H. Wildiers MD, PhD

Breast cancer highlights

The amount of new, clinically relevant information for breast cancer oncologists was quite limited at this meeting, but many interesting reviews and debates could be followed. Below you can read a summary of the more remarkable abstracts in the breast cancer field.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2015;9:251–55)

Highlights in breast cancer

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2014;8(4):166–70)

Geriatric oncology in Belgium

As in other developed countries, the management of older cancer patients has become a major public health concern in Belgium owing to an increasing incidence and to other challenging specificities of this population. Since 2009, the Cancer Plan has played a leading role in the development of geriatric oncology in our country by supporting numerous pilot projects. By the year 2015, a scientific analysis of each of these projects will provide important information to the public authorities and care givers in order to organise the management of older cancer patients in an optimal way in Belgium. In this article, we describe the present landscape of geriatric oncology in Belgium focusing on epidemiological data and pilot projects supported by the Cancer Plan 2009–2011 and 2012–2015.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2014;8(5):206–12)

Adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens in breast cancer: summary from the BSMO breast cancer task force meeting

Knowledge on adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens in breast cancer is increasing rapidly. Many different regimens are available: some have been compared with each other, but still many questions remain to be answered. At the breast cancer task force meeting of the Belgian Society of Medical Oncology (BSMO) in Brussels, on February 21^st 2014, 41 medical oncologists involved in breast cancer management reviewed the most important recent data. The task force discussed a framework for regimen selection in clinical practice. The authors of this paper summarised the literature and meeting discussion, highlighting controversial areas.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2014;8(4):116–24)

How to sequence systemic therapies and radiotherapy in early breast cancer?

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women in the Western world. Over the last decades, the use of postoperative systemic therapies (chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, trastuzumab) and radiotherapy led to significant survival benefits for patients with early breast cancer. Although these modalities have been extensively studied and used, a major question is how these systemic therapies are optimally sequenced with radiotherapy in the adjuvant setting. This article reviews available data on how to combine systemic therapies with radiotherapy in women with early stage breast cancer, and provides recommendations that unfortunately do not reach level I evidence due to insufficient quality of available clinical data.

BELG J MED ONCOL 2014;8(3):72–80

Highlights in Oncology 2011

2011 has been a rich year in progress on cancer care. Items already mentioned last year have been confirmed in full papers and are entering daily clinical practice. This article summarises the highlights in oncology of the past year.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2012;6:38–41)

The 2011 International Society of Geriatric Oncology Meeting

SIOG, the international organisation of geriatric oncology, organised its annual congress this year in Paris. Over 300 health care workers from all over the world participated in this meeting.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2012;6:37)