The EuroPMP COST Action held a workshop for its Early Career Investigator members in Cordoba on Friday, 4th October. In attendance were members from across Europe, including Spain, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. Many interesting talks were given on subjects ranging from the diagnosis and treatment of PMP to novel research going on in the field.
Session 1 saw talks by Dr Norman Carr (UK) and Dr Martin (Spain) around the pathology and radiology of PMP. Much work is ongoing around diagnostic techniques and classifications, including the standardisation of methods in these two diverse fields. Dr Andrew Thrower (UK) gave an informative presentation on the evaluation of the resectability of PMP from a radiological perspective, and Dr Antonio Romero Ruiz followed up with a great talk about the diagnosis of PMP from a molecular perspective.
The second session focused on the EuroPMP COST Action specifically, including what COST is, what we hope to achieve and how the Action is managed (Dr Kjersti Flatmark, Norway) and why standardisation of protocols is important (Dr Norman Carr, UK). Finally, Dr Faheez Mohamed (UK) presented a talk on the standards of care across Europe currently, including the results of a survey that EuroPMP undertook.
Session 3 saw Dr Karianne Giller Fleten (Norway) present information about the use of experimental models for research into PMP. Karianne was followed by Dr Shigeki Kusamura (Italy) who gave an informative talk on the importance of targeted therapies in PMP treatment.
Session 4 focused specifically on research being undertaken by Early Career Investigators within the EuroPMP COST Action. Dr Vahan Kepenekian (France) presented some results of his work into the use of bromelain and N-acetyl-cysteine to control ascites formation in extensive and recurrent PMP. Vahan was followed by Iaroslav Sautkin (Germany) who
presented a talk on the use of ex-vivo models to mimic PMP using an alternative. Christiana Mantzourani (Greece) presented a project looking into the use of Vorinostat-like analogues as an anti-cancer agent, and Dr Christin Lund-Andersen (Norway) gave a talk on new therapeutic targets for PMP. Finally, Dr Blanca Rufián Andújar (Spain) presented her work on identifying novel biomarkers for PMP in the search for new therapeutic targets.
The final session looked into the treatment of PMP, and many presentations were given on various treatment methodologies. Dr M Isabel Ramos Bernadó (Spain) gave an informative talk on the use of CRS-HIPEC in PMP treatment, while Dr Alvaro Arjona Sanchez (Spain) presented information on minimally invasive surgical interventions and the use of PIPAC. Dr Marcello Deraco (Italy) spoke about the importance of choosing the correct drug to use in HIPEC to give the best results for the patients, and Dr Shigeki Kusamura (Italy) spoke about the problems and solutions around the finding of unexpected
appendiceal tumours in patients who come in for other operations. Dr Manuel Valladares (Spain) spoke about the systemic treatment of PMP, and Dr Marcello Deraco (Italy) gave a second talk on the medical issues around treatment failure. Looking toward the future, Dr Faheez Mohamed (UK) spoke about potential paths PMP research and treatment may take in the future. Finally, Dr Alvaro Arjona Sanchez gave some closing remarks.
EuroPMP wishes to thank Dr Arjona Sanchez for hosting this fascinating and informative ECI conference. Special thanks to the AOPC for helping to coordinate the conference itself.