The changing face of Russian oncology

Abstract

Russian Cancer Conference The occasion of my visit was the Fourth Russian Cancer Conference (21–23 November, 2000) (Figure 1), which was held just outside Moscow in a refurbished ex-government administration building. Until 1997, there was only one Russian cancer conference, organised by the Russian Cancer Society, and held every 5 years. Four years ago, a group of oncologists decided to organise a second conference, to be held annually. One of the leading figures in this venture was Professor Sergei Tjulandin, a medical oncologist specialising in germ cell cancers, in the Department of Clinical Oncology and Pharmacology at the NN Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Centre. It was agreed from the outset that the conference should be run under the banner of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). Each year, the president of ESMO is invited to attend, and the society supports the event by inviting one or two foreign speakers to come to Moscow and give lectures. The conference is also an accredited ESMO postgraduate course in oncology. The conference receives no financial support but, as Tjulandin explained, the “moral” support they receive from this association is extremely valuable. In fact, the conference receives no funding at all, except through the sale of a small amount of exhibition space (currently about 18–20 small booths). The initiative has been highly successful and attendance has increased every year. Eight hundred delegates registered for last November’s conference. In previous years, the conference was held at the Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Centre, but owing to increasing delegate numbers, the event outgrew the facilities there and had to be moved to a bigger venue. For many Russian oncologists, the cost of travel and the language barrier prevent them from attending conferences outside Russia, so this is their main opportunity to network and to update their knowledge of the latest developments in their field. All educational medical material is free in Russia, so delegates do not pay a registration fee for the conference. In previous years, even the food was free, although this year delegates had to buy their own food. This year, also for the first time, the organisers told the Russian media about the event. This generated a great deal of interest and a press conference was held on the first day. It was not clear how much coverage and air-time actually resulted from the press conference, but the organisers took this rare opportunity to get important public health and cancer prevention messages across to the Russian reporters present, in the hope that these would be relayed to the public. The conference covered a wide range of oncology specialties, including surgery, medical oncology, radiotherapy, and a session on nursing. There were three parallel sessions, and a total of 127 speakers. Only three talks were given in English, one by the current President of ESMO, Professor Maurizio Tonato (Perugia, Italy), one by Professor Jonas Bergh (Karolinska Institute, Sweden) and one by Dr Stefano Zurrida (European Institute of Oncology, Italy). The delegates were all from Russia and from ex-member countries of the Soviet Union. One of the highlights of the Conference is a Nikolai Blokhin memorial lecture. This year, Professor David Zaridze (Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, NN Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Centre) was selected to present a lecture on ‘Global trends in cancer incidence and mortality’. In most developed countries, cancer incidence and mortality rates have declined during the 1990s, largely because of a reduction in smoking-related cancers. Russia, with its economical and ecological problems, and probably one of the highest proportions of smokers in the world, is still far from being able to achieve a similar reduction. To anyone brought up on a diet of Cold War-inspired literature and Soviet/Western suspicions, a visit to Russia can still bring on faint pangs of paranoia. The reality comes as a surprise – in Moscow at least, modern, well-equipped, Western-style business hotels abound, the larger shops are full of Western goods – the corner unit of GUM, the famous Russian ‘department store’ (see above) is now occupied by Christian Dior – and visitors are given a warm and friendly welcome. It is all a far cry from Ian Fleming and John le Carre!