November is the month dedicated to raising awareness of men's health issues, in particular prostate cancer, which is the most common cancer type in men in Latin America and the third cause of death. Despite the significant advances in prostate cancer treatment in the last years, there are still patients that suffers from advanced disease.   According to Dr. Andrey Soares, a clinical oncologist at Israelita Albert Einstein Hospital and the Paulista Oncology Center, and Scientific Director of the LACOG Genitourinary Group, screening for this type of cancer (PSA and digital rectal exams) is simple and inexpensive, and makes a big difference in early diagnosis. “It is important to emphasize that diagnosis means we can assess an individual’s risk of dying from the disease. In many cases, when cancer is considered to be low risk, the patient doesn’t need any treatment, just monitoring. If diagnosed early, the chance of a cure is approximately 90%.”  But, as Dr. Soares explains, a significant number of patients, specially from public health system, in Latin America are being diagnosed advanced stage disease. "This is probably because it is hard to reach these people with awareness campaigns and screening programs therefore in some cases the health systems are inefficient, making it

LACOG’s objective is to improve cancer outcomes, focusing on the needs of Latin America. In order to achieve this goal, LACOG works in partnership with the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) which is an institution with members from over 1,100 organizations in 170 countries. The UICC represents the world's leading cancer societies, ministries of health and patient groups and includes government policy makers, researchers and specialists in cancer prevention. UICC was founded in 1933. The organization is an international cooperation network that aims to find ways to reduce the incidence of cancer in the world, as well as promote equity and ensure that controlling the disease is a priority for the global health. Over the years, the UICC has encouraged the development of cancer institutions, the sharing and exchange of knowledge, skills and technology, and the training of professionals who are engaged in preventing and controlling cancer. The organization contributes to scientific discussions, professional training programs and meetings aimed at producing cancer policies. Additionally, UICC promotes Virtual Exchanges which provide members the opportunity to ‘meet’, exchange knowledge, and share solutions. LACOG's partnership with UICC contributes to the establishment of strategic communication among their members, allowing them to join forces and work more effectively.

LACOG’s Genitourinary Group held the 4th GU Review International Symposium 2020 and the 2nd Multi-profession Symposium on October 29th to 31st. It was an entirely virtual event, due to the pandemic and featured 93 speakers, of whom 74 were Brazilian and 19 from other countries. Dr. Diogo Assed Bastos, the Chair of the LACOG Genitourinary Group, commented that the meeting had exceeded all expectations and that it was growing and becoming increasingly more significant every year. “Around 1800 registered for the event, including clinical oncologists, urologists, radiotherapists, pathologists, radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians. Around 90 of these were from other countries, mainly Latin America, such as Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. For the first time, the event had simultaneous translation, which helped to encourage more people to attend. The main purpose of the event is to provide a review of the most recently published work in the genitourinary field and encourage discussion on how these developments can be best applied, in order to help manage diseases such as prostate, bladder and kidney cancer. "The event was a great success, and the online format worked very well. As it was held over three days, we were able to offer a very flexible program

Frequently, the best cancer treatment option for patients is still based on data from clinical studies conducted in European countries or in the United States. There are few studies based on Latin American populations. But, according to Dr. Diogo Assed Bastos, it is time for Latin American countries to take part in the development of clinical studies in order to provide treatment options that are more adequate to Latin-American patients: We need studies to take place in Latin American countries in order to understand what the characteristics of these patients are and what responses are produced by different treatments Dr. Bastos currently works as an oncologist at Sírio-Libanês Hospital and at Instituto do Câncer de São Paulo (ICESP), in Brazil. Dr Bastos is a clinician and researcher specialized in Genito-urinary tumors. At present, he is the Chair of the LACOG Genito-urinary Group and coordinates studies in this field. Dr. Bastos is the Principal investigator of the Testicular Registry study (LACOG 0515), which is the most comprehensive germ cell tumor registry in Brazil. This study will allow investigators to identify clinical and pathological features of patients with germ cell tumor. Besides that, it will allow them to assess the most frequent treatment used and

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women worldwide. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 200 thousand new cases and 52 thousand deaths due to breast cancer were estimated in 2018. 1. In general, the number of cases has been on a downward trend. However, the disease has been increasing among younger women2. Both the incidence and mortality rates for Latin American women under 44 years old have been shown to be higher than those found in high-income countries (20% compared to 12% and 14% compared to 7%, respectively) 3. October is breast cancer awareness month. It raises attention to breast cancer prevention and its early diagnosis. Considering that, LACOG, a non-profit organization, also reinforces the importance of academical and clinical research and connects research sites and researchers who are interested in developing trials to discover new treatments for cancer patients. Research enables us to better understand patients’ characteristics, to identify population with increased risk of developing cancer, to identify challenges regarding access to screening exams, as well as access to early diagnosis and treatment. Research data generated from real-world patients also helps to recognize gaps in optimal treatment and barriers to health services. Additionally, through clinical research it is

The LACOG Genitourinary Group, the arm of LACOG that focuses on genitourinary cancer, is holding the GU Review 2020 online between October 29th to 31st with many extra features! As well as the free 3 day program online, there will be pre-conference courses, educational activities, doctors discussing the pros and cons of various treatments and multidisciplinary classes available for medical, nursing, physiotherapy, pharmacy and nutritional practitioners. ⠀ The event will bringing together participants from all over the world and there will be simultaneous translation into English and Spanish. Healthcare professionals will also be able to take part in LACOG’s Second GU Multi-profession Symposium. ⠀⠀ Sign up here: www.geniturinariobrasil.com.br