Our Neurooncology team in Manchester hosted the annual meeting of the British Neuro-Oncology Society on the 5-7^th July at University of Manchester.

The Organising committee chaired by Miss Konstantina Karabatsou and Prof Roncaroli from Salford and Professor McBain from Christie Hospital put together an interesting and stimulating scientific as well as social program.

This event provided a unique opportunity for all those working in the field of Neuro-oncology in the UK and beyond i.e. practitioners and trainees of all disciplines including, but not confined to, medical, nursing, AHP, psychology, basic science to meet and share their experiences.

The conference was a success with over 350 delegates attending the three days with representation of the five UK brain tumour charities, patient representatives and a number of companies sponsoring the event.

The meeting’s theme was on Big Data, Bioinformatics and Genomics in Neuro-Oncology with the emphasis on health informatics, genomics, epigenetics, proteomics, fostering and developing the integration between forefront basic and translational science, bioinformatics, and clinicians.

The talks covered a wide variety of topics and updates in the management of patients with brain tumours, from stem cells and in-vitro models to classification and biomarkers, neuro-imaging and neurosurgical techniques, treatment advances, quality of life and survivorship. Also, a very topical debate on Big Data and their impact on patient care along with its ethical implications took place on the second day.

Several national and international faculties, PhD students and post-doctoral fellows from the University of Manchester also presented their research. Professor John Ainsworth, Professor Sharrocks and Professor Hamerlik delivered three of the keynote lectures showcasing the breath of research from Health Informatics to basic and computational science happening in Manchester. Professor Gilbertson Director of  the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre and Maria Castro Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan also shared their experience on clinical translational data.

A Salford Neurosurgical trainee, Dr Mueez Waqar was awarded 2 of the highest scoring papers for his research on Preoperative Brain Irradiation in Gliobastoma (POBIG) , a novel world-first trial for patients with glioblastoma offered in Manchester and led by Dr Gerben Borst, radiation oncologist at the Christie. 

The gala dinner was hosted in the Museum of Science and Industry showcasing Manchester’s rich heritage with music and dance reflecting its multicultural scene.

The evening concluded with an inspiring and emotive talk from Jess Miss, daughter of the late Baroness Tessa Jowell sharing information about the work that the Tessa Jowell Cancer Mission is doing in raising the standards in the care, treatment and research for brain tumours.

The feedback from the conference was very positive and has strengthened the team’s cohesive spirit and determination to continue working together along with other clinical and research teams at National and International level to improve the lives and treatments for patients and families affected by these rare and challenging tumours.

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