The 1st Department of Surgery and Interventional Gastroenterology of Semmelweis University organized an online consensus conference on the Complex Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, aiming to coordinate the activities of different fields of medicine that cure hepatic cancer. The department has extensive experience in the treatment of the disease, since it performs the largest number of surgeries and complex gastroenterological treatments for hepatic, biliary and pancreatic diseases in Hungary.
Regarding the concept of consensus conferences, Dr. Attila Szijártó, Director of the 1st Department of Surgery and Interventional Gastroenterology, co-organizer of the conference, said that the goal is that representatives of the various fields involved in the treatment of the group of diseases may have the opportunity to share their experiences. The topic of the online conference held in March was the second most common malignancy that occurs in the liver. The conference was organized by Dr. Attila Szijártó and by Dr. Oszkár Hahn, associate professor and Deputy Director of the department. Earlier, the department held a similar online conference on colorectal liver metastases and their treatment.
“An increasing number of technical and professional innovations in the fields of internal medicine, hepatology, oncology, pathology, surgery and interventional radiology is related to the treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), commonly known as liver cancer. However, cooperation between different disciplines requires coordination within Hungary that goes beyond international recommendations”, emphasized Dr. Attila Szijártó.
The task of the conference was to coordinate the activities of the cooperating fields that deal with the treatment of the disease, to set patient pathways and to adapt them to the Hungarian conditions.
“The treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma is an extremely complex task, as the condition, size and location of the tumor can fundamentally influence the choice of treatments that can be used with different results”, Dr. Attila Szijártó highlighted.
He added that hepatologists, oncologists, interventional radiologists, surgeons, and transplant specialists are all involved in patient care. Thanks to the conference, Orvosi Hetilap (Medical Weekly) will publish a special issue on good practices summarized for all medical fields, which can serve as a guide for physicians.
Dr. Attila Szijártó pointed out that Semmelweis University has always been the flagship of the treatment of hepatic, biliary and pancreatic diseases in Hungary: the patient care of the largest number of complex surgical and gastroenterological cases can be connected to the 1st Department of Surgery and Interventional Gastroenterology.
“In 2015, we established the HPB Surgical Research Center Hungary, which was a network of researchers between university institutes. Colleagues working at the department have extensive experience related to the disease group, therefore Semmelweis University is the most suitable institution to hold a consensus conference, thus helping to develop comprehensive professional guidelines”, Dr. Attila Szijártó pointed out.
In line with the above, and according to the plans of the department, Dr. Attila Szijártó said that the series of consensus conferences related to the treatment of hepatic, biliary and pancreatic diseases will continue in the future.
Dóra Vas
Photo: Valter Berecz
Translation: Katalin Illés-Romhányi
