2017 WCLS - Breakfast sessions

Looking ahead: how to deliver sustainable cancer care despite resource constraints

FULLY BOOKED - New registrations will not be considered

Held in Room Castillo A2, level B

Breakfast organised by:

The past few decades have seen considerable advances in the way we diagnose and treat cancer. Yet with the growing prevalence of cancer and ongoing pressures on limited healthcare budgets, equal access to the latest scientific advances and their affordability have become a challenge. Past and current approaches to cancer care may not be sufficient for tomorrow. We face limited resources and a demand for cancer that will only increase in quantity and complexity in years to come. As a result, we need to find new innovative ways to make the most of the resources we have.

Panellists:    
Mr. Herb Riband, Vice President International Policy & Government Affairs Amgen, Inc., Switzerland
Prof. Matti Aapro, Director, Cancer Center Genolier, Switzerland

Working locally to combat the burden of cancer in women in Latin America

Held in room Uxmal, level R

Breakfast organised by:

Imagine a world where women demand access to healthcare services that integrate cancer screening into primary health facilities, reproductive health clinics, and the workplace. 

What impact could that have on the social and economic burden of cancer in women in Latin America? Today, nearly 300,000 women die from cancer in Latin America every year, placing an incredible social stress on the families and caregivers of those stricken by cancer and a significant cost on healthcare systems to treat this disease. 

This breakfast session will unveil new research on the costs of cancer in women in Latin America, highlight medical advancements in cancer treatment for women, and discuss the challenges and opportunities for women to become local advocates for their own health and well-being. 

Moderator:
Ambassador Sally G. Cowal, Senior Vice President, Global Cancer Control, at the American Cancer Society

Panellists: 
Dr. Arnold M. Baskies, Chair of the American Cancer Society Board of Directors
Dr. Armando Sardi, President of the Fundación para la Prevención y Tratamiento del Cáncer (Cali, Colombia)
Mrs. Mavalynne Orozco-Urdaneta, Executive Director of Partners for Cancer Care and Prevention (Cali, Colombia)
Mrs. Hazel Moran, Senior Director, International Patient Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships, Merck, USA

How can the promise of personalised healthcare impact cancer control across different country context?

Held in room Coba, level R

Breakfast organised by:

We have made great progress in cancer care in the past 20 years. Yet, cancer will remain a challenge for the next generation. Innovations, including personalised approaches like biomarkers can help identify the right drug, for the right patient, at the right time, allowing for a more efficient use of health resources and improved health outcomes.

This session will explore experiences from various countries and regions to understand how policymakers, civil society and clinicians have worked together to maximise the potential of personalised approaches to cancer care. Using biomarker testing as a case study, panellists will share their experiences and recommendations for how biomarkers can provide a mechanism for countries and cities to enable access to new and innovative cancer medicines while also working within budget constraints.

Panellists will discuss lessons learned, best practices and suggested strategies to prepare for the future of personalised cancer care across different regions, from the perspective of clinicians, governments and patients.

Moderator
Mrs. Beth Hamilton, Executive Director, Global Oncology Market Access, MSD, USA

Panellists:
Mr. Jose Campillo Garcia, President, Fundacion Mexicana para la Salud (FUNSALUD), Mexico
Mr. Gary Reedy, CEO, American Cancer Society, USA
Dr. Jamal Khader, Consultant Radiation Oncologist, King Hussein Cancer Centre, Jordan
Mr. Diego Paonessa, Executive Director, Liga Argentina de Lucha Contra el Cáncer (LALCEC)​, Argentina
Dr. Horacio Astudillo-de la Vega, Chairman of the Board, Nanopharmacia Diagnostica, Mexico

Building sustainable access to medicines – Lessons learned

Held in room Castillo A1, level B

Breakfast organised by:

A panel discussion of the insights, strategies and learnings in building sustainable access programs delivering cancer medicines to patients in low- and middle- income countries.

Cancer care access in low- and middle-income countries can vary based on government healthcare systems, geopolitical issues, healthcare professionals’ skills and capabilities, infrastructure needs and other social and/or cultural factors.

In this panel discussion, representatives from various stakeholders (e.g., civil society, academia and health policy organisations) will share their experiences and provide learnings in designing effective cancer care access programs. Key to effective programs is addressing the evolving nature of health care delivery at different points in a program’s life: initiation, ongoing maintenance, and if/as appropriate – closure or transition.

Examples from successful access initiatives will be used to illustrate how to design programs considering key factors that can change over time, and how addressing these factors early in the program life cycle can facilitate smooth transitions for sustainable patient-centric programs.

Moderator:  
Mr Jeffery Sturchio, CEO, Rabin Martin, USA

Panellists:
Prof. Rifat Atun, Director of Global Health Systems Cluster, Harvard University, USA
Dr. Maira Caleffi, UICC Board Member, President Femama, Brazil
Dr. James Hospedale, Executive Director, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Trinidad and Tobago

Action instead of reaction: the Latin American cancer control scorecard

Held in room Castillo A5, level B

Breakfast organised by:

Cancer and its control in Latin America present often stark contrasts. Rapid change next to stubborn stasis, and substantial progress in some areas intermingled with still unmet, pressing needs in others. It is also an issue with growing political salience within the region: past success in the control of communicable diseases has increased the relative profile of non-communicable ones.

The disparity between countryside and city begins with screening. A Mexican study, for example, found low frequency of mammography and follow-up of abnormal findings in a poor rural area, largely because of lack of medical facilities. Meanwhile, in Brazil, cervical-cancer screening appears to be performed less frequently in rural provinces than more urbanised ones. At an extreme, one study calculated that, between 1987 and 2008, the odds of a woman living in rural Ecuador having a Pap smear done were only about one-half those of one living in a city. Quality is also a big issue. In Brazil 10% of Pap smears are unreadable; in rural Amazonas state this figure rises to 60%.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) proposed this year a major tool for stakeholders seeking to understand this field: the Latin America Cancer Control Scorecard (LACCS). LACCS relies on significant desk research to rank the 12 study countries on their performance in different areas of direct relevance to cancer control access.  In addition to the scorecard, this report also draws on its own, separate substantial research as well as 19 interviews with experts on cancer in the region or worldwide.

The LACCS tracks six domains: cancer plan, monitor performance, medicines availability, radiotherapy availability, prevention and early detection, and finance. It was not designed to measure the level of inequality or its impact. Raw scores for each domain have been normalised to a scale of 1-5 to enable comparisons across domains.

Overlapping Latin America’s socio-economic disparities in cancer control are geographic ones. On average in the EIU study, 22% of the population live in rural areas. These typically are economically worse off than cities: for study countries where data are available, on average 20% of the urban population live in poverty; in rural ones it is 33%. Not surprisingly, the former also have better healthcare and access to cancer treatment.

In Peru, meanwhile, 85% of oncologists live in the capital, while some of the country’s states have none. In Colombia, meanwhile, over 60% of oncologists live in the four largest cities.

Linear accelerators are typically much more concentrated in national capitals or other major cities that their populations would warrant. Argentina, with its provincially run healthcare, is the only one to have escaped this problem.

Following the different domains proposed by the LACCS, the round table will cover the lessons learned in each of the areas of the cancer control efforts throughout the Latin America region and emphasize the critical role of the cities.

Moderator:
Mrs. Irene Mia, Global Editorial Director, the Economist Intelligence Unit, UK

Panellists:
Dr. Felicia Knaul, Director University of Miami Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas & Founding President​, ​Tomatelo al Pecho​, A.C.
Dr. Alejandro Mohar, Head of Epidemiology Unit, National Cancer Institute, Mexico 
Mrs. Isabel Mestres, Director, External Relations & Partnerships, C/CAN 2025​, UICC, Switzerland

Bridging the cancer care divide through innovative partnership models

FULLY BOOKED - New registrations will not be considered

Held in room Castillo A6, level B

Breakfast organised by:

To bridge the cancer care divide and accelerate progress in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care, innovative partnerships between industry, academia, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), regulators and patients’ organizations is essential.

Multi-stakeholder collaboration models will spur the development of solutions to complex challenges as stakeholders will be able to leverage capital, resources and knowledge to develop innovative solutions to cancer care challenges.

Moderator:
Mr. Andrew Jack, Journalist and Editor, Financial Times, UK

Panellists:
Dr. Eduardo Cervera Ceballos, Director of the Education, National Cancer Institute (INCan), Mexico
Dr. Sue Henshall, Director C/CAN 2025, Switzerland
Dr. Miguel A. Netto, Chief Health Officer and IHS Leader, IBM Corporation & IBM Watson Health, Brazil
Mr. Ingo Schroeter, Head of Group Strategy, Philips, Netherlands