Conference on Chronic Diseases Gathered 40 Speakers and Over 100 Medical Professionals
The Fourth Scientific Conference "Chronic Diseases – Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Clinic, and Prevention" brought together forty speakers and over one hundred participants from May 9 to 12 at the Aqua Paradise Resort in Nessebar. The event was organized by the Clinical Immunology Laboratory of the University Hospital "St. Ivan Rilski," led by Prof. Dr. Dobroslav Kyurkchiev, and the Bulgarian Scientific Society of Immuno-Oncology (BSSIO), chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jeliazko Arabadjiev.
"The conference has been held annually since 2021 with the idea of being multidisciplinary – covering various areas of medicine. This year’s program included chronic diseases in nine clinical specialties: neurology, oncology, pulmonology, dermatology, rheumatology, endocrinology, nephrology, cardiology, and immunology. Special panels were dedicated to HPV vaccination and the connection between immunology and nutrition. Our goal is for medical professionals to hear leading experts from different medical fields and thus update their knowledge with the latest achievements of medical science," explained Prof. Dr. Kyurkchiev.
The final panel of the program revealed how immunological research can detect antibodies years before any symptoms of autoimmune diseases appear in patients, offering excellent opportunities for prevention.
In the field of oncology, the focus was on vaccine-preventable malignant tumors such as cervical cancer and the significant societal benefits of HPV vaccination to reduce the risk of HPV-related cancers.
"This year’s conference included a rather political panel, supported by the European Cancer Organization. We will present the European Cancer Organization’s Manifesto 'Time to Accelerate for Europe – Together Against Cancer.' We previously held a roundtable on the same topic in Parliament. The manifesto calls for intensifying innovation and care for cancer patients in implementing the European Cancer Plan to reduce the burden of cancer," explained Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jeliazko Arabadjiev.
The main recommendations of the Manifesto for the EU’s cancer policy include:
Achieving the complete elimination of vaccine-preventable cancers, including those related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV);
Implementing more effective policies for cancer prevention and early detection;
Addressing the shortage of medical staff in oncology with adequate measures. The idea is to achieve these goals by utilizing the opportunities of the European Cancer Plan with the corresponding funding and creating an EU Action Plan to tackle the healthcare workforce shortage.