A successful Training School and Conference have been organised by the GYNOCARE COST Action (CA18117), chaired by Prof. Jean Calleja-Agius from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Malta.
GYNOCARE is a European Network for Gynaecological Rare Cancer Research. These events where held at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria. The local organisers for both the training school and conference were Dr Mariela Vasileva-Slaveva, Chair of Bulgarian Breast Cancer Association and Prof. Angel Jordanov from the Medical University Pleven, Pleven, Bulgaria. This is a landmark collaboration between the University of Malta, COST and the Bulgarian Breast and Other Gynaecological Cancers Association.
Invited international speakers shared insights on recent developments about rare gynaecological cancers. The Training School entitled: “They are rare, but they are there” was held between the 29 June till the 1 July 2023. This included 3 days of lectures and practical workshops on multidisciplinary care in rare Gynaecological Cancers, HPV Screening in Cervical Cancer, Career Development in Oncology, and Patient Advocacy. There were even hands-on workshops on sentinel node biopsy and robotic surgery.
The conference entitled ‘Our battle for better healthcare is eternal’, was held on the 2 and 3 July 2023, and international renowned speakers will share their expertise on basic science, cancer registration, biobanking, digital health and collaboration with the pharma industry. The eminent speakers hailed from European countries such as Italy, The Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Romania, Croatia, etc and beyond, including Egypt and Bhutan.
Both events were open to students, health care professionals, medical specialists, scientists and everybody else involved in the management of rare Gynecological Cancers. In fact, 2 medical students from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Ms Jeanine Marie Dalli and Ms Kyra Fenech gave a presentation on the use of PARP inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer.
The full agenda and proceedings of all the meetings can be found online. The events were even given coverage by the Bulgarian News Agency link.
Anyone interested to join the GYNOCARE COST Action, please contact Prof. Jean Calleja-Agius.
