Hematological diseases are more widespread than is commonly assumed. More than 175.000 people in the countries of the European Union and more than 267.000 people in the larger Europe are newly diagnosed of malignant blood disorders such as leukemia and lymphoma every year, and several millions are afflicted by non-malignant illnesses such as anemia and thrombosis. The European Hematology Association (EHA), at its 12th Congress in Vienna, Austria, presents activities that aim at ensuring medical improvements reach as wide a patient base in Europe as possible.

The burden of hematological diseases is often largely underestimated. The third most common killer among all cancers is hematological malignancies, after lung cancer and prostate cancer. Blood cancers commonly kill quickly and all age groups are vulnerable to these diseases.

Also non-malignant blood illnesses, such as thrombosis and hemophilia, which are also dealt with in clinical hematology, are widespread: Several millions of Europeans are afflicted by such disorders.

Professor Eva Hellström-Lindberg, president of the European Hematology Association, at the EHA Congress in Vienna from 7 to 10 June 2007, says important progress is being made in developing better treatments and improving cure rates in the fields of both malignant and non-malignant hematological disorders. "Though blood malignancies are widespread, they have perhaps not received as much public attention as their incidence would advocate", says Professor Hellström-Lindberg, head of the Hematology department at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm (SE). Patients suffering blood cancers are usually too ill to form the lobby groups, which can play an important role in directing public attention to their concerns. "Thus one of the EHA's major concerns is to increase the visibility of and understanding for patients with hematological diseases at the European level as well as at national levels," the President says.

Important progress in a dynamic discipline

Rapid technological advances have improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms underpinning blood diseases and opened new therapeutic horizons. Research is being done on many fronts, in the field of genetics, transplantation and in development of classic drug treatments. There is also important progress in finding optimal drug regimes for patients as we learn more about how individual responses to drugs affect therapy outcomes. Cure rates are rising. And patients are being given a better quality of life during the period survival is prolonged. "The EHA's goal is to ensure these improvements reach as wide a patient base in Europe as possible, through improving physicians' skills and the spread of knowledge. We consider that patients are entitled to receive optimal healthcare wherever they may live," Professor Hellström-Lindberg says.

Professional obligation to improve knowledge and skills

That position is, however, challenged by the results of an EHA pan-European inquiry which revealed significant heterogeneity, according to country, in specialist training offered to future hematologists and in the organization of hematology at the professional level. "These differences impact on the mobility of specialists and on the quality of healthcare available to patients," says Prof. Hellström-Lindberg.

As medical knowledge grows, the EHA has therefore seen the need to develop a common European curriculum for specialist training in hematology. Professor Hellström-Lindberg comments: "A shared basis of expertise itself pushes advances in treatments forward, allowing easier exchange of competences developed in the different research and therapy fields, and across regions." The EHA also provides financial support to young researchers and facilitates the application of basic scientific findings to new treatments and patient management.

The annual EHA Congress, which this year gathers more than 7,000 specialists from around 100 European and non-European countries in the Austrian capital, plays a significant role in improving the skills of specialists in hematology, with the most advanced research presented at the meeting and with simultaneous education programs. Special courses are also held throughout the year outside the congress framework. Innovative approaches are chosen in order to reach as many specialists as possible. "As of this year, those in the profession who cannot attend the congress may still profit as sessions are made available on the web and through podcasting", Prof. Hellström-Lindberg reports.

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