During the symposia, a wide range of topics around childhood cancer were discussed. From DNA and immunotherapy to late effects in pediatric cancer survivors and palliative care. The symposia were jointly opened by. Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, MD executive vice president at the U.S. pediatric oncology research hospital St. Jude, and director of St. Jude Global, said, 'Five years the Máxima has meant a lot to the pediatric oncology field. The establishment of a specialty hospital with a large treatment and research capacity provides knowledge of immense importance to the global field.'
Scientific symposium
Collaboration with other research hospitals is essential. Pediatric cancer is a rare disease and the issues are often complex. Prof. dr. Lex Eggermont, CSO of the Máxima, opened the symposia. He says, 'One of our tasks is to organize international networks. To bring innovation within pediatric oncology, you have to cooperate and share knowledge.' The first scientific symposium is a good example of this. Eggermont: 'The line-up was impressive with lectures by only big names within their specialty.'
Various major themes concerning innovation within pediatric oncology were discussed during the scientific symposium. These included immunotherapy with CAR T-cells. Dr. Karin Straathof, associate professor at University College London, told attendees about the promise of CAR T-cells for the treatment of solid tumors in children. See showed that CAR-T development has much potential, but that it is crucial to choose the right variants to bring further into the development process. Dr. Sam Behjati, a researcher at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, talked about how he is working with researchers at the Máxima to look for the origins of cancer and how this could potentially lead to new treatments.
During the symposium, the first PhD medals were also presented by prof. dr. Leendert Looijenga, managing director of research and research group leader. From now on, researchers will receive this reminder of their PhD trajectory at the Máxima after the defense of the thesis.
Nursing and paramedics symposium
Innovation within healthcare was the focus of the symposium, which was attended by over one hundred nurses and paramedics from all over Europe. Renske Karens, president of the VAR in the Máxima hospital and closely involved in the organization of the Nursing and paramedics symposium: 'The topics that we wanted to cover during the symposium fitted in very well with what is currently happening in our field in Europe. For example, there were workshops on nutrition and how to deal with AYAs, adolescents and young adults.'
Prof. Faith Gibson of the University of Surrey gave a lecture on personal leadership. Gibson: 'Collaboration within a team is essential. Nurses are a big part of the 'healthcare puzzle.' And we collaborate with all the other parts of the puzzle, such as physicians. We are all part of a bigger picture, so team collaboration is essential.'
In addition to the lectures, there was plenty of room for interaction. With a so-called ID generator, visitors were challenged to generate ideas for the nursing and paramedical profession in a creative and innovative way in a short period of time. The symposium concluded with an information market and a tour of the Máxima.