EHA Congress 15th Anniversary - European Hematology Association

EHA-ESH Joint Symposium
Conflicting priorities and collateral damage;
an interactive session for hematologists
The EHA-ESHJoint Symposium on Friday June 11 focuses on communication with Burkitt’s Lymphoma patients. In this
interactive session both the difficulties for the clinician who must explain the need to commence treatment quickly and the
point of view of patients are discussed. Advances in knowledge concerning the etiology and pathophysiology of hematological
malignancies have enabled clinicians to design specific approaches to treatment for individual diseases.
> For instance, the role of the Epstein-Barr
Virus in the etiology of
Burkitt’s Lymphoma was established
many years ago but the more recent appreciation
of the contribution of the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus in increasing
the incidence and worsening the
prognosis, has resulted in changes to
the management of these patients.
A treatment approach from experienced
clinicians which combines early administration
of time and dose-intensive chemotherapy
combined with HAART to address
the HIV infection and delivered in a setting
where there is rapid detection and treatment
of infectious complications is required
to achieve good results.
A condition such as Burkitt’s
Lymphoma will clearly be associated
with considerable difficulties for
clinician and patient. The clinician
must convincingly explain the need to
EHA Congress 15 th Anniversary
Emili Montserrat
EHA President 2003 - 2005
EHA Congress 15 th Anniversary
Willem Fibbe
EHA President 2007 - 2009
“From its beginning, the annual congress of EHA has been
the most important parameter for the overall success of
EHA. The number of participants, clinicians, scientists
and young investigators are clear indicators of the success
of the meeting. The institution of a Scientific Program
Committee, through which the program became independent
of the board, was a major achievement. In
addition, the involvement of senior non-MD scientists has
allowed EHA to further strengthen the program. This is
reflected in new sessions such as the Molecular Hemopoiesis workshop, through
which the meeting has become equally attractive for MDs and non MDs. The challenge
for the future will be to maintain high quality in a program that covers Hematology
from fundamental science to clinical practice.“
commence treatment quickly and -
even in the absence of a clinical trial -
clearly inform the patient of the risks
“I am extremely honored to have been involved with EHA
since the very beginning and to have served as its President.
I was lucky to be involved with EHA during a period
of change for the organization and with the growth of its
annual congress and also the consolidation of Haematologica/The
Hematology Journal as EHA journal. Looking
back, I do believe that 15 years ago the EHA founders,
and along with them many European hematologists,
dreamt a dream, and that with hard work that dream became
true!”
of therapy and also the potential
deleterious effects of any delay. Even
in circumstances as unfavorable as
this, patients may wish to adhere to
their own agenda and delay to seek
alternative opinions, complementary
therapies or simply to attend to
aspects of their private or professional
lives which may prevent them from
accepting the clinician’s view.
A further complication for clinicians and
patients may arise from the association
of the HIV with this malignancy. Although
a proportion of cases of Burkitt’s
Lymphoma arise in patients in whom the
diagnosis of HIV infection has already
been made, in some patients diagnosis
of the lymphoma is the presenting
feature and the concurrent discovery of
HIV involvement may be completely
unexpected.
EHA Newsletter May 2010 > 7