Turin, Italy 9-12 October 2014
Nearly 1000 healthcare and allied professionals (including many “big names” from both sides of the Atlantic and beyond) attended the biennial EANO meeting which was held in the Lingotto Conference Centre in Turin, Italy, part of the converted former Fiat factory. This was constructed in the early 1900s, the design being unusual in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars built on a line that went up through the building. Finished cars emerged at rooftop level to go onto the test track (which featured in the film “The Italian Job” and is still there). However, the other thing for which this city is particularly famous, the Turin Shroud, was not available for viewing.
The conference opened with an Educational Day consisting of parallel clinical and laboratory science sessions, both having an emphasis on CNS metastasis. We mustn’t forget that whilst GBM (glioblastoma multiforme) is still a major challenge, approximately 40% of brain neoplasms are actually secondaries from other cancers eg lung, melanoma, breast etc, and these are an increasing problem as patients live longer due to treatments for the primaries becoming more effective. Although there are no exact data, one speaker cited brain “mets” as affecting 6% of the population. There were then another 212 days with up to four sessions running concurrently, including nursing and quality of life topics, evening satellite symposia sponsored by various companies, and poster viewings.
Published online 23/01/15
