International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners
Vol 19, No. 2 June 2017
Message from the President 

   

In the May edition of "Staying in Touch", I shared with you all the productive work and outcomes that resulted from our gathering in Budapest at the ISOPP Global Summit and 2017 Symposium. This month, you can read firsthand what participants experienced and how their participation advanced their oncology pharmacy knowledge. Articles are from each 2017 travel grant recipients, the local Hungarian planning task force and the co-chairs of the Global Summit. There are of course articles from members around the world as well sharing all they are doing to advance oncology pharmacy care. 

In the Society business and news section, make note of the key dates for submitting abstracts, applying for travel grants, and registering for ISOPP 2018 in Shanghai China. There will be 2 and a half days of Symposium (April 11-13) programming followed by a full day Master class (April 14). Start planning your trip now! In the meantime, plan to attend the ISOPP Australasian Symposium, taking place August 26-27, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia.

Also, in case you missed it, see who the ISOPP award recipients were in Budapest and read the latest edition from the Virtual Journal Club (VJC).

Look for more news and events from ISOPP in the coming months.

Sincerely
Harbans

Harbans Dhillon
ISOPP President

PS If you missed reading May's 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 .
OncologyOncology Around the World
By  the Hungarian local organizing committee: Alexandra Bartal, Ákos Juhász, László Szekely and Attila Szucs
Attila Szucs

The ISOPP 2017 Symposium was held from April 26-29 at the Marriott Hotel in Budapest, Hungary. More than 200 people attended the event from 40 countries around the world. Pharmacists arrived from the farthest part of the world too (Australia, Japan, Brazil, South-Africa...). On the first day, approximately 40 people visited the National Institute of Oncology (NIO) where, after a brief presentation, we introduced the Surgical, Radiotherapy Centre, the Experimental Pharmacology Department and of course our Pharmacy. President Harbans Dhillon from Malaysia and Peter Nagy, scientific director of NIO opened the event. Subsequently, the opening lecture was held by Andreas Ullrich from the WHO. The topic was the availability of oncological drugs in a global context and how the WHO can improve the situation. Several Hungarian speakers accepted the invitation. 

By John Wiernikowski, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada and Rowena (Moe) Schwartz, University of Cincinnati James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Participants at the ISOPP Global Summit

The International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners continues to work toward the vision of advancing oncology pharmacy care for individuals affected by cancer throughout the world. A key tactic in the organization's strategy to implement our vision is through active engagement of ISOPP members to identify, develop and execute on a number of efforts. The ISOPP Global Oncology Pharmacy Summit, held immediately prior to the XVI International Symposium of Oncology Pharmacy Practice in Budapest, Hungary, brought together ISOPP members from around the world to continue communication with members about the work of ISOPP. 

This Summit was not the first time that ISOPP has gathered members from around the world to ask for help identifying needs for our membership; a smaller meeting was held during the ISOPP meeting in Montreal, Canada. This Summit held in Budapest was planned based on the success of that meeting in Montreal and the recommendation from ISOPP leadership to continue to engage ISOPP members in developing the course for the organization. It is apparent that ISOPP continues to grow through the ideas from members throughout the world.

By Eskinder Eshetu Ali, BPharm, MSc, National University of Singapore, Phd Student, Singapore
Eskinder Ali presenting at ISOPP 2017

In this short report, I will provide my reflections on what I have learnt from participating in the XVI International Symposium on Oncology Pharmacy Practice (ISOPP 2017) held from 26-29 April 2017 in Budapest, Hungary. I am currently doing my PhD at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in the area of oncology pharmacy practice and have gained a lot from attending ISOPP 2017. Most importantly, I presented and got the platform award for my research entitled "Patient adherence to oral anticancer medications in an Asian tertiary cancer care centre". This has given me the opportunity to receive crucial feedback that will boost the quality of my research. Moreover, I have obtained important insights from the cutting edge research presented at the platform and e-poster sessions and discussions with researchers in the area. All these have added to my overall research profile and professional competence. 

By Paul Obeng, MSC, MPH, B. Pharm., Clinical Pharmacist, Paediatric Haematology/ Oncology, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana
Paul Obeng and 
ISOPP President,  Harbans Dhillon

I find the establishment of the National Institute of Cancer for Hungary a commendable initiative. I will recommend the establishment of a similar institute in Ghana.

Submitting an abstract and presenting was one of the high points observed. This compels me to submit an abstract for the ISOPP 2018 Shanghai, China to contribute to global knowledge and to build ISOPP/JOPP.

Due to the high cost of treatment for cancer related conditions, Oncology pharmacists need to assess patients critically for any financial distress to steer them to affordable and effective therapies.

Pharmacists need to monitor the clinical presentation and management of immune related adverse drug effects of medicines to reduce interruptions in the treatment regimen and improve patient's quality of life. Management of such adverse drug effects will be recommended, guided by current evidence and best practices. Long term pharmacovigilance is essential to ensure that any unexpected toxicities are identified for these newly available therapies.

By Tamrat Assefa, BPharm, M.Sc, School of Pharmacy, CHS, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
Tamrat Assefa

This year the XVI International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP) Symposium was held in Budapest, Hungary from April 26- 29, 2017. I attended the annual symposium as I was offered a travel grant from ISOPP. During my stay, I got the chance to meet many clinical and oncology pharmacists, researchers, scientists, and scholars who came from different parts of the world to discuss their experience in different areas of oncology pharmacy practice and research. Since the symposium was well organized and managed (e.g. divided into different concurrent sessions, round table discussions, e-poster and platform presentation, updates) it was amazing and very much interesting for me and I hope for all others.

During the four days at ISOPP 2017, I was extremely surprised about the advancement of oncology pharmacy practice and roles of pharmacists in improving patient care as these were presented by different researchers and practitioners from their real practice, research findings especially from developed countries like USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, etc. Based on these presentations and discussions with some of presenters, I understood more about how I can apply what I have observed/learned to the cancer patients' set up of my country by expanding oncology pharmacy services.

By Aygin Bayraktar-Ekincioglu, Ph.D, Clinical Pharmacist, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey and Gozde Yesilyaprak, B.Sci., Training Consultant, Onkofar, Izmir, Turkey

TUKED and ISOPP leadership enjoying the evening in Budapest
It was fruitful professional experience and good opportunity to meet oncology pharmacists all over the world during the ISOPP Congress 2017 in Budapest. As a member of TÜKED (The Turkish Hospital Pharmacists Society), we were happy to see the different practices around the world that are also facing similar problems in oncology pharmacy. Our first experience with the ISOPP was during 4th TÜKED National Congress in March 2017 in Dalaman, Turkey. ISOPP President Dhillon kindly accepted our invitation as a speaker and presented activities of the ISOPP and oncology pharmacy practices in the world. It was a great opportunity for the Turkish hospital pharmacists who are involved in drug preparation in chemotherapeutics and provide care to patients with cancer.

The TÜKED is the main national society of hospital pharmacists in Turkey since 2007, has approximately 450 members and collaborates with the Turkish Ministry of Health (Drug and Medical Device Agency), universities/pharmacy faculties, professional organisations, scientific societies and drugs/medical device companies. The society focuses on educational and professional needs as well as legal professional rights of hospital pharmacists. The TÜKED has organised four national congresses (>700 participants/each congress), workshops and one-day educational programmes in oncology pharmacy and total parenteral nutrition since 2012. Indeed, oncology pharmacy workshop was held in November 2016 in Kusadasi with a participation of 250 pharmacists, along with a one-day educational programme for oncology pharmacy technicians and oncology pharmacists separately.

By Karen Vermis, PharmD, PhD, UZ Gent, Belgium

The 10th edition of the yearly 2-day BOPP conference proved again to be a successful formula in updating the Belgian hospital pharmacists with the most recent developments in oncology.

Prof. Dr. A. Sacré (CHR Verviers) discussed new treatment strategies in castrate resistant prostate cancer. The following topics were addressed: sequential use of the novel androgen-directed inhibitors seems to not be a good option for most patients, the biomarker AR-V7 is a negative predictor for anti-androgens but not for taxanes, the results of clinical trials with new antiandrogens, that a.o. interact with the testosterone synthesis, and the next-generation androgen receptor antagonists (less side effects) are promising, docetaxel administration should be early for newly diagnosed and shows benefit with metastasis (CHAARTED, STAMPEDE trial), DNA repair defects and PARP inhibitors (olaparib), the variable success of immunotherapy, although results of combination therapy are still pending and at the end the promising use of radio isotopes.

Prof. Dr. J.F. Baurain (UCL Saint-Luc) gave a comprehensive overview of cancer immunotherapy and the immune-related adverse events, which are unpredictable, could be lethal and are not dose-related. Treatment strategies should be based on biomarkers or tumor type, combinations with eg IDO-, BRAF- MEK-inhibitors, T-VEC, etc. The presentation demonstrated that this is only the beginning of a rapidly evolving science

By Jennifer Jupp, BScPharm, BCOP, Alberta Children's Hospital and University of Alberta, Canada

Jennifer Jupp
This year the Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncology (CAPhO) Conference was set in beautiful Banff, Alberta, Canada.  The annual national gathering of oncology pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and assistants was held on April 20-23, 2017 at the historical Banff Springs Hotel.

CAPhO Conference is also a time for the national community of oncology practioners to recognize the achievements within our group.  The Distinguised Service Award (CAPhO's highest honor) was presented to ISOPP member Tara Leslie.  ISOPP member, Carole Chambers was also conferred with the Fellow of Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncology (FCAPhO) this year.  Congratulations to all award winners!

The conference theme of "Do Something Astonishing" was inspired by the late Larry Broadfield, who challenged us to make our interactions with our patients count.  Although we may feel that our interventions are small, they may be very meaningful to our patients.

By Nicolas Viudez, ORIONIS Private Institute of Oncology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Nicolas Viudez
Argentina is within the range of countries with medium-high  incidence of cancer. This estimate corresponds to an incidence in both sexes of 217 new cases per year per 100,000 inhabitants. The cancer with the highest incidence is breast cancer in women with a rate of 71 cases per 100,000 women, followed by prostate (44 x 100,000 men) and lung (32.5 x 100,000 men) cancers in men.

The oncology pharmacy in Argentina has a direct connection with the preparation of IV chemotherapy mixtures, dispensing of oral drugs, and management of critical process such as environmental control of clean rooms and medical devices acquisition. Activities like health education assistance for oncology patients by pharmacy services are currently considered, but today they need more support from health organizations and a better integration of the pharmacist's role in the medical team.

For us it is an honor to share with the ISOPP community a typical day in the life of an oncology pharmacist from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Australasian ISOPP Symposium 2017Australasian1
By Jill Davis
Jill Davis

The Australasian ISOPP Symposium will take place on August 26-27, 2017at St. Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The Symposium is a unique opportunity to learn from medical and pharmacy experts and covers a broad range of Cancer topics including: "Good Clinical Governance in Cancer Care," and "The Spectrum of Skin Toxicity in the Era of Immunotherapy and Targeted Chemotherapy." For more information and to see the full programme please visit http://www.isopp.org/isopp-symposia/australasian-symposium-2017
 
This meeting's keynote speaker is USA Dr. Milan J Anadkat, Associate Professor of Dermatology from Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. Attendees at ISOPP 2016 in Santiago, Chile can testify to the excellence of his presentations and for those who missed out, here is a great opportunity to hear him speak. With a strong mixture of clinical presentations and practical information (e.g. governance, electronic prescribing systems), this symposium has something for everyone.
 
I hope to see you there.
Jill Davis on behalf of the Organising Committee.
newsISOPP Business and News


ISOPP18ISOPP 2018 Symposium
Come to Shanghai, China in 2018 for the XVII International Symposium (April 11-13) and  ISOPP's one day Masterclass (April 14). That is three and a half days of leading edge education to  advance your oncology pharmacy knowledge

Top reasons to attend:
  • Advance your practice and build competence
  • Make connections with oncology pharmacy
  • practitioners from around the world
  • Be part of the ISOPP community advancing cancer care
  • Explore Shanghai and the surrounding area
Deadlines
  • Abstract Submission: November 7, 2017
  • ISOPP Member Travel Grant Application: January 8, 2018
  • Early Bird Registration: February 26, 2018
In case you missed the email, read the latest edition of the Staying in Touch Enews on the ISOPP website.  

 
"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.
VJCVirtual 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-ninth 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. 

"Incidence of late onset neutropenia associated with rituximab use in B Cell lymphoma patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation."
Vincent H Ha, Sunita Ghosh, Catherine Leyshon, Nikki Ryan, Carole R Chambers, Douglas A Stewart. J Oncol Pharm Pract published March 30, 2017.
 
Learning Objectives:
  1. Identify the risk for late onset neutropenia (LON) associated with rituximab in B Cell Lymphoma patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplant; 
  2. Recognize the self-limiting and reversible nature of LON associated with rituximab; 
  3. Review the infectious complications associated with LON ; and 
  4. Extrapolate and apply to your patient population prophylactic measures to prevent infectious complications associated with LON.
Previous issue:   Thirty-eighth

"Clinical Effectiveness of Bevacizumab in Patients with Recurrent Brain Tumours: A Population-Based Evaluation." 
Mário L de Lemos, Adeline Markarian, Esther Chan, Kimberly Schaff, Susan Walisser. J Oncol Pharm Pract published November 30, 2016.
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
Website Work Group Key Lead
 
 
Congratulations to all ISOPP 2017 Award and Grant recipients!
Achievement Award
The ISOPP Achievement Award recognizes an ISOPP member who has made a significant contribution to, or has provided leadership in, developing or supporting an innovative technical or clinical oncology pharmacy service.
This year's ISOPP Achievement Award deserving recipients are Peter Gilbar of Toowoomba, Australia and Felice Musicco of Rome, Italy. Peter was recognized for his contribution in the creation of educational opportunities and Felice was recognized for his work in the development of sustainable technology.
Terry Maunsell presenting Peter Gilbar with an Achievement Award.
Felice Musicco displays his Achievement Award.
Poster Award
Dr. Takahiro Ohta of the National Cancer Center Hospital East in Kashiwa, Japan won the best Research Poster Award for his poster titled:  Survey of Chemotherapy Regimen Checks for Oral Anticancer Agents by Pharmacist in the Cancer Designated Hospitals of the NHO/NCC in Japan

Carole Chambers Research Committee Chair and Dr. Takahiro Ohta Poster Award winner.
To read Dr. Takahiro Ohta's abstract and/or the abstract of the other platform award recipients, log in to the  ISOPP website  as member, go to the  ISOPP 2017 Material Online page  and click on "Abstract Book".
Posters are evaluated during the Poster Session at each Symposium. Judges review the posters and interview poster presenters to determine score and rank. Those ranked and scoring the highest are awarded a Poster Award, presented during the Symposium's Closing Ceremonies.
Platform Award
The Platform presentations, for those who submitted abstracts, were selected through the abstract review process. Those ranked and scoring the highest are awarded a Platform Award, also presented during the Symposium's Closing Ceremonies.
The 2017 platform awards were presented to:
  • Lauren Charbonneau, Canada - Implementation of Camera Technology to Meet Traceability Standards for Compounded Sterile Products and Increase Efficiency in a Regional Cancer Centre
  •  Eskinder Eshetu Ali and Lita Chew, Singapore - Patient Adherence to Oral Anticancer Medications in an Asian Tertiary Cancer Care Centre
  • Matteo Federici - Efficacy of Four Cleaning Solutions for the Decontamination of Cytotoxic Drugs on Different Surfaces of the Automated Compounding System APOTECAchemo
  • Lisa Holle, United States - Oncology Dose-Rounding Program
  • Chenchia Lin, Taiwan - Challenge the Compatibility of Closed System Transfer Devices with Multiple Chemotherapy Drugs
  • En Hui Pheobe Si, Singapore - Developing a Decision Support Tool to Assist Clinicians to Assess the Benefit of Palliative Chemotherapy in Stage 4 Breast Cancer Patients
  • Racha Sabbagh Dit Hawasli, United Kingdom - Towards the Safe Handling of Cytotoxic Drugs in Academic Research Settings; Recommendations from a Multidisciplinary Working Group
  • Shinya Suzuki, Japan - Differences Between Online Survey and Mailed Survey from the Nationwide Survey for Community Pharmacists in Japan
  • Shinya Suzuki, Japan - Characteristics and Management of High Incidence of Grade 3, 4 Hypertension in Lenvatinib Oral Chemotherapy for Thyroid Cancer Patients
  • Tine Van Nieuwenhuyse and Birgit Tans, Belgium - Oral Anticancer Drugs: to Crush or Not to Crush


Award recepients (from left to right) Eskinder Eshetu Ali, Shinya Suzuki, Lisa Holle, Matteo Federici, Birgit Tans, Shinya Suzuki and Pheobi Si (Racha Sabbagh Dit Hawasli, Tine Van Nieuwenhuyse, Lauren Charbonneau and Chenchia Lin are not pictured here)

Research Grant
The 2017 research grant was awarded to Marliese Alexander of Australia for work on  Targeted thromboprophylaxis (TP) for cancer patients at high risk of thromboembolism (TE)

Watch for the results of the research to be posted on ISOPP's website when completed.

 
Carole Chambers, Research Committee Chair, congratulates Marliese Alexander, Research Grant recepient.
Travel Grants
Travel grants are a member benefit and awarded each year to support ISOPP members' participation in the annual Symposium. Watch for articles from this year's travel grant award recipients in the upcoming  quarterly newsletter .

The 2017 travel grants were awarded to:
Eskinder Eshetu Ali,  National University of Singapore, Singapore
Tamrat Assefa,  Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia 
Paul Obeng,  Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana

Read more about Travel Grants and how to apply for one to attend ISOPP 2018 in Shanghai.
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 

In This Issue
Newsletter Summary
This  Newsletter Summary  provides a brief introduction/summary to each article. In order to access the full article, login to the isopp.org website then click on the 'read more' button at the end of each article's introduction. In addition, at the end of each full article there is the opportunity for you to write comments about the article and start up a discussion forum.

JOPP Access
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.  
NCCN Chemotherapy Order Templates
The purpose of the NCCN Chemotherapy Order Templates is to enhance patient safety by allowing you to standardize patient care, reduce medication errors, and anticipate and manage adverse events. The NCCN Templates include systemic therapies such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy (along with information such as dosing, route of administration, and duration of infusion), supportive care recommendations, monitoring parameters, and safety instructions.
E-learning tool Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
The purpose of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) E-learning Tool is to provide basic knowledge to hospital and community pharmacists involved in the pharmaceutical care for HSCT patients. Different topics will be discussed including: hematopoiesis, different types and sources of HSCT, process of HSCT, early and late complications, drugs used during conditioning regimens, drugs used in prevention and treatment of complications. The tool takes approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete, depending on the knowledge and experience of the user.
ISOPP Policy on Endorsement of Guidelines
Do you have a guideline that you would like to submit for ISOPP's endorsement? As per the National Guideline Clearinghouse, guidelines are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care that are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options. For further details on eligibility and the evaluation process, review the  ISOPP Policy on Endorsement of Guidelines .
Host a Future 
ISOPP Symposium
Would you like to see one of ISOPP's Symposium held in your city or country?  Review the Destination RFP .

Meet n' Greet
Did you know that you can gather colleagues for an ISOPP "meet n' greet" at a conference you attend to say hello and share the benefits of ISOPP membership? 

Contact  services@isopp.org   to find out more.
ISOPP Sponsored Membership Program
The  Sponsored Membership Program  exists  to support 
members who, given their 
personal or regional financial situations, may not be able to become an ISOPP member or continue their ISOPP 
membership.

Thanks to the generosity of members who have made 
additional payments, there is 
a pool of money to help support others in the field of oncology pharmacy pay membership fees. Do you know someone who would like to join ISOPP? 

Email  membership@isopp.org

Read more on the program.
Calendar of Events
Submit an Article

Contact Evelyn Handel, Newsletter Editor at newsletter@isopp.org
to submit an article.
Quick Links