2010 Flims workshop
In 2010, the European Society of Surgical Oncology supported the participation of 5 young oncology surgeons in the joint ECCO-AACR-EORTC-ESMO Workshop on "Methods in Clinical Cancer Research" held in Flims (CH) from 19 to 25 June 2010:
- Wendy Kelder, Department of surgical oncology, University Medical Centre Groningen, The Netherlands
- Daniel J. Lips, Department of General Surgery and Surgical Oncology, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, The Netherlands
- Gamlet Mkrtchyan, N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Centre, Moscow, Russian Federation
- Flavius-Ionut Sandra-Petrescu, Department of General Surgery, Mannheim Medical Center, University of Heidelberg, Germany
- Joost Renier van der Vorst, Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Centre, The Netherlands
A young surgeon in Flims - a great experience!
 This week’s workshop was one of the most inspiring and motivating courses I have done until now. It was a pleasure to be surrounded by fellow students who were all very ambitious to improve themselves . Being with others in a small study group very much created a team spirit where it was safe and even welcome to comment on each others protocols to make the most of it. Our group leaders were fine professionals; all leaders within their own specialty field. The presence of top medical scientists from other medical fields and the possibility to ask them questions at any time was really an eye opener. Their enthusiasm for all the ideas we had and their never-ending positive but critical comments helped us all to become more aware of the pitfalls in research in general and our own plans in particular.
I have the impression that I made some very important contacts for future studies and new clinical developments. Together with my fellow Dutch students we created the Flims Dutch Alumni Club which might be a future platform for Dutch multi-center studies. You never know. At least we know that in the future we can always ask for advice from some of the top professionals who were our group leaders during this memorable week.
I would like to thank the ESSO for supporting me.
Wendy Kelder, MD PhD
Fellow surgical oncology
UMC Groningen, The Netherlands
Dutch Cancer Society
 As an ESSO-Fellow I participated in the Workshop of 2010. It was a great experience and led to the development of a protocol Phase III trial of the role of adjuvant chemotherapy on outcome in stage II colon cancer patients with nodal micrometastases, which received medical-ethical agreement and will start accrual at November 1st 2010. The fact that the protocol was developed at the Flims Workshop was not only an advantage for myself, but also for implementation of the protocol. The addition “protocol developed at Flims Workshop 2010” made potential co-investigators to be convinced about the strength of the protocol. Even potential sponsors were more willing to agree with financial supporting the trial. As for me, I enlarged my knowledge about protocol development enormously in such an efficient manner, which would not have been possible by other means.
The ECCO-AACR-EORTC-ESMO Workshop "Methods in Clinical Cancer Research" (the Flims course) is an excellent training for young clinical scientists. It combines the support of leaders in the field of oncology with the enthusiasm of young clinical scientist, who are willing to work as hard as needed to develop a study protocol. This combination in the surroundings of Flims leads to new ideas and immediate useable protocols. That was also true in my case.
I would encourage the ESSO to maintain their support for the Flims Workshop and thereby enabling young surgeons to develop their skills in oncological science.
Daniel J. Lips
Jeroen Bosch Hospital
Den Bosch, The Netherlands
 I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to participate in the Workshop "Methods in Clinical Cancer Research" in Switzerland this past June. I would particularly like to thank the ESSO for the financial support they offered me. Without this assistance, I would not have been able to attend this multidisciplinary workshop nor meet this excellent group of clinicians. This experience gave me an opportunity to establish a professional relationship with an international group of colleagues and faculty with whom I can collaborate on future research projects. Moreover, the knowledge acquired at this event will be of direct benefit to my department.
Flims Workshop is a link between oncology’s past and future, a bridge between various antineoplastic treatment modalities. It gives us hope for the improvement of oncologic care throughout the world by means of joint scientific research.
In closing, I would like to thank both the Flims Workshop and ESSO Selection Committee for giving me this unique opportunity to advance my career.
Dr. Gamlet Mkrtchyan
N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Centre
Moscow, Russian Federation
 Flims is a high quality workshop meant to train young physicians, with interest in any oncological field, to develop and conduct clinical research trials.
I was selected to attend the 12th Edition of the Flims Workshop in Switzerland and ESSO made my participation possible by supporting me with a grant.
They were seven hard-working days, day and night, in the middle of the Swiss mountains. The workshop was very well organized. We had lectures led by internationally renowned experts who teach us all the theoretical backgrounds needed to design and conduct a clinical trial. Daily we worked on our protocols in small protocol development groups. Our group experts spent a lot of time with us being critically involved in the development of each protocol. Besides that, we had time for individual work and we had at our disposal very well equipped computer rooms with access to online journals. Experts from all oncological fields, as well as biostatisticians were always approachable and prepared to answer our questions. The technical and administrative support was excellent, handling rapidly all the problem which occurred during the workshop.
The participation in Flims represented for me an outstanding opportunity to learn the essentials of clinical trial design and management and to interact with many nice people. I succeeded to finish my protocol which belongs to the field of rectal cancer research and I am sure that it will bring new inputs in the treatment of the cancer patients.
In conclusion, I can only recommend this workshop to young researchers with interest in the field of oncological research and I would like to thank ESSO for their support.
Flavius Şandra-Petrescu, MD
University Medical Centre Mannheim
Mannheim, Germany
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Last June, I was given the opportunity to attend the ‘Methods in Clinical Cancer Research’ course in Flims, supported by an ESSO Fellowship Grant. From the start everything was prepared and arranged extremely well. First, the perfect location in which the course is organized, the Fims Waldhaus, is setting the standards very high and creates an optimal work environment.
At the start of the course, all participants were subdivided in different protocol development groups containing people with overlapping topics and fields of interest.
During the complete course, all participants were directed by an international group of very experienced and professional clinical cancer researchers. This faculty consisted of experts in their field of research, varying from surgery to radiotherapy to medical oncology.
What I particularly liked in this course was the individual and informal contact we were able to make with the faculty members. Besides the extremely informative lectures and the individual ‘meet-the-expert’ sessions, the course design in which a study protocol had to be written was very motivating to put in all your effort to finish the protocol before the end of the course.
Also the several opportunities to ask questions and discuss the protocol with the faculty members resulted in almost all cases in a fully completed study protocol that immediately could be submitted to the local medical ethics committee.
Summarizing, the Flims ‘Methods in Clinical Cancer Research’ course was the most well-organized and most instructive course I have ever attended and I would recommend it to everyone working in clinical cancer research.
Joost R. van der Vorst
Leiden University Medical Centre
Leiden, The Netherlands
For more information about the 2011 workshop, click here.
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