SIOG Webinar on COVID-19 Vaccination Strategies in Older Patients with Cancer

A SIOG webinar to highlight and review the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in older patients with cancer, along with potential strategies to maximise their benefits in this population. Leading experts in the geriatric oncology field with a multidisciplinary background reviewed current available data, and provide evidence-based recommendations, as well as SIOG expert opinion on this topic.

The webinar was live with Q&A for participants and real-time interaction with presenters. It was offered free of charge, although registration is required.

IntroductionNicolò Matteo Luca Battisti & Anna Mislang
Covid-19 vaccines: a review of the efficacy data supporting their role for older patients with cancerChiara Russo
Factors affecting the efficacy of vaccines in older adultsLisa Cooper
Maximizing the benefits of vaccine in older adults with cancerSchroder Sattar
Q&A and ClosingNicolò Matteo Luca Battisti & Anna Mislang

Download the SIOG COVID-19 programme (pdf)

Nicolò Matteo Luca Battisti
Medical oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Nicolò Matteo Luca Battisti (1984) is a medical oncologist who concluded his training in Italy in 2015. Currently, he is working as a Clinical Fellow at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust of London, UK, under the supervision of Dr. Alistair Ring. He has been focusing on geriatric oncology since he was a medical student and he gained his Specialization/PhD in Medical Oncology at the University of Milan, Italy. He spent the last part of his training under the supervision of Dr. Martine Extermann in the Senior Adult Oncology Program of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute of Tampa, FL, USA, where he developed a protocol assessing the external validity of two major guidelines for the management of NSCLC in a population of older patients. His research focuses mainly on tools to screen elderly cancer patients for frailty and disabilities and to predict the risk for chemotherapy toxicity and on assessing the validity of the current evidence base for the management of cancer in this specific setting. He has presented his work in various national and international conferences. He joined SIOG in 2013 and he is currently Vice-chair of the Young SIOG Interest Group.

Lisa Cooper
Advanced Geriatric Fellow at Brigham and Woman’s hospital
Advanced fellow in Geriatric Medicine, Harvard Medical School (HMS), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Lisa Cooper graduated from the HMS Multi-Campus Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program sponsored by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) on July 1, 2020 and is currently in a second year, advanced fellowship program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). She is conducting research projects in the field of surgical oncology and geriatric co-management and frailty. She is also a practicing geriatrician within geriatric co management services across different inpatient specialties.
Dr. Cooper has graduated from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Faculty of Health Sciences, in August of 2010. and in December 2018 completed a dual residency in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine at the Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikva, Israel. During her residency she developed a service for evaluating and managing older adult cancer patients who were candidates for treatment. She came to the HMS program with the goal of advancing her expertise in geriatric co-management for surgical oncology patients.
Her current research projects are investigating frailty trajectories and cognitive assessments in older adults with cancer prior to surgery and evaluating pathways to provide better care for this vulnerable population. She served as the site PI for the GO SAFE study and is currently conducting additional research within thoracic surgery, preoperative care and geriatric co-management services at the BWH.

Anna Mislang
Medical Oncologist at Royal Adelaide Hospital
Anna Mislang is a Medical Oncologist in South Australia who specialises in Geriatric Oncology at the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer and is the co-chair of the SIOG COVID-19 Working Group.

Chiara Russo
University Of Genoa
Dr Chiara Russo is geriatrician of the Geriatric Oncology Program at the Comprehensive Cancer Center Léon Bérard in Lyon, France, since 2018.
She obtained the post graduated Speciality in Geriatrics at the University of Genoa, in Italy, in 2014. During her residency she had the opportunity to integrate the Geriatric Oncology Program at the Léon Bérard Comprehensive Cancer Center with Dr Catherine Terret and Dr Gilles Albrand.
Subsequently, in 2019, she completed the PhD thesis in Geriatric Oncology focusing on the “role of geriatric intervention during oncological treatment of older patients with cancer” that she has conducted between the University of Genoa-Italy and the Léon Bérard Comprehensive Cancer Center of Lyon-France.
In 2016, she obtained a certification in “Geriatric Oncology” at the Claude Bernard – Lyon 1 University by attending the two-year advanced training and, in November 2019, the SIOG Advanced Course in Geriatric Oncology of Treviso.
She has been a member of International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) since 2013 and of the French Society of Geriatric Oncology (SOFOG) since 2015.
Her main clinical and research interests focus on the care of elderly cancer patients (comprehensive geriatric assessment, prediction of medical treatment toxicity and surgical complications, quality of life, physical activity program).
She is involved in the teaching of geriatric principles to multiple health care providers, students, house staff and the community at University of Lyon.

Schroder Sattar
University of Saskatchewan
Schroder Sattar is a registered nurse and an Assistant Professor at the College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Her research focuses on functional performance, falls, and exercise intervention in older adults with cancer.
Dr. Sattar received her training at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto, and worked with researchers from the University Health Network, University of Toronto, and the Grand Valley State University to examine the state of research on falls in the older cancer population. Her research advocates for and informs fall assessment and fall-risks screening in older patients in the outpatient oncology setting. Currently, Dr. Sattar is conducting clinical trials to examine the feasibility and efficacy of virtually delivered exercise programs on improvement of lower body strength, balance, and fall rates in older patients. Dr. Sattar has presented her work in various national and international conferences. She is currently the vice-chair of the SIOG Nursing and Allied Health Group.

Sanofi Genzyme

Sanofi, a global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients’ needs. Sanofi is organized into five global business units: Diabetes and Cardiovascular, General Medicines and Emerging Markets, Sanofi Genzyme, Sanofi Pasteur and Merial.
Sanofi Oncology, a global division of Sanofi, is dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of effective therapeutics that address unmet medical need for cancer patients. We are building a renewed and diversified oncology portfolio, driven by the principles of innovation, personalization and patient access to medicines. Through partnerships and collaborations with leading experts in the areas of research, clinical practice, patient experience and patient access, Sanofi Oncology aims to deliver innovative treatment solutions that provide meaningful benefit to patients around the world. We are currently marketing 10 products to address select solid tumors, hematological conditions and organ transplantation.

www.sanofigenzyme.com