Conference „Lung Cancer & Early Diagnosis: The Evidence Exists for Screening“

You can now see the program of the event here.

The Bulgarian capital of Sofia will host a conference on lung-cancer screening in May at the same time as Bulgaria holds the rotating EU Presidency. The title of the conference is ‘Lung Cancer & Early Diagnosis: The Evidence Exists for Screening’ and it will take place from 22-23 April, in “Rubin” Hall, “Ramada” Hotel.

In association with the Brussels-based European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM), the conference will be run by national affiliate the Bulgarian Alliance for Precision and Personalised Medicine.

Bulgaria holds the EU presidency for the first time since it joined the bloc on 1 January 2007.  The Bulgarian Alliance has taken a lead in putting access and earlier diagnosis as a top priority in its own region as well as in the Balkans. Sofia sees it as a very important priority to focus on screening and prevention, especially in respect of such a killer disease. One of the aims of the conference is to put forward a recommendation to be adopted by the EU Council to facilitate the drawing-up of lung cancer screening guidelines by an Expert Group. This will take into account the pros and cons of screening programmes in other disease areas, including breast, colorectal and cervical cancers. It is anticipated that the conference will conclude with the signing of a declaration for this purpose.

It is far from new territory for EAPM: earlier in 2017, the Alliance held a high-level conference on lung-cancer screening and guidelines, and also published a White Paper on the subject for dissemination at EU level. The board of the Alliance has made prevention, screening and early diagnosis as one of its main priorities going forward, a move echoed by its colleagues and partners in Bulgaria There is a need for greater efforts, supported by collaboration between countries and professional, organisational and scientific support for those seeking to implement or improve population-based screening programmes.

It is clear than any further delay to the implementation of the best form of lung cancer screening will mean many more unnecessary lives lost. The conference in Sofia will discuss all of the above issues and, once again, the Alliance would be delighted to see you there.

Who will be joining us?

The conference wil pull together leading experts in the arena of personalised medicine drawn from patient groups, payers, healthcare professionals plus industry, science, academic and research representatives. EU-, national- and regional-level politicians will be present to complement the regional focus on research and innovations in health. They will be joined by experts from scientific centres, scientific hospitals and research centres.

There will also be a focus on economics and budgets. Also attending will be legislators and policymakers in the form of MEPs and Commission officials, given that a key aim of the Congress is to set the agenda for European healthcare during the coming years.

The conference offers:

• An opportunity to learn more about the issues surrounding lung-cancer screening and guideline, with the chance to hear the opinions of experts first hand, as well as respond to and pose questions on the day
• The valuable opportunity to see into the minds of other stakeholders, understand their issues and find out what they really feel they need, and to tell them your own priorities in this area
• An excellent chance to network with (and be interviewed by) health journalists. Also, to meet industry leaders, cutting-edge scientists and other personalised stakeholders.