The Third Biennial International Pediatric Oncology Congress in Memory of Professor Parvaneh Vossough was held at MAHAK

The Third Biennial International Pediatric Oncology Congress in Memory of Professor Parvaneh Vossough (IPOCV) was held at MAHAK on 5-7 of September 2018 with the cooperation of Iranian Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Society (IPHOS) and German Society for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology (GPOH) ; and with the presence of Prof. Dr. Ursula Creutzig, pediatric hematologist and oncologist from Hannover University and a member of iBFM; Dr. Dirk Reinhardt, pediatric hematologist and oncologist from Essen University Hospital and head of AML Committee in iBFM; and Dr. Jacqueline Cloos, pediatric hematology and oncology researcher from VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam along with MAHAK’s members of the board of trustees and directors and international specialists and speakers from the most creditable hospitals and research centers. During this congress, scientific topics such as acute leukemia (lymphoblastic-myeloblastic) in children and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma were discussed.

Treating cancer-stricken children all over Iran in an integrated way and within the frameworks of national and international standards is possible by benefiting from the newest and most effective methods and latest achievements in medical science. Therefore, MAHAK, as an NGO with the mission to provide all-purpose support to cancer-stricken children and their families strives in addition to organizing specialized scientific events to create an appropriate context for the transfer of knowledge and experience in the field of cancer including the causes of the disease, diagnostic methods, screening, prevention and new methods of treatment. At the beginning of this event Dr. Mardawig Alebouyeh, the congress president and MAHAK’s chairman of the board of trustees in addition to welcoming the oncologists, radiotherapists, pediatricians, internists, pathologists, radiologists, surgeons, pharmacologists, neurosurgeons, nurses and medical students, stated: ” The purpose of this congress is to create a platform to exchange medical treatment and latest scientific results with one another. We hope that with these biennial events we are able to motivate students and provide those who are interested in oncology with comprehensive information for the treatment of patients with cancer.”

“Providing the most advanced treatment services according to national and international standards, decrease in the rate of pediatric cancer and improving the index of cancer-survivors in Iran, integration of support services all over the country, applying multidisciplinary treatment approaches, running late treatment effects clinics and joining the international research project are among MAHAK’s strategic plans.” said Dr. Arasb Ahmadian, the CEO of MAHAK.  In his welcome message he also stated: “MAHAK as a multidisciplinary organization relying on the latest achievements in the world in 27 years of existence has supported over 30,000 children suffering from cancer throughout Iran. Currently over 17000 cancer-stricken children are under MAHAK’s support and 6000 of them have been cured. Medical treatment and support services are provided by public and university hospitals with hematology and oncology wards in 17 provinces within 40 types of supportive packages to children and their families. MAHAK Pediatric Cancer Treatment and Research Center (MPCTRC) holds 20% of the country’s pediatric cancer treatment capacity and in its one decade of existence has been able to record and exchange its knowledge and findings from national and International organizations.”

Dr. Hassan Abolghasemi, the head of Iranian Pediatric Hematology Oncology Society (IPHOS) stated that: “MAHAK’s financial and supportive services to children with cancer along with events and congresses such as this one are admirable. I hope that through knowledge and experience exchange we will be able to produce anti-cancer drugs in the national level, and with the help of MAHAK we shall continue to bring focus and motivation to students in the field of hematology and oncology.”

Moreover, he stated that: “MAHAK is an appropriate platform for educating students of pediatric hematology and oncology” and added:” I hope we can provide the best platform for educating the students of pediatric hematology and oncology within a close cooperation between IPHOS and MAHAK.”

Also in this scientific event, the modern therapeutic protocols used by cancer treatment specialists, based on internationally recognized standards, were raised by Dr. Azim Mehrvar, Scientific Secretary of the Congress and Head of MAHAK Hospital. Moreover, he pointed out the role of Professor Parvaneh Vossough, the founder of pediatric oncology in Iran, and the late chairperson of the board of trustees of this organization who has been the cause to designing and organizing these biennial scientific ceremonies. Dr. Mehrvar stated that: “The first congress on pediatric oncology was held on the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of Professor Vossough, and today is the third of such events. Considering the importance of the issues of ALL, AML, and NHL, with the coordination of the iBFM group in Germany, it was considered to examine new issues and health problems at the congress and to provide an opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and experience of first-level specialists. I hope that within 3 days of the congress, we will share new experiences and new findings in the field of cancer and shall gain more knowledge with one another.”

Following the first International Congress on Hematology and Oncology in 2014 and the second congress in 2016, along with specialists in areas such as diagnosis, treatment (surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy), bone marrow transplantation and complications, MAHAK has been able to contribute to the richness of medical knowledge and the transfer of the latest experiences and the latest advances in the treatment of cancer. Dr. Maryam Tashvighi, the executive secretary of the congress and pediatric hematologist and oncologist, by highlighting the importance of organizing scientific events for improving education and information on pediatric cancer, raising community awareness and the advancement of pediatric cancer treatment stated that: “At this scientific congress, with the gathering of the specialists in the field of pediatric cancer, we intend to take steps to improve the management of pediatric cancer and to witness the benefit of all children in the world from the development of medical science. Another goal of the event is to train medical students by scientific meetings and presenting specialized articles on various types of blood cancer (ALL, AML, NHL).”

The late Professor Parvaneh Vossough, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist joined MAHAK in 1991 as the chairperson of the Board of Trustees of MAHAK, , and since the inauguration of MAHAK Pediatric Cancer Treatment and Research Center (MPCTRC) in 2007, she worked voluntarily at this hospital without receiving any salary in support of children with cancer. Prof. Vossough as the member of the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences with the establishment of the Cancer Research Department in Ali Asghar Hospital is one of the founders of modern science of pediatric hematology and oncology in Iran. In addition to the treatment of countless children from around the world, she trained many specialists in the field of pediatric hematology and oncology who today are among the top physicians in national and international medical centers.

In order to commemorate this great figure and to exchange knowledge and experiences with the best specialists in the field of hematology and oncology, MAHAK has included the biennial international pediatric oncology congress in its agenda and it has held the event thrice in 2014,2016 and 2018.

In the course of the congress, specialized meetings with scientific bases such as acute leukemia (lymphoblastic-myeloblastic) in children (treatment, toxicity, bone marrow transplantation and late complications) and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (diagnosis and treatment, toxicity and late complications) were held. In the first part, Prof. Dr. Ursula Creutzig, a specialist in pediatric hematology and oncology from the University of Hannover and a member of the iBFM from Germany; Prof. Dr. Dirk Reinhardt, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist at the Hospital and University of Essen, and chairman of the AML Committee at iBFM from Germany; and Dr. Jacqueline Cloos, cancer researcher and a cell biology specialist from the University of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Hospital from the Netherlands focused on new methods to diagnose and treat the types of pediatric leukemia.

 In addition to Professor Reinhardt, other hematology and oncology specialists, such as Dr. Shahla Ansari, Dr. Mohammad Pedram, Dr. Mohammad Taghi Arzanian, Dr. Azim Mehrvar and Dr. Naghmeh Niktoreh discussed the therapeutic protocols in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. In another part, Dr. Mohammad Faranoush, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist along with foreign speakers at the event, provided a study on five cases of acute leukemia patients.

In continuous on the 2 nd day of the congress Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Woessmann, Prof. Dr. Oskar Haas and Dr. Gholamreza Bahoush discussed the new techniques in the treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in both children and adults. Afterwards, Dr. Roland Meisel, Dr. Borhan Moradveisi, Dr. Bibi Shahin Shamsian, Dr. Mahshid Mahdizadeh and Dr. Narjes Mehrvar presented new studies on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in different types of leukemia.

Dr. Ali Ehsani and Dr. Yasmine Abtahi, along with three other international speakers, reviewed the genetic geography of patients with leukemia in Iran and the therapies for treating untreatable cancers.

Also, on the final day of the congress, Professor Wilhelm Woesmann, Dr. Samin Alavi, Dr. Khadijeh Arjmandi, Dr. Zohreh Adinepour and Dr. Maryam Tashvighi discussed issues regarding Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and presented their studies. Then Dr. Bijan Keikhahi and Dr. Peyman Eshghi lectured on the diagnosis of cancer in people with this disease. In the end of the event, the student posters were unveiled.

National and international experts and specialists in addition to attending the Third International Pediatric Oncology Congress in Memory of Prof. Parvaneh Vossough, expressed their views on MAHAK Pediatric Cancer Treatment and Research Center (MPCTRC).

MAHAK as an NGO, in addition to striving to provide comprehensive support to cancer-stricken children tries to provide the platform for the exchange of knowledge and experiences by holding specialized scientific congresses.

Based on its commitment and accountability in providing comprehensive and integrated services in the treatment of cancer-stricken children and their families within the framework of international standards, MAHAK seeks to identify the causes of the disease, diagnostic methods, screening, prevention and new methods of treatment, preventive education and raising awareness toward reducing the rate of childhood cancer in Iran.

We hope that this scientific event will result in providing the opportunity to benefit from the scientific advancements in pediatric cancer’s therapeutic, diagnostic and pharmaceutical areas, and the establishment of new and specialized systems for providing more effective multidisciplinary treatment services to our children.