Summary of 4th OSSC

17.03.2022

Over 70 people took part in 4th edition of the Oncological Student Scientific Conference (OSSC). The meeting was held online from 11th to 12th March 2022. The English-language event consisted of lectures given by invited experts, interactive workshops and competition sessions of student works.

On the first day of the conference, students had the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice by solving clinical cases during 4 interactive workshops. The training in genetics was conducted by Dr. Habil. Beata Lipska-Ziętkiewicz, Assoc. Prof. from the Department of Biology and Medical Genetics, and in the field of paediatrics – by Gabrielle Karpinsky, Ph.D. from the Children’s Hospital Colorado. Participants could also broaden their knowledge on the use of MRI in oncology (lecturer: Karim Ahmed, 4th year medical – ED student) and creating systematic reviews (lecturer: Agastya Patel, M.D., doctoral student from the Division of General, Endocrine and Transplant Surgery).

During the second day of the event, 3 sessions of student presentations were held. 15 students presented their works, whose abstracts had been previously selected from among the 33 submitted works. In addition, expert lectures were given by: Prof. Ewa Lewicka from the Division of Cardiology & Electrotherapy (Long-Term Cardiac Follow-up of Cancer Patients: Why so important?) and Prof. Ewa Bień from the Department of Paediatrics, Haemathology & Oncology (Vascular Anomalies in Children – How Can We Help?).

The Jury of the Conference consisting of: Małgorzata Krawczyk, Ph.D. from the Department of Paediatrics, Haemathology & Oncology, Bartłomiej Tomasik, Ph.D. from the Department of Oncology & Radiotherapy and Marlon Souza Luis, M.D., a doctoral student at the Department of Paediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Defects awarded prizes to the three winners. They were:

• Wojciech Szlasa (Wroclaw Medical University) with work Effects of sub-electroporation electric field on pancreatic cancer cells – 1st place in session Original Research and Meta-Analyses and the Grand Prix award,
  
• Maciej Kozeriew (Medical Unversity of Gdańsk) with work Value of radiological and pathological correlation in ambiguous submandibular tumours – a report of two cases – 1st place in session Case Reports: Oncology and Oncological Surgery,
  
• Ewa Sokołowska (Medical Unversity of Gdańsk) with work From the difficult intubation to the accurate diagnosis – rare case of biphasic synovial sarcoma, congenital tumor in a newborn – 1st place in session Case Reports: Pediatric Oncology.

The jury also awarded 3 distinctions. They were won by:

• Wiktoria Grycuk (Medical University of Warsaw) with work NUT carcinoma of the neck: a case report of an extremely rare malignancy,
  
• Patryk Mucha (Medical Unversity of Gdańsk) with work CD73 inhibition through P1 purinergic signalling increases mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition and level of cancer stem cells in the melanoma,
  
• Joanna Strzemecka (Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin) with work Acute kidney injury as a complication of Burkitt lymphoma chemotherapy in a patient after left-sided nephrectomy.

The organizing committee of the 4th OSSC consisted of students associated in The English Division Pediatric Oncology Scientific Circle (EDPO). The Head of the Committee and the coordinator of all activities was Małgorzata Styczewska, 6th year medical student. The supervisors of the EDPO are Prof. Ewa Bień and Małgorzata Krawczyk, Ph.D.