Roche holds Asian cancer forum

MANILA, Philippines - Hundreds of doctors from neighboring countries such as China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and the Philippines were brought together in Cebu by pharmaceutical giant Roche for the 8th Roche Asia Oncology Forum (RAOF), a two-day conference on cancer treatment held in partnership with the Philippine Society of Medical Oncologists (PSMO). The forum, part of Roche’s commitment to the advancement of oncology treatment, discussed novel and current approaches, recent advances and future directions in the treatment and management of cancer focusing on the relevant data in Asian region. “Cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and there is a need to understand ethnic and regional differences across tumor types,” said Augusto Villanueva, general manager of Roche Philippines Inc., “Asia Pacific has made a significant contribution to recent global studies,” he added. “Continuing Benefits of Cancer Care with Innovative Treatments,” was the theme of the conference. During this two-day conference, latest developments and discoveries in the diagnosis and treatment of five specific types of cancer (gastric cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lung cancer) were thoroughly discussed.