Helsinn Provides Grant for ESMO's Preceptorship Programme for Supportive and Palliative Care

Helsinn Provides Grant for ESMO's Preceptorship Programme for Supportive and Palliative Care
             
Lugano, Switzerland April 12, 2018 - Helsinn, a Swiss pharmaceutical group focused on building quality cancer care products, today announces that the Group has provided a grant to the European Society for Medical Oncology ("ESMO") for a multi-supported Preceptorship Programme for supportive and palliative care.

The preceptorship programme for physicians will take place in Lugano, Switzerland on April 16-17, 2018 and will touch on a broad range of aspects related to cancer supportive and palliative care. The key learning objectives of the preceptorship are to:

• Understand mechanisms, risk, prevention and treatment of the key symptoms and syndromes such as pain, fatigue, anorexia, cachexia, dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin toxicities, mucositis, neurotoxicity, venous thromboembolism, febrile neutropenia, anemia, bone complications and their association with cancer-disease and anti-cancer treatment
• Understand integration of screening for and assessment of anti-cancer toxicities, symptoms and other palliative and supportive care needs, and integration of their management in routine oncology care
• Describe required competences of multidisciplinary and inter-professional teams for multimodal management
• Understand key steps to prepare patients and family members for end-of-life and care of the dying person
• Understand how to communicate with patients about illness, prognosis, coping, hope, and decisions, reflect about your own role, and how to address cultural differences
• Know the ESMO clinical practice guidelines relevant for the topics discussed

The Chair of the event will be Dr Karin Jordan who, since 2010, has been Associate Professor of Medical Oncology and Supportive Care in the Department of Oncology/Hematology at the University Hospital, Halle, and who has just recently changed position and is now working at the University of Heidelberg. The Co-Chair will be Dr Florian Strasser MD, Associate Professor in the Clinic Oncology/Hematology at the Cantonal Hospital St.Gallen, Head of Oncological Palliative Medicine at Cantonal Hospital St Gallen, Switzerland, where he is responsible for the clinical and research activities in Palliative Oncology and in Geriatric Oncology. He is also substantially involved in Geriatric Oncology, Supportive Care and Cancer Rehabilitation for both in- and out-patients in the Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The event is expected to be attended by members of ESMO from around the world. The aim of these educational programmes, which focus on teaching standard of care in specific areas, is to provide "state of the art" lectures in an interactive setting including formal presentations and interaction between experts and attendees presenting clinical cases.

The full meeting program is available here.

Dr Karin Jordan, Associate Professor of Hematology, Medical Oncology and Supportive Care in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the University Hospital, Heidelberg commented: "Supportive and palliative care is an area of oncology that does not receive enough merit. Increasing attention in modern, personalized oncology and this event will help to address this problem. I am grateful to ESMO and the companies supporting this event to increase the knowledge on these important topics within the international community of young oncologists ".

Sergio Cantoreggi, Helsinn Group Chief Scientific Officer, said: "Supportive and palliative care is an area that is becoming more and more prevalent as cases of cancer increase. With the advent of new treatments and, as cancer becomes more like a "chronic disease", supportive cares are becoming ever more important as they can help improve quality of life during treatment and potentially assist patients tolerate treatment cycles. We are delighted to support the ESMO Preceptorship Programme, an event that brings together physicians allowing them to work collaboratively to benefit patients in the long term.

About the Helsinn Group

Helsinn is a privately owned pharmaceutical group with an extensive portfolio of marketed cancer care products and a robust drug development pipeline. Since 1976, Helsinn has been improving the everyday lives of patients, guided by core family values of respect, integrity and quality. The Group works across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and nutritional supplements and has expertise in research, development, manufacture and the commercialization of therapeutic and supportive care products for cancer, pain and inflammation and gastroenterology. In 2016, Helsinn created the Helsinn Investment Fund to support early-stage investment opportunities in areas of unmet patient need. The company is headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, with operating subsidiaries in Switzerland, Ireland, the U.S., Monaco, and China, as well as a product presence in approximately 190 countries globally.

To learn more about Helsinn Group please visit www.helsinn.com

For more information:

Helsinn Group Media Contact:

Paola Bonvicini

Group Head of Communication

Lugano, Switzerland

Tel: +41 (0) 91 985 21 21

[email protected]

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