Management of Childhood Cancers Examined During Public Lecture

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Registrars of Paediatric Surgery and Radiation Oncology were inspired by a public lecture at UKZN delivered by respected paediatric surgeon Professor Andrea Hayes-Jordan of the United States on childhood sarcomas – the soft tissue disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in soft tissues of the body.

Soft tissue sarcomas include tumours of the fat tissue, bone and cartilage, fibrous tissue, skeletal muscle, smooth muscle and peripheral nervous system.

Speaking at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital’s Department of Paediatric Surgery, Hayes-Jordan’s focused on recent advances in the management of childhood sarcomas, presenting her ground-breaking work on the use of Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) – one of the most innovative treatments available today for complex abdominal cancers – after radical peritonectomy in children with peritoneal sarcomatosis.

This included her work in the laboratory on the genetics of childhood sarcomas and the search for novel drugs which can impact on cellular behaviour at newly defined genetic loci. 

Hayes-Jordan plays a pivotal role in the design of protocols for the management of rhabdomyosarcoma and other sarcomas under the umbrella of the Children’s Oncology Group, but as the Director of Paediatric Surgical Oncology at the MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital in Houston, Texas, she is responsible for the management of all children with tumours, including those outside her immediate research interests.

She is also a member of the International Paediatric Surgical Oncology Society (IPSO) and travelled through China in 2013 with UKZN’s Head of Paediatric Surgery, Professor Larry Hadley, resulting in her invitation to visit Durban as a Mary Weston Visiting Professor.

In addition to didactic teaching, Hayes-Jordan taught in clinics and operating theatres and during teaching rounds. Hadley said Hayes-Jordan proved herself to be an able educator and an admirable role model for aspiring paediatric surgeons.

‘Visiting academics such as Professor Hayes-Jordan re-energise both staff and students at our department and it is hoped that this visit will be the prelude to closer co-operation between our centres.’

Dr Yashoda Manickchund, a Registrar of Paediatric Surgery, said international experts who visited the Department gave insight into the latest trends in training, education and infrastructure in the developed world. It was exciting to note similarities in best practices between Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital and the international institutions.

Lunga Memela