SEHA hosts 4th Emirates Oncology Conference in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, UAE, November 21, 2015:  Tawam Hospital, in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine and part of the SEHA healthcare system, is staging the fourth annual Emirates Oncology Conference on November 19 to 21, 2015 at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi following the success of the event’s previous editions. Tawam Hospital is the UAE’s referral centre for cancer care, and the Tawam Oncology Department is the main provider of comprehensive cancer care in the UAE and the Gulf. 

With cancer being the third leading cause of death in the capital with an estimated 13% mortalities per year according to the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD), the conference is more relevant than ever.  In Abu Dhabi, The top five cancers in males are leukemia, colorectal, prostate, Non-Hodgkins and Brain cancer. In females, the top five cancers are breast, leukemia, colorectal, thyroid and uterus as per HAAD.

The conference aims to discuss the latest treatments and advances and help improve oncology treatment in the UAE and the wider region.

Last year, there were over 1000 participants to the conference making it another successful learning and sharing experience for oncologists, clinicians, related healthcare practitioners as well as medicine students. For the 4th edition, around the same number  are expected to attend the conference hailing from the UAE and the Middle East region which shows the continued interest in learning from fellow experts. 

The conference will welcome both international and regional speakers and thought leaders in various specialties within oncology to discuss the latest treatments and advances and help improve oncology treatment in the UAE and the wider region. 

Speakers will tackle new developments, issues, and challenges in cancer treatment, research, education and palliative care. Partnering in different sessions of the three-day conferences are: Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology (LSMO), European School of Oncology (ESO), Breast Gynecological International Cancer Society (BGICS), Euro Arab School of Oncology (EASO), Johns Hopkins University, Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) and Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC).

During the conference, there will be main sessions on advances in treatment of cancers of the breast, lung, gastrointestinal, genito-urinary, gynaecological, haematological malignancies, paediatrics oncology/haematology, palliative care and nursing. Sessions on head and neck cancers, geriatrics and supportive care will also be held. Case studies will be presented as well run workshops within the three-day conference.

“As the institution in the forefront of cancer treatment in the Gulf, Tawam Hospital is proud to bring once again the biggest conferences in Oncology in the region now on its fourth edition. Each year, we witness a growing desire to organise this conference for the benefit of the medical community specifically in the field of Oncology. This year, we have greater insights to share on the latest advances in cancer care and treatment through the invited experts,” said Dr Mohammed Jaloudi, Chair, Emirates Oncology Conference.

 “We are expecting another successful run for the 4th Emirates Oncology Conference. This is one of the most important medical conferences for the year and is bringing renowned experts to the UAE to share their expertise to the oncology community. We are proud to partner with Tawam Hospital for this event and look forward to another successful turnout.” Said Dr Mata Al Darmaki, SEHA CEO.

Tawam Hospital has the Tawam Oncology Center that offers patients the latest technologies to diagnose, stage and monitor cancers, including high-resolution spiral CT, MRI, Nuclear Medicine, PET-CT scans along with state-of-art pathology services. The Oncology Department has the Medical Oncology/Haematology, Radiation Oncology, Palliative Care Program, Surgical Oncology, Tawam Breast Care Center and has two infrastructures for cancer registry.

Tawam Hospital is part of the SEHA Health System owned and operated by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) which is responsible for the curative activities of all the public hospitals and clinics of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.