Unicancer-AFSOS Supportive Care Group

It brings together experts from several specialities and especially medical oncologists, doctors involved in different types of oncology supportive care, methodologists, medical and economic experts and other professionals in the field of human and social sciences, working on this research theme. In view of providing methodological support to this group, a “methodology” sub-group dedicated to oncology supportive care and Human and Social Sciences (HSS) was set up.

The Unicancer-AFSOS partnership’s running is reinforced by a General Assembly (GA) and a Steering Committee (COPIL).

The GA members include doctors and other cancer centre and non-cancer centre professionals working in the management of cancer in oncology supportive care.  The GA meets once a year. The aim of this meeting is to present the highlights of the partnership, report on ongoing and future studies and provide feedback and information about projects.

The intergroup Steering Committee, decision-making body of the partnership setting the group’s objectives, meets twice a year. Its members are those of the GA, represented evenly among doctors and professionals, various specialities and care structures, representatives of patients committees from the ligue nationale du Cancer and from the AFSOS “patients and carers” experts group.

A “Methodology” sub-group, whose members are experts from a given field, was set up to provide methodological support to all of the group’s projects, to develop research on the methodology of supportive care clinical trials and on analysis of quality-of-life in oncology.

The group has representatives from other disciplines within groups at Unicancer to develop trials and share its expertise while working with these groups. An oncology supportive care representative participates in the Steering Committee of each of the other groups, and a representative for each of the groups participates in the oncology supportive care steering committee.

Healthcare pathway organisation, through joint oncology-supportive care management, identification of needs, vulnerabilities, place of the supportive care approach in good practices, patient empowerment, management after cancer.

Management of symptoms related to drug and non-drug treatments, their optimisation and management of toxicities.

Promotion of health behaviours such as nutrition, physical activity, reduction of high-risk behaviour such as drinking and smoking.

Evaluation of non-drug interventions and non-conventional therapeutic practices.

Clinical trial methodology in drug and non-drug supportive care, analysis of quality-of-life methodology.

• QUALIOR Prof. Florence Joly – Centre François Baclesse, Caen

“Feasibility and efficacy of a home-based standardised adapted physical activity programme of patients receiving oral targeted therapy for metastatic cancer”

• CyPRES Dr Amélie Anota – Centre Léon Bérard

“Patient consensus for supportive care research”

• QUALI-TESTIS -Prof. Florence Joly – Centre François Baclesse

 “Prognosis-based strategy for the use of dose-dense chemotherapy in patients with disseminated nonseminomatous germ cell tumours with poor prognosis: phase III trial” ANCILLARY STUDY GETUG 13

•  RILUZOX-01 S-Prof. Denis Pezet / Prof. Alain Eschalier CHU de Clermont Ferrand  

“Evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of riluzole in the prevention of oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy”

The research projects are proposed to the Steering Committee as part of examination of their feasibility. The Steering Committee will decide on the relevance of the project and will provide its expertise for the development of the projects.

A first contact with the "" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">executive board can be considered.

AFSOS

Association, international learned society, which aims to promote knowledge of and implement supportive care in oncology, that is to say “all care and support necessary for patients throughout their disease concomitant to specific oncohaematological treatments, where there are any”. It aims to pool know-how, research, training, protocols, between the French oncology field and the various stakeholders in oncology supportive care.

Its missions are organised around two main objectives:

• Meet the needs of healthcare professionals:
• Train and involve oncology teams in oncology supportive care given that they are key workers. Their role is essential to maintaining treatment in all stages of the disease.
•  Train and involve oncology supportive care teams in fields of oncology as they are key to preserving quality-of-life throughout all the stages of the disease.
• Meet the needs of patients and their families:
• Raise awareness among and inform patients and their families of the supportive care offer available to them.