15th International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (iwCLL 2013)

European Research Initiative in CLL (ERIC) and iwCLL explained

Dr Emil Montserrat - Institute of Haematology and Oncology, Hospital Clinic, Spain

What is the European Research Initiative in CLL (ERIC) and what is the benefit of such a group?

ERIC stands for European Research Initiative on CLL and ERIC is a body that was created something like twelve years ago and is the umbrella for many investigators in Europe in CLL. Not only in Europe, it is interesting that we have members across the world. The goal of ERIC is set to put together people interested in CLL from different points of view, different perspectives, from molecular biology to clinical aspects and to facilitate this kind of networking and collaboration. We are very, very happy because now we have more than 400 members. I would say that all those who are interested in CLL do belong to ERIC; those who are interested in CLL and are not yet ERIC members, they should become ERIC members because we are completely convinced that this is the way to make progress, in which research has so many different aspects and it is very important to have the capacity to integrate all this knowledge.

How has iwCLL grown and how does this meeting support discussion in this area of cancer?

I feel very happy because of the steps that iwCLL has taken over the years. I do remember perfectly well the days in which there were no more than 20-25 people meeting for the so-called International Workshop on CLL. Now, as you have seen, it’s completely different. I would like to stress maybe two aspects: one is the increasing presence and participation of younger investigators, we are very proud of it. It’s really very exciting to see how the younger generations are interested in this disorder. Number two, again, is these kinds of different points of view focussing in a given disease and trying to integrate knowledge in a period in which really there are so many things changing in CLL. So medicine, as you know, is based on paradigms and I think that scientists we are … how to challenge paradigms. If I had to summarise what is going on in CLL these days I would say we are challenging paradigms. So we need fresh blood, we need people with new ideas coming in, we need people with different skills that come and that contribute to the progress in the understanding of CLL, what CLL is, how many diseases, what are the prognostic factors, what are the different treatment approaches. Exciting times.

What insights do you think the next iwCLL will offer attendees?

I’m pretty sure that in the next iwCLL meeting we will get the answer to many of the questions that have been posed during these two days here. Basically regarding a new prognostic classification of CLL, also the heterogeneity of the disease, so most likely CLL is not a single disease but is a spectrum of different disorders. And also the role of the new agents, particularly the agents which are not cytotoxic, particularly in the field of the BCR signal inhibitors, BCL2 inhibitors and so on. We will have more data, we will have more studies, we will have studies combining different agents and this will occur, hopefully, in the short term. So, as I told you, it means we are challenging paradigms.

What would you advise physicians and oncologists managing patients with CLL in their practice?

For those physicians and for those oncologists which are not familiar with CLL maybe the most important message is to realise that CLL is becoming a more and more complex disease and it needs to be seen in highly specialised medical centres because by doing that and by including patients in trials we will make real progress and real advances. So it is very important to stress the fact that the way we are treating CLL has dramatically changed in the last 10-15 years. As a result of that patients nowadays, patients which are diagnosed with CLL in 2013, their expectations in terms of quality of life and life survival are much better than 10-15 years ago. So, in short, collaboration, we need new ideas and we need patients included in trials and we need to get these different skills from different areas and to put all these things together to continue making progress.