Beirut, November 24 2020: In light of the ongoing pandemic, the Second Middle East and North Africa Immuno-Oncology Forum (MIOF) was held on November 6 and 7, 2020 in hybrid format at the Daniel ACC Multipurpose Room in the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC). The MIOF is the only conference in the region designed to tackle all aspects of immuno-oncology practices in the different types of cancer, whether solid or liquid.
This year’s conference, chaired by Dr. Hazem Assi and co-chaired by Dr. Jean El Cheikh, featured leaders in Hematology – Oncology, certified healthcare professionals, pharmacists and nurses, who provided interactive scientific sessions that covered various diagnostic and therapeutic advancements in immune-oncology. “I am convinced that the program will provide you with new information, better knowledge in immuno-oncology, ideas on how to improve your research and results, it will provide a stimulus to further harmonize our medical standards of practice and will hopefully lead to successfully advancing the standard of care for hematology and oncology patients and improve their outcomes. I would like to thank Dr. Fadlo Khuri, AUB President, Dr. Ghazi Zaatari, interim Dean of Raja N. Khuri School of Medicine and Dr. Ali Taher, Director of Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute (NKBCI) for their tremendous support during these challenging times. I would also like to thank the co-chair of this conference, Dr. Jean El Cheikh, the scientific committee, the international, regional, and local speakers, the CME office, Infomed, and all pharmaceutical companies, without whom the conference would not have succeeded. Finally, special thanks to all 450 participants and attendees for being part of making MIOF II a successful one.” said Dr. Assi in his opening note.
As a keynote speaker, Dr. Khuri emphasized the past, current, and future practices in immune-oncology, highlighting the importance of this “novel combination approaches to be based on patient-specific factors, and focusing on individualized immunotherapy”.
The program covered the most effective initiatives and best practices across the full spectrum of cancer treatment, from Breast, Lung, GI, Prostate, and Ovarian to Malignant Hematology. There was a focus on the need to understand the underlying biological procedures which are modified to increase effectiveness, precision, survivability and quality of life.
AUBMC believes in the importance of the annual hosting of the MIOF aspiring to consistently share all updates related to immuno-oncology in an aim to standardize the practice of cancer care in the MENA region. Additionally, this conference fulfills the mission of NKBCI at AUBMC in reducing the burden of cancer in Lebanon and the region through the application of state-of-the-art medical knowledge and technology and the development of integrated and advanced programs in patient care, research, education, and prevention.
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About AUBMC
Since 1902, AUBMC has been providing the highest standards of care to patients across Lebanon and the region. It is also the teaching hospital for the Faculty of Medicine at AUB (established in 1867), which has trained generations of medical students and physicians, and whose graduates can be found at leading institutions around the world. AUBMC is the only medical institution in the Middle East to have earned the five international accreditations of JCI, Magnet, CAP, ACGME-I and JACIE attesting to its superior standards in patient-centered care, nursing, pathology/laboratory services and graduate medical education.
The Faculty of Medicine has graduated over 4,000 medical students and physicians; the Rafic Hariri School of Nursing provides excellent education for the nursing staff, and the Medical Center meets the healthcare needs of over 360,000 patient visits annually.