Contents

1.

 Editorial:
Head and neck cancer
   

2.

Advances in
radiotherapy - more treatment options for
our patients
   

3.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in head and neck cancers
   

4.

Post radiation hypopituitarism
   

6.

Plastic reconstruction methods
   

7.

Management of pain in head & neck cancer
   
8. Head and neck cancers: Role of molecular targeted agents
   

10.

 Tube feeding
modalities in head and neck cancer patients

 

  

12.

 Supportive care for patients cured of head
& neck cancers

 

  

14.

 Voice restoration

 

  

15.

 Speech and swallowing difficulties and management in patients with NPC post radiation
   
 

NCC Roundup
   
 

Staff Directory
   
 

www.nccs.com.sg
Reg.No.:199801562Z

We welcome your contributions
to Cancer Update. Send your
queries and comments to
Postgraduate Cancer Education
/Information Support Services,
National Cancer Centre Singapore, 11 Hospital Drive,
Singapore 169610. Or phone us at (65) 6236 9425, fax us at
(65) 6536 5503, or email:
daalff@nccs.com.sg

Ask The Expert
Should you have questions on
cancer treatments, log onto
http://www.nccs.com.sg/
medprof/06.htm
for more information.

Please note that contents are not to be quoted or repeated without the permission of the National Cancer Centre. All advice given
in Cancer Update is not intended to replace patient-doctor consultation.
   
   

 
 
NCC Roundup
 
 
>> ESMO Conference Lugano (ECLU) 2007 Update
>> Clinical Fellowship Attachment

ESMO Conference Lugano (ECLU) 2007 Update

The European Society of Medical Oncology Conference Lugano (ECLU) was held on 5-8 July 2007 in the scenic lakeside town of Lugano, Switzerland. It serves as a useful review and update on the latest developments in medical oncology targeting specifically at junior oncologists. Highlights of the meeting included a “ESMO Young Oncologist Masterclass on Cancer research: Principles and Practice” and several Meet the Professor sessions where open interaction between the expert and participants proved both stimulating and thought provoking. Educational sessions provided a comprehensive review with special focus on hematological malignancies, kidney, lung and rectal cancer.

The meeting attracted participants from across the globe and NCC was well represented. Four abstracts were presented by our own Department of Medical Oncology (DMO) doctors, Dr Joanne Ngeow, Dr Ang Mei Kim, Dr Darren Lim and Dr Lim Soon Thye. We are proud to mention that Dr Ang Mei Kim, Registrar, presented her work on “ Gastric Mucosa Associated Lympoid Tissue (MALT) Lymphoma and Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL): Differences in Clinical Characteristics and Survival According to Predominant Subtype” and was awarded the Best Poster Award.

Her study showed that histology is of prognostic importance in gastric lymphoma. In the subset of MALT, a group of gastric lymphoma that is not well studied, she showed that the presence of a high grade component did not adversely affect the prognosis allowing for less aggressive treatment strategies as compared with patients with pure DLBCL.

Dr Lim Soon Thye’s abstract titled “Performance status is the single most important prognostic factor in lymphoma patients aged greater than 75 years, overriding other presenting characteristics” was selected as an oral presentation. His study showed that in patients older that 75 years old, performance status was the most important prognostic factor. His study raises questions as to whether current prognostic indices remain helpful in this group of elderly lymphoma patients.

The ECLU will be held every summer in Lugano, Switzerland coinciding with other festivities such as the Lugano Jazz festival and is warmly recommended to all junior oncologists.

Clinical Fellowship Attachement


Dr Chandramohan with his Supervisor, A/P London Lucien Ooi, Chief of Hepatopancreaticobiliary Surgery
NCCS is pleased to have a Clinical Fellow, Dr Chandramohan attached to the Department of Surgical Oncology from 11 June to 10 July, 2007. The clinical attachment is part of NCCS’ bigger Trivandrum collaboration with the Regional Cancer Centre in Kerala. He was here to study with the surgical techniques in management of lesions of the liver and to understand the incorporation of the radiofrequency ablation as part of the surgical armamentarium. The UICC ICRETT Fellowship, Geneva, Switzerland sponsored his attachment.