RSU Organised an International Forum on New Opportunities in Oncology Treatment

On 13 and 14 October, Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) hosted a dynamic multidisciplinary event – The Precision Medicine Networking Forum – where more than twenty experts from Scandinavia, Western Europe, and Baltic States shared their experience on the latest opportunities in the treatment of paediatric and adult oncological diseases.

Precision medicine is a new approach to disease treatment and prevention that takes into account the genetic diversity, environment, and lifestyle of each individual. Professor Denis Horgan, Executive Director of the European Alliance for Personalised Medicine and a participant in this Forum, is convinced that

'genomics is driving personalised medicine, which in turn is driving huge changes in the diagnosis and treatment of disease'.

However, Latvia is lagging far behind other European Union (EU) countries in supporting patients, even though it is already implementing a number of important initiatives as an EU Member State. Therefore, collaboration between doctors, scientists, hospital administrators, and public authorities is needed to ensure increasingly effective and scientifically sound treatments and to enable data-driven decision-making.

The forum addressed the following topics:

• Developments in molecular diagnostics in paediatric and adult oncology;
• Diagnostics, research, and other new possibilities for patients with obscure and rare oncological diseases;
• The importance of multidisciplinary cooperation;
• The place of molecular geneticists, bioinformaticians, and pathologists in the treatment team;
• International collaboration in research, implementation of new treatments, etc.

The topics of the Forum were relevant to a wide audience, and the event was attended by oncologists, geneticists, molecular biologists, bioinformaticians, scientists, general practitioners, healthcare support and administrative staff, data scientists, residents, students, and other interested parties. The Forum also held discussions on the implementation of the biomedical ecosystem, including the economic perspective and the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation.

The Forum was organised by RSU, the Latvian Children’s Oncology Foundation, the Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Children’s Clinical University Hospital, the Ministry of Economics, the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, the American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia, the University of Latvia, and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia. It was supported by the President’s Office, the Latvian Society for Medical Oncology, and the Latvian Association of Oncologists.

Official website of the conference