Treating Thoracic, Head and Neck Cancers, One Case at a Time

This week at the OMI, we hosted one of our annual CME accredited oncology courses, this time with a focus on Thoracic, Head, and Neck cancers in partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Areas of concentration included lung, salivary gland, aerodigestive track, and thyroid cancer.

This course is part of a three-year rotating curriculum designed to provide the most thorough and up to date cancer education for global oncologists. Co-course director Dr. Jennifer R. Cracchiolo, a surgeon specialized in treating head and neck cancers working at MSKCC, described her perspective on the curriculum of this week’s seminar, writing:

“This week, surgeons, radiation oncologists, and medical oncologists came together to share the latest advances in lung, head, and neck cancer management with fellows from 23 countries. It was a wonderful opportunity to bring updated, multidisciplinary approaches to cancer care to an international group of fellows while learning from the diverse experiences and perspectives they brought.”

This was Dr. Cracchiolo’s first year as a co-course director of an oncology seminar, joining long-time faculty member Dr. David G. Pfister. Dr. Pfister is an internationally recognized physician and researcher, with expertise in management and treatment of head and neck tumors, and he is celebrating his 22nd seminar with the OMI as a faculty member. When asked how she felt about returning to Salzburg for the third time, this time as a co-course director, Dr. Cracchiolo had this to say:

“I’m really excited to step into this role as co-course director for the OMI seminar. It’s a great opportunity to share the latest advances in cancer care with fellows from all over the world, who can bring that knowledge back to their own institutions and patients. I’m also looking forward to learning from their experiences and perspectives, getting to know them, and creating an environment where we can all learn from each other.”

The two course directors are joined by a team of expert faculty: Dr. Snjezana Dogan (MSKCC), Dr. Mark G. Kris (MSKCC), Dr. Bernard Park (MSKCC), and Dr. Andreas Rimner (Comprehensive Cancer Center Freiburg). Each of these specialists were very excited to share the latest treatment strategies for thoracic, head, and neck cancers with the fellows. This week, we had 29 fellows from 23 different countries present in Salzburg, out of over 350 applicants!

The week consisted of lectures from all the faculty, plus opportunities for the fellows to present cases of head and neck tumors they have encountered in their home practice and how they worked to treat them. This is always a valuable opportunity for the fellows because they can get new insights into symptom management and treatment of these specific cases from the members of the faculty. Fellows also learn a lot from listening to their colleagues present.

This week, the faculty highlighted 6 excellent case presentations. These cases were presented by fellows from Croatia (Carcinoma Ex Pleomorphic Adenoma of the Parapharyngeal Space), Slovakia (Multimodal Treatment in Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Unmatched Central Nervous System Control in ROS1 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer), and Serbia (Metastatic Medullary Carcinoma of the Thyroid Gland in a Young Female Patient and Metastatic ROS1-Rearranged Lung Adenocarcinoma).

Everyone is always eager to have follow up discussions about the topics covered during the lectures and case presentations during coffee breaks and meals. This is one of the most special parts of the OMI seminars: the community built between faculty and fellows really allows everyone to feel like they are in a comfortable environment to ask questions and learn as much as they can about their specific field of medicine.