The 2020 virtual conference of the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (CCF) was wrapped up with reflections on the meeting highlights and key takeaways from the meeting chairs and organizers.
Conference Co-Chair, Jesús M. Bañales, PhD, Group Leader, Liver Diseases Research Group, Biodonostia Institute, San Sebastián, Spain, discussed some of the important takeaways from several scientific sessions.
“During these 3 days, we had the opportunity to present and discuss new knowledge on cholangiocarcinoma epidemiology, risk factors, molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis, tumor microenvironment, immunobiology and mechanisms to resistance to drug therapy,” Dr Bañales said.
“We are living in an exciting era in cholangiocarcinoma research, with rapidly growing data and innovative research at the basic and clinical level. In science in general, but more important on cholangiocarcinoma, it is important to keep collaborating internationally to keep moving forward faster to generate new knowledge and to move those results into the clinic in the next decade,” Dr Bañales added.
CCF Conference Co-Chair, Rachna T. Shroff, MD, MS, Chief, Section of GI Medical Oncology, University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, highlighted issues related to the clinical implications presented at the meeting.
“It has been a fantastic 3 days. The patient day is always a special one for all of us who see patients in clinic. It is a reminder as to why this foundation exists, and why this conference happens. From a clinical perspective, it is such a fun story to see the evolution from the first conference to the seventh,” Dr Shroff pointed out.
“We are talking about a new era in targeted therapies. We had great sessions on things that are translatable into the clinic now, such as HER2 and epigenetic mechanisms,” Dr Shroff emphasized.
In addition, “there were great sessions on radiation therapy that demonstrated out-of-the-box thinking that can offer new avenues for local therapy,” Dr Shroff noted. “For those patients who do not have a targetable mutation, Dr Laura Goff moderated a great session that highlighted what is on the horizon for all comers. We need to start thinking about smart and novel ways that we can help every single patient with this disease,” she concluded.
One of the things that Stacie C. Lindsey, CCF Founder and CEO, found particularly important at this year’s conference was the inclusion, as a speaker, of Geoffrey Fleming, MD, who discussed his personal experience with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA).
Dr Fleming is an Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, who is also a patient diagnosed with CCA. He presented his combined perspective of a physician who is also a patient.
“We have never had an academic peer share his thoughts about being a patient. He gave a lot of insights for both the patients and the professionals,” Ms Lindsey noted.
Ms Lindsey also highlighted the contribution of another speaker who had a significant impact on the patients. This speaker was William W. Li, MD, Chief Executive Officer, President, and Medical Director, Angiogenesis Foundation, Cambridge, MA, who spoke about molecular nutrition and nutritional oncology, emphasizing how these aspects will play critical roles in cancer medicine in the future.
“In our patient registries and in surveys, the topic that patients always want to talk about is nutrition. Patients cannot control their cancer diagnosis, but they can control what they eat,” Ms Lindsey pointed out.
She concluded by thanking Dr Bañales and Dr Shroff for their important contribution to the conference.
“I would like to thank Drs Bañales and Shroff for their leadership, and for taking on this brand new, virtual platform, which has never been done before. We are grateful to them. Overall, it was an amazing conference,” Ms Lindsey observed.
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