Attendees of Elekta's second meeting of the newly formed trans-Asia consortia

Reprising the success of the inaugural meeting of the Nasopharyngeal Cancer (NPC) Research Group (March 2011), participants from six Asian centers gathered on September 8 at the Jin Jiang International Hotel (Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China) for the group’s second conference. The goals of the research group are to 1.) Help develop products and technology that provide clinically meaningful and demonstrable outcome improvements and benefits for individuals with NPC, and 2.) Assemble a consortium of thought leaders to help refine and disseminate sophisticated techniques for treating NPC with Elekta solutions in Asian countries.

According to the World Health Organization, NPC incidence is less than one per 100,000 in most populations. In southern China, however, an annual incidence of more than 20 cases per 100,000 is reported.*

During the second NPC Research Group meeting, attendees discussed detailed plans for the NPC consortia and made preparations for continuation of the research program. Specifically, significant discussion centered on methods for data collection and how to best leverage aggregated data. In addition, participants conferred about the status of a draft Elekta research grant application and on required functionality for treatment planning systems that create plans for NPC cases.

In addition to the 11 conference participants, Dr. Di Yan, Director and Clinical Professor of Physics Radiation Oncology, and Dr. Larry Kestin, Radiation Oncologist, both from William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich., attended as advisors.

“Elekta’s clinical consortia program is a venue for fostering collaboration with key opinion leaders in cancer care to improve patient outcomes and advance technology,” says Joel W. Goldwein, M.D., Elekta’s Sr. Vice President of Medical Affairs. “With this group of thought leaders, we hope to help refine and propagate advanced treatment methods using Elekta technology for treatment of NPC throughout Asia.”

*http://www.who.int/vaccine_research/diseases/viral_cancers/en/index1.html