Doha, Qatar: Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) concluded the International Congress of Gastrointestinal Cancers 2023 yesterday in Doha.
The two-day Congress, held under the patronage of H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, was opened in the presence of H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, the Minister of Public Health and several distinguished guests. Over 1,000 primary health care providers and researchers attended the conference.
Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Jabor Al Thani, Chairman of QCS, said that the congress was a great success and it witnessed exchange of knowledge, expertise and opinions among the researchers and delegates to benefit the participants as well as the efforts to combat cancer especially gastrointestinal cancers.
“The congress has been a great success and I am extremely satisfied with the outcomes of the congress which can help in framing several policies and programmes in cancer treatment. It is also very fulfilling that the participants had a great time to exchange ideas and learn more about preventing some of the cancers and how to raise awareness about it among the community members. We hope that the recommendations of the Congress will help in fighting the disease in a big way and make our society better prepared to face cancer and protect the people from it,” said, Sheikh Khalid.
On the second and concluding day, the congress came out with a set of recommendations to enhance cancer care and prevent gastrointestinal cancers in the country and beyond. Some of the major recommendations are to establish multidisciplinary teams, enhance surgical training programmes, promote precision oncology research, implement liver transplant protocols, adopt clinical guidelines, organise public awareness campaigns, strategies, expand access to advanced imaging, foster economic research in GI cancer treatment, enhance patient support services, and create specialized cancer units.
The concluding two sessions presented methods of prevention and early detection of gastrointestinal cancers, factors that cause them, and methods of diagnosis and treatment, with a focus on the role of food in preventing the disease.
There was also an accompanying medical exhibition to provide free consultation services both medical and nutritional and perform biometric and body mass index measurements for the public.
The congress attracted prominent experts from a number of countries such as the United States of America, Austria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman, Lebanon, and Jordan, in addition to the participation of a number of entities from Qatar such as the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation and the Primary Health Care Corporation.
