare settings and to protect the environment.
Topics:
- Standards of Practice - ISOPP Standards
- Safe Handling of Cytotoxic Drugs
- Spill Kit Management
- Fundamentals of Facilities and Equipment
- Essentials in Aseptic Techniques
- Validation Process and Quality Assurance
- Preventing Medication Errors in Compounding and Prescribing of Cyotoxic Drugs
Masterclass #2: Supportive Care
This Masterclass is the first part of a cancer supportive care Masterclass series and is designed for pharmacists who are interested in learning about the evidenced-based supportive care strategies for managing toxicities that are associated with cancer and anticancer treatments.
For each topic, presenters will provide clinical cases to demonstrate how toxicities can be prevented and treated using both pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies.
Topics:
- Management of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting
- Management of myelosuppression
- Prevention of extravasation and hypersensitivity reactions
- Management of oncologic emergencies
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"Staying in Touch" is a communication from the ISOPP Secretariat to you, the member, who we serve. The purpose of the communication is to keep you informed of the work the ISOPP leadership is doing on your behalf, and complements the quarterly newsletter that you receive in March, June, September and December.
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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
forty-fifth 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.
"The clinical significance of QT prolongation associated with tamoxifen: A review of the literature"
Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice
Lily Z Yan, Emily V Dressler, and Val R Adams
JOPP First Published 21 Feb 2017
Learning Objectives:
- List 4 factors that increase the rick for QT prolongation;
- Differentiate between QT and QTc, and be able to identify the interval that would be considered prolonged in both males and females;
- Understand the proposed mechanism for tamoxifen prolonging the QT interval; and
- Understand why tamoxifen would be considered low risk for causing significant QT prolongation.
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
Communications Work Group Key Lead
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ISOPP's Society &
Symposium Management Office
Sea to Sky Meeting Management
is ISOPP's Society and Symposium Management Office. If you have any questions about membership, services, symposia or the Society, please contact the ISOPP Office directly as follows:
Direct: +1-604-984-6448
Fax: +1-604-984-6434
Suite 206, 201 Bewicke Avenue
North Vancouver, BC Canada V7M 3M7
www.seatoskymeetings.com
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