Our first Chondrosarcoma Symposium was attended by leading clinicians and researchers from across the UK. The purpose of this meeting was to bring together the community to review the progress in chondrosarcoma clinical trials and to agree a strategy for future research.
The meeting took place on the 25th November 2019 and was led by our Head of Research, Information and Support, Dr Zoe Davison and our Research Manager Dr Victoria Vinader. Below Dr Davison and Dr Vinader explain more about why we held the symposium and future plans.
Why was it important to hold the symposium?
The NCRI (National
Cancer Research Institute)
Sarcoma Research Group has identified chondrosarcoma as a priority, due to the current
lack of clinical trials and biological studies; therefore, the Bone Cancer
Research Trust facilitated a meeting to discuss progress to date and generate
ideas for future research and clinical studies.
What were the main
focus points?
Key clinicians and researchers in the chondrosarcoma field
reported recent findings from several studies and trials that can inform and
determine the direction of future research.
There is a clear desire among the chondrosarcoma experts to
develop a collaborative national clinical study. The informal workshop format
of this meeting encouraged the exchange of ideas and facilitated a discussion
on how, by working together, we can move towards achieving this goal.
What’s next?
The meeting outlined a long-term plan for chondrosarcoma
research, but also identified some interesting research topics that have
promising preliminary data and can already be submitted for funding.
Delegates agreed to meet again to continue developing this research
strategy in order to improve treatment options for chondrosarcoma patients.
What is the Bone Cancer Research Trust's commitment to research into chondrosarcoma?
We are committed to supporting chondrosarcoma research and
already fund one of the key projects that were discussed during this meeting. Our
sample collection-infrastructure grants have made this particular project possible
and the successful results will be reported in the near future, once the full
data is available.
We are unique in that we can respond quickly to areas of urgent priority in the field of primary bone cancer research. Our Grant Programme is designed in such a way that we can direct funding to these areas quickly and effectively to support research and invaluable meetings such as the chondrosarcoma workshop.
We thank Brewin Dolphin for donating the space that allowed this inspirational meeting to take place.