By Mr Amit Kumar, Manchester Lumps Clinic Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
A few days ago I attended the European Musculo-Skeletal Oncology Society Combined with British Orthopaedic Oncology Society Conference, an event with a thankfully easier to grasp acronym, the EMSOS Conference. I thought it would be interesting to give an insight into how me and my colleagues in our profession works together to continuously improve and provide better care to our patients.
EMSOS 2022 conference overview
This is an annual event where like minded professionals with a specialist interest in the diagnosis, management and treatment of sarcoma come together to share the latest developments in this field of study. With over 250 delegates all congregating at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in central London, it’s a great networking and learning opportunity, with added poignancy this year following a break over the last couple of years. There were plenty of exhibitors too showcasing latest developments in specific areas of expertise.
I attended both as a member of the British Orthopaedic Oncology Society and also as a presenter. My presentation was based on our work at Manchester university hospitals and covered our findings on myxoid liposarcomas (a rare cancer that grows in cells that store fats in the body), their recurrence and the extent to which the spread to other part of the body, known as the metastatic rate.
As with all areas of the medical profession, my work requires me to continuously develop my skills, knowledge and understanding of sarcoma. The conference highlighted novel ways of diagnostics, assessing outcomes and prognostic factors. Surgical techniques were reviewed which enables me to develop my own techniques. I was also interested in the metastatic bone disease where research was presented on different ways of managing this difficult condition which has an increasing incidence especially as patient are living with cancer.
I attended a medicolegal session on pitfalls in managing sarcoma and where litigation occurs in this rare cancer. Professor Rob Grimer gave a talk regarding common areas of negligence in managing sarcoma from primary care all the way to specialist centres. The biggest cause of litigation is delayed referrals, missed and delayed diagnosis, and mis-reported scans and images. It’s important to me to be aware of the areas where we can improve as an individual consultant and as a collective profession.
Looking towards new developments, there were exciting trials for soft tissue sarcoma. For example the Safety Trail from Canada, looked at the value of using CT scans in sarcoma surveillance rather than X-ray. Another trial from Holland described use a of a breath test to detect early the signs of Sarcoma. And there were plenty of discussions on the collection of data and collaboration of projects for sarcoma in the UK amongst different medical centres such as in Leicester, Birmingham, and Newcastle. Multi-centre collaboration is vital to the development of research and knowledge. As a result of this conference I’ve been invited to a future international conference to further share and collaborate.
The EMSOS 2022 conference gave insights and discussion into a broad spectrum of areas including surgical techniques, condition management, legal considerations, aftercare and also the future of the profession including the training of future oncology surgeons. Attending Conferences such as this one are a vital part of my role to ensure the Manchester Lumps clinic is at the forefront of patient care. You can find out more about what to expect from the Manchester Lumps Clinic on our patient information page.
