Summary report written by Norbert Schmitz, Local Organizer, Anna Sureda, Chair of the Education Subcommittee of the LWP and Bertram Glass, Chair of the LWP.
The 16th Educational Course of the Lymphoma Working Party happened in a face-to-face format on October 21 and 22 in Münster, Germany. It was the first in-person meeting that the active members of the Lymphoma Working Party could attend since the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed our lives. Because of this, it was expected to be a very special meeting in which everyone was looking forward to attending.
We have been trying over the last few years to integrate the role of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment journey of patients with lymphomas, the introduction of very effective and well tolerated new drugs plus, more recently, new cellular therapy strategies such as CAR T-cells that most probably will significantly change not only the treatment landscape but also the long-term outcome of our patients. Norbert Schmitz, was the local organiser for this year and welcomed everybody during day number one. The first round table was dedicated to discuss the principles of allogeneic stem cell transplantation, the existing evidences regarding the beneficial effect of graft versus lymphoma and the trends in stem cell transplantation activity within the lymphoma field utilising data from the EBMT registry. Later on, additional sections were devoted to the most relevant histologies.
The participation of young fellows was actively encouraged. Case presenters and outreach grants recipients were coming from Lebanon, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Argentina, Armenia, Germany, Canada and Ukraine.
As seen in previous editions, we were pleased to see such interest and many well-prepared case report presentations by our young colleagues.
"From a trainee’s and younger delegate’s perspective, the Lymphoma Working Party Educational Course is a top-notch event. It provides attendees with an in-depth look at lymphoproliferative diseases and the different forms of cellular therapies that are currently used or under development for lymphoma treatment. The size and content of the meeting allows oneself to learn the basics as well as the cutting-edge science in this field while simultaneously networking with experts and board members in a relaxed atmosphere. It was great to see so many young case presenters from diverse countries attend the meeting. I left the event with many new contacts and can’t wait to attend another EBMT event!" said Yasmina Serroukh from Belgium, one of the young colleagues that joined us this year in Münster.
Additionally, eight unrestricted outreach grants were given to interested participants coming from low-to-middle income countries.
Attendees enjoyed a friendly and open atmosphere met with extensive but informal discussions during the event’s coffee breaks, lunch breaks and the social dinner that took place on Thursday evening. The great success of the course, attended by 41 attendees and 14 speakers, was wrapped up by Norbert Schmitz on Friday afternoon.
Stay tuned to find out where and when the 17th Educational Course of the Lymphoma Working Party will take place in 2022!
