This weekend Madrid will host the 3rd edition of the world congress “Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Evidence and Experience”, where oncologists and medical specialists from all over the world will meet to share the latest advances in the treatment and diagnosis of this disease, which accounts for less than 1% of adult cancers.
Madrid, 21st of March, 2019.- This weekend Madrid will host the 3rd edition of the world congress "Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Evidence and Experience", where oncologists and medical specialists from all over the world will meet to share the latest advances in the treatment and diagnosis of this disease, which accounts for less than 1% of adult cancers.
Sarcoma is a type of cancer that encompasses more than 60 different subtypes. They are rare tumors that can appear at any time in life. Within localized sarcomas, the probability of survival, with the appropriate treatments, is around 65% or 70%.
Experts from the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain will inform and feed the debate on the various therapeutic options available, on the diagnosis of the disease and the challenges that are still pending to achieve better survival rates in patients.
Soft tissue sarcoma is one of the most difficult tumors to treat. Not only because of the difficulty of its diagnosis - where the patient has a very important role - because there are several professionals who must address the treatment of these tumors. ForLuis Mora, General Manager of PharmaMar's Oncology Business Unit, "it is a privilege to receive an international panel of experts so committed to the treatment of Soft Tissue Sarcomas and to know that our daily work has great value for the medical community".
The impact of molecular genetics on sarcoma classification.
Soft tissue sarcoma is a very heterogeneous group of tumors; therefore, it can appear in different locations within the body, from the extremities to the chest and uterus.
The multidisciplinary approach is fundamental for the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas, as it also involves the anatomic pathologist in the diagnostic phase and the specialized radiation therapist and surgeon at the time of deciding the treatment with the oncologist.
"In the case of sarcomas, everything is more complex due to the heterogeneity of the disease", Dr. Angelo Paolo Dei Tos, Director of the Department of Oncology and Director of Pathology at the General Hospital of Treviso, Italy, "The diagnosis is subject to an observation of the tumor from a sample taken, using antibodies and analyzing mutations. The combination of these observations makes the diagnosis much more precise, the diagnosis is enriched by biomolecular aspects, with a combination of morphology and genetics, usually carried out in reference centers.”
Reference centers for rare tumors, a European issue
Reference centers are today one of the main needs for the optimal treatment of sarcoma. The development of a global coordination strategy for these centers is vital for patients, so that any patient with a suspected diagnosis of sarcoma can be cared for in a center where tests can be carried out under optimum conditions and where treatment can be planned.
The congress "Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Evidence & Experience" will be attended by Javier Martín Broto, oncologist at the Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío in Seville who is leading the European project "Selnet", whose main objective is "to create a multidisciplinary network of specialists in Europe and Latin America to improve the diagnosis and treatment of sarcomas”. Javier Martín Broto will give the lecture on, “How relevant is the treatment aim in advanced soft tissue sarcoma?”According to this oncologist, "things have to be done right from the minute zero so that the patient has a chance to be cured".
Cooperation between the medical communities is essential to understand and treat sarcoma
In the last 20 years, there has been a 50% improvement in the median survival of patients with metastatic sarcoma, largely due to the increase in knowledge generated by the medical community based on their experience. Dr. Jean-Yves Blay, director of the Léon Bérard centre in Lyon, France, and member of the European EURACAN network, notes on this topic, "ERN (European Reference Networks) merge the knowledge and experience of many medical professionals from different countries. This allows health professionals to have a much larger bank of information where they can compare their cases. Thanks to this, patients are much more likely to have an accurate diagnosis and receive an accurate recommendation on the best treatment for this disease.”
A promising future for the treatment of sarcoma
Advances in the knowledge of sarcomas have been vital in improving patient outcomes. In the last decade, a multitude of clinical trials have been launched with the aim of increasing the therapeutic arsenal for this disease. In this regard, the Congress will feature a presentation by George Demetri, Director of the Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Director of the Ludwig Center at the Harvard Cancer Center, "A look into the future: most promising sarcoma treatments", where this expert will update attendees on the latest developments in research into new drugs and treatments for soft tissue sarcoma.
PharmaMar, Spain's leading developer of oncology medicines of marine origin, dedicates its efforts and investment to discovering new treatments that improve patients' lives. Treatments such as Yondelis®, approved by regulatory agencies worldwide. Each year Yondelis® is positioned as one of the most widely used second-line treatments for sarcoma. PharmaMar is organizing this event because of the commitment it has made for more than 20 years investigating in the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma, putting investigation into practice in the field of oncological research.
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About PharmaMar
Headquartered in Madrid, PharmaMar is a biopharmaceutical company, focused on oncology and committed to research and development which takes its inspiration from the sea to discover molecules with antitumor activity. It is a company that seeks innovative products to provide healthcare professionals with new tools to treat cancer. Its commitment to patients and to research has made it one of the world leaders in the discovery of antitumor drugs of marine origin.
PharmaMar has a pipeline of drug candidates and a robust R&D oncology program. It develops and commercializes Yondelis® in Europe and has other clinical-stage programs under development for several types of solid cancers: lurbinectedin (PM1183), PM184 and PM14. With subsidiaries in Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and the United States. PharmaMar wholly owns other companies: GENOMICA, a molecular diagnostics company; Sylentis, dedicated to researching therapeutic applications of gene silencing (RNAi); and a chemical enterprise, Zelnova Zeltia. To learn more about PharmaMar, please visit us at www.pharmamar.com
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