On November 11, 2023, patients, interested parties and experts met for the second SarcBOP Saturday at the Orthopaedic University Hospital in Heidelberg-Schlierbach. As at the premiere last year, the event offered a wide-ranging programme on new research findings and the treatment of bone and soft tissue sarcomas. Participation was also possible online. The SarcBOP Saturday thus represents an important platform for highlighting the key role of SarcBOP in the clinical documentation of sarcomas and for the certification of the Heidelberg Sarcoma Centre, as well as for sharing new approaches and developments, answering questions and promoting interaction between different interest groups.
After the opening of the event by Richard F. Schlenk and Burkhard Lehner, exciting presentations began in which experts explained the current sarcoma treatment at the Heidelberg Sarcoma Centre and the importance of the "Genetic Checklist". The programme also included testimonials on how affected patients deal with the disease and how impulses from patient advocacy have an impact on the development of clinical trials. The reading of a short story by a patient with myxofibrosarcoma and the video of a young footballer with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma presented the confrontation with the disease in an impressive and moving way.
The focus was also on topics such as new surgical techniques in sarcoma surgery, new developments in sarcoma radiotherapy and the presentation of the SarcBOP registry study - which now includes 1564 patients - as a starting point for translational research and clinical trials. Between the presentations, many participants took the opportunity to ask the experts questions and obtain further information or discuss certain topics controversially. In a questionnaire conducted directly at the event, over 90 per cent of respondents gave the second SarcBOP Saturday an excellent to good rating. Encouraged by the renewed positive feedback and the high number of visitors, the SarcBOP team responsible is already planning the third SarcBOP Saturday for the coming year 2024.
Photos: Thorsten Dirr