Neuroblastoma
Forum Chairs
Forum Description
Sessions:
- Stages III and IV Neuroblastoma – Therapy
- Innovative Approaches to Therapy
- Neuroblastoma in Infancy & Control Factors
This meeting consisted of a small group of twelve scientific participants. The think tank was divided into three sessions. The first session was chaired by Dr. Lawrence Helson and dealt with current therapy in a far advanced neuroblastoma. The second session was chaired by Dr. John Kemshead and discussed innovative approaches to therapy including new treatments and possible future directions.The third session was chaired by Dr. Garrett Brodeur and discussed control factors in neuroblastoma.
Forum Summary
Each session began with a brief case presentation of a patient who had suffered from neuroblastoma. An attempt to translate basic research to actual patient care was made. There were participants from around the world including Japan, Europe and England as well as the United States.The enthusiasm generated by this meeting was very high among the scientific participants. It was considered that the think tank concept was excellent and of great value. Among the practical spinoffs that resulted from this meeting were:
- The need for standard terminology. The scientific participants will write a position paper to endorse this and will attempt to organize a subsequent meeting with participants from the United States, Europe and Japan so all can agree on common definitions
- The need to establish a centralized, computerized tissue bank for patients with neuroblastoma and neural crest tumors.
- The testing of a panel of monoclonal antibodies currently available in Europe and in the United States to determine which are useful in diagnosis and classification. Drs. John Kemshead, Patrick Reynolds and Garrett Brodeur will develop this project.
- Dr. Patrick Reynolds has a technique which can determine tumor cells present in a ratio as minute as one cell per million, and has invited investigators at the think tank to share in his procedures and techniques.
- The possible use of hyperthermia (heating) with chemotherapy to augment the chemotherapeutic effect.
- The avoidance of radiation where possible, particularly in early stage disease, in order to avoid second primary cancers approximately ten years later.
- The possibility of a screening program (of urine in infants) to detect metabolites from neuroblastoma in the United States was considered after presentation of the screening program in Japan.
- Trials using retinoids (an agent which causes maturation of tumor cells rather than killing the tumor cells) in IV-S neuroblastoma (a tumor seen mostly in infants which tends to spontaneously mature and is often self-curing) rather than chemotherapy or radiation therapy in infants.
Venue & Travel Information
Travel Policy
Please familiarize yourself with our policies and procedures for travel. We truly appreciate you taking the time to participate in this forum. As you make your plans, please remember that we are a nonprofit organization dependent on donations and volunteers. We do NOT pay for upgrades, change fees, incurred costs resulting from a flight change, transportation to or from your local (home side) airport, meals or other incidentals.
- Travel Confirmation will be sent out within 1 week of the forum. This will include a hotel confirmation number, if there is one, and airport transfer details. We have to wait until we receive almost everyone’s travel to book airport transfer. Due to frequent airline changes, we wait until the week of the forum to send this out.
- Airport transfer is provided by Foundation staff, volunteers or arranged shuttle at specific times. If you opt to utilize Foundation airport transportation on your travel form, please be patient in receiving this information. We will send it to the week of the forum.
- Speaker agenda is not sent out prior to the forum. It will be provided upon arrival in the forum packet. We do not tell people when they are speaking because we expect everyone to attend all sessions. Sessions are all day Friday and Saturday.
- REMINDER: We do not reimburse for home side airport transfer or incidentals while traveling. We will not honor miscellaneous receipts sent for these expenses.
- Spouses are welcome to come with you at their own cost but are not allowed to attend the forum. Please no children.
What the Foundation Pays
Accommodations and meals are provided by the foundation during the forum. Airfare will be covered only if booked in accordance with our policy and only up to the amount in which you were approved for. The Foundation will also cover airport transportation on the forum side at the designated shuttle times. You can select not to utilize Foundation arranged transportation at your own expense when completing the travel form. Once your travel form is received your accommodations and airport transfer will be confirmed. Please let us know of any food allergies or other information we should be aware of on the travel forms.
- Note we do not cover upgrades, changes, late bookings, etc.
- Flights must be booked at least 30 days prior to the forum to confirm your accommodations and airport transfer.
- As a nonprofit we utilize volunteers and other methods to maximize our efforts (or our donor support) when making accommodations and arranging ground transportation. Ground transportation will be provided upon your arrival either by a foundation volunteer or arranged shuttle. You will be provided airport transportation information the week of the forum. We do not reimburse for home side airport transfer or incidentals while traveling.
Abstracts
Abstracts are due 30 days prior to the start of the meeting to allow enough time to prepare the meeting book.
The abstracts should be only one or two paragraphs outlining the theme of your presentation and should reflect the objective and spirit of the meeting (see above). Abstracts will be circulated about one week before the meeting. The meeting organizer will start requesting them a month before the meeting.
Forum Structure
The structure of the forum has been developed over years of experience.
- Participants have approximately 45 minutes, depending on the number of participants, for their presentation and discussion. The presentation is meant as a conversation start and should last about twenty minutes briefly covering background information and areas that are new or need further input. This should be structured in such a way as to lead to a lively discussion. Participants are encouraged to interrupt to ask questions or start discussions.
- A MAXIMUM of 5 slide equivalents per presentation is allowed (Power point slides should not contain more than one graph or gel per slide and no more than 5 bullet points to stress the points being made by the presenter.) We appreciate cooperation with the spirit of this guideline. Handouts are welcome but should be distributed before sessions.
- Everyone is expected to actively participate in every session and discussions.
- The time spent at the forum is relatively short, so please be familiar with papers received prior to arrival.
- It is very important that you commit to all sessions of the 2 days of the forum.
Forbeck Scholars Participation
Scholars are selected for each Forbeck Forum. These are outstanding junior clinical or post-doctoral fellows selected based on the quality and relevance of science.
- Scholars present for 30-45 minutes, depending on the number of participants
- The same presentation rules apply for scholars
- After the Forum you are selected to attend, you will attend three years of Scholar Retreats held in Lake Geneva, WI. If you attend a Fall Forum, you will attend the Spring Retreat. If you attend a Spring Forum you will attend a Fall Retreat.
- Scholars are selected by the Foundation Scientific Advisory Board and peer reviewers selected from past Forbeck Scholars.
General Program
The outline below illustrates a typical program schedule. You will receive a complete schedule, including speaking times, the Thursday the forum starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some of our most Frequently Asked Questions. If you have something new to ask, please feel free to contact us.
- Travel Confirmation will be sent out within 1 week of the forum. This will include a hotel confirmation number, if there is one, and airport transfer details. We have to wait until we receive almost everyone’s travel to book airport transfer. Due to frequent airline changes, we wait until the week of the meeting to send this out.
- Airport transfer is provided by Foundation staff, volunteers or arranged shuttle at specific times. If you opt to utilize Foundation airport transportation on your travel form, please be patient in receiving this information. We will send it to the week of the forum.
- Speaker agenda is not sent out prior to the meeting. It will be provided upon arrival in the meeting packet. We do not tell people when they are speaking because we expect everyone to attend all sessions. Sessions are all day.
- Frequently airport transfer is provided by volunteers. Please be patient on receiving this information. Airport transfer will be sent out prior to arrival.
- REMINDER: We do not reimburse for home side airport transfer or incidentals while traveling. We will not honor miscellaneous receipts sent for these expenses.