2024 AOMA Virtual Summit
2024 AOMA Virtual Summit
The 2024 Australasian Ocular Melanoma Alliance (AOMA) Virtual Summit on 15 June 2024 was a full-day, online meeting brought together healthcare professionals, researchers, and consumers in ocular melanoma to share the latest research and facilitate national and international collaborations for this rare, aggressive, and often devastating cancer.
The 2024 AOMA Virtual Summit had 412 registrations and was broadcast to 21 countries, indicating the success of the virtual format in reaching people all around the world who are interested in learning more about ocular melanoma. Registrations for this event were free.
2024 AOMA Summit Videos
International speakers
Richard D. Carvajal, MD, is the Roy J. and Tara Zuckerberg Professor in Medical Oncology and the Deputy Physician-in-Chief and Director of Haematology/Oncology at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute in the USA. His research focus is on cancer drug development and melanoma, with particular expertise in rare melanoma subtypes.
Talk: Moving towards cure: A new chapter for patients with uveal melanoma
Dr Joseph Sacco is a Reader and Honorary Consultant at the University of Liverpool and The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre respectively. He is UK lead for Uveal Melanoma International Rare Cancers Initiative and the OMNI registry. He was involved in the clinical development of tebentafusp, and is an investigator on the FOCUS clinical trial (Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion) and the RP2 trial for uveal melanoma.
Talk: FOCUS, and the end of the beginning for liver directed therapy in metastatic uveal melanoma
Melody Burchett is the founder and president of A Cure In Sight, located in the USA. After being diagnosed with ocular melanoma, Melody was frustrated with the resources for patients. Using her background in sales and marketing, Melody designed a program to give patients what was missing.
Talk: Why advocacy is important
Australian speakers
Prof Anthony Joshua is the Chair of the Australasian Ocular Melanoma Alliance (AOMA) and leads the Australian arm of the global Uveal Melanoma Registry. He is Head of Department, Department of Medical Oncology at the Kinghorn Cancer Centre, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and the Translational Oncology co-lead at the Garvan Medical Research Institute in Sydney. He is also a Professor at the St Vincent’s Clinical School, University of NSW. Prof Joshua’s research interests include circulating tumour DNA, tumour heterogeneity and autophagy.
Talks:
1) Uveal Melanoma Registries – Seeking to Collate, Catalogue and Curate
2) Tebentafusp – what you need to know as a patient
Prof Jonas Nilsson started the Sahlgrenska Translational Melanoma Group in Sweden and has been involved in four clinical trials for patients with uveal melanoma, which the PEMDAC and HAITILS trials are based on discoveries made in his lab. He currently holds the Chair of Melanoma Discovery at Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth.
Talk: Cell therapy for uveal melanoma
Note: This talk was not recorded and is therefore not available in the session recordings.
Prof Svetlana Cherepanoff is a staff specialist ophthalmic pathologist at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and the Shirley and John Sarks Professor at the University of Notre Dame Australia. Prof Cherepanoff pioneered the benchmark-setting pathology workflow for uveal melanoma, integrating diagnostic and molecular prognostic testing with innovative tumour banking. Leading a multi-campus team of committed experts in clinical testing, she is setting a new standard in precision medicine for this rare cancer. Prof Cherepanoff chairs the Ocular Oncology Multidisciplinary Team meeting in NSW, supporting best practice clinical decision for uveal melanoma patients.
Talk: Navigating the latest in uveal melanoma testing: options, interpretation and access pathways
A/Prof Matteo Carlino is a Medical Oncologist at Westmead and Blacktown Hospitals, a Clinical Associate Professor at The University of Sydney, and a faculty member at the Melanoma Institute Australia. He undertook a PhD examining predictors of response and mechanisms of resistance to BRAF and MEK inhibitor treated melanoma. He continues to be involved in translational research particularly examining response and mechanisms of resistance to both targeted and immunotherapy. A/Prof Carlino has a clinical interest in the treatment of melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer and uveal melanoma, and is an investigator on multiple clinical trials in uveal melanoma.
Talk: Targeting GNAQ and GNA11 in uveal melanoma
Dr Tim Isaacs is an ophthalmologist specialising in diseases of the retina and macula. He has a particular interest in ocular oncology and manages patients in Western Australia with uveal melanoma. He has worked in the public hospital system as a vitreoretinal surgeon at Royal Perth Hospital for over 30 years, and is clinical lecturer at the University of Western Australia. He has a research interest in circulating tumour cells in uveal melanoma in collaboration with colleagues at Edith Cowan University.
Talk: How we diagnose and treat uveal melanoma: an ophthalmologist’s perspective for patients
Dr Jia (Jenny) Liu is a medical oncology staff specialist and translational lead of the early phase unit at The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. She specialises in head and neck and non-melanoma skin cancers, and has active research interests in supportive care including the development of novel interventions to address fear of cancer recurrence in cancer survivors.
Talk: Fear of cancer recurrence: Addressing the elephant in the room
Dr Wenchang Wong is a Senior Radiation Oncologist with over 20 years of clinical experience at The Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney. Dr Wong is the chair and co-chair of several multidisciplinary cancer clinics including head and neck, lung and skin malignancies. He has a special research interest in emerging radiation techniques for the treatment of cancer to improve patient outcomes. He is an active researcher in the specialised technique of stereotactic body radiotherapy for malignancies including uveal melanoma. He also has a special interest in quality of care with chair positions in peer review and morbidity and mortality meetings. He is currently the director of training for radiation oncology registrars.
Talk: Advances in radiation oncology and the NSW experience
Dr Lotte Fogg is a medical physicist who has worked with ocular brachytherapy for 20 years in several countries and Australian states. She works at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and the Alfred Hospital, and is proud to be part of a team which uses a multidisciplinary approach to deliver the best possible patient care.
Talk: Delivering world class patient care
Jenny Geelen has been making artificial eyes for nearly 30 years along with her brother Paul and niece Emily. She is a founding member of the Ocularists Association of Australia. In recent years, ocular melanoma has become the leading cause of eye loss in Perth. The Geelens have developed a wholistic approach to helping people through this difficult time.
Talk: Navigating the journey of eye loss and recovery
Dr Aaron Beasley is an early-career postdoctoral researcher in the School of Medical and Health Sciences and the Centre for Precision Health at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia. His research has focused on liquid biopsies in uveal melanoma, with specific focus on circulating tumour cells and circulating tumour DNA.
Talk: ctDNA as a biomarker in uveal melanoma
Consumer speakers
Georgia Hall was diagnosed and treated for choroidal melanoma in 2021 at Sydney Eye Hospital when she was 31 years old. She successfully received eye sparing plaque radiation therapy and now follows a rigorous scanning protocol. Georgia is passionate about sharing her experiences to help raise awareness around eye cancers. In 2022 she became the Australasian Ambassador to the Victoria Cohen Eye Cancer Charitable Trust. The charity awards scholarships to aspiring ocular oncologists to support their training and educational needs for their fellowship. Georgia works as a sustainability research analyst for an investment firm.
Talk: Fear is the thief of joy: moving on after diagnosis
Illana Klevansky was diagnosed with ocular melanoma in February 2021 after a routine eye test. She was told that a benign naevus that had been photographed the year before, had morphed into a uveal melanoma. Illana was immediately referred to Dr Tim Isaacs at Perth Retina, who, after four months of investigation, advised her that the only way to save her life, was to have her right eye enucleated.
Talk: Seeing the light!
Kelli Saunders was diagnosed with choroid melanoma in her right eye in February 2020. She received brachytherapy in April 2020 and an enucleation (removal of the eye) in July 2022. Kelli lives near Wentworth in the far southwest corner of New South Wales. Her specialist and scans are located in Adelaide, and her brachytherapy was performed in Melbourne. While going through her diagnosis and treatment, Covid hit Australia in March 2020, meaning she had to travel to, and attend many appointments, alone.
Talk: Living with ocular melanoma in rural Australia
Anne Goulter from New Zealand was diagnosed with a right choroidal mass in April 2023; her eye was removed eight days after diagnosis. Her first CT scans in April and July 2023 identified an 8mm nodule but no metastases, however an MRI in November 2023 showed multiple liver metastases. Anne was eligible for the PRAME clinical trial in New Zealand, but after waiting eight weeks, was told the trial would be delayed. As Anne’s treatment options were limited in New Zealand, she sought compassionate access to Tebentafusp and was the last patient granted access to the program. In February, Anne and her husband spent three weeks in Sydney for her first four Tebentafusp infusions. Since March, Anne has travelled weekly from New Zealand to Sydney for her Tebentafusp infusions.
Talk: Dealing with ocular melanoma as a Kiwi
2024 AOMA Summit session chairs
Convenor
Dr Tim Isaacs is a highly experienced ophthalmologist providing expert eye care for the treatment of cataracts, medical and surgical disorders of the retina, macula, choroid and vitreous. He has a special interest in uveal melanoma and ocular oncology. Tim routinely operates at St John of God Subiaco and Perth Eye Hospitals, has a clinical appointment at Royal Perth Hospital and is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia.
Prof Anthony Joshua is the Chair of the Australasian Ocular Melanoma Alliance (AOMA) and leads the Australian arm of the global Uveal Melanoma Registry. He is Head of Department, Department of Medical Oncology at the Kinghorn Cancer Centre, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and the Translational Oncology co-lead at the Garvan Medical Research Institute in Sydney. He is also a Professor at the St Vincent’s Clinical School, University of NSW. Prof Joshua’s research interests include circulating tumour DNA, tumour heterogeneity and autophagy.
Dr Wenchang Wong is a Senior Radiation Oncologist with over 20 years of clinical experience at The Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney. Dr Wong is the chair and co-chair of several multidisciplinary cancer clinics including head and neck, lung and skin malignancies. He has a special research interest in emerging radiation techniques for the treatment of cancer to improve patient outcomes. He is an active researcher in the specialised technique of stereotactic body radiotherapy for malignancies including uveal melanoma. He also has a special interest in quality of care with chair positions in peer review and morbidity and mortality meetings. He is currently the director of training for radiation oncology registrars.
2024 AOMA Summit consumer advisor
Susan Vine was diagnosed with ocular melanoma in 2005 and underwent enucleation (removal of the eye) within two weeks of her diagnosis. She has been supporting other ocular melanoma patients since 2011, and founded the OcuMel Australia and New Zealand Support Group in 2017.
CPD from Optometry Australia
Optometry Australia provided CPD accreditation to the 2024 AOMA Summit and Optometry Australia members could gain CPD hours for attending the live 2024 AOMA Virtual Summit on 15 June 2024.
Article in Optometry Connection
Read Dr Tim Isaac’s article on uveal melanoma in the May 2024 edition of Optometry Connection.
Sponsors
Platinum Sponsor
Medison is a global pharma company providing accelerated access to highly innovative therapies to patients in Australia and international markets. Medison created the first multi-regional commercialisation platform, enabling partnerships with leading biotech and pharma companies to help save and improve the lives of those suffering from the most challenging diseases. For more information about Medison Pharma, visit www.medisonpharma.com
Gold Sponsor
IDEAYA is a precision medicine oncology company committed to the discovery and development of targeted therapeutics for patient populations selected using molecular diagnostics. Our approach integrates capabilities in identifying and validating translational biomarkers with small molecule drug discovery to select patient populations most likely to benefit from our targeted therapies. IDEAYA is applying its early research and drug discovery capabilities to precision medicine targets, including synthetic lethality – which represents an emerging class of precision medicine targets. For more information: www.ideayabio.com
2024 AOMA Summit organising committee
- Convenor: Dr Tim Isaacs, Consultant Ophthalmologist at Perth Retina
- Prof Anthony Joshua, Head of Department, Department of Medical Oncology at the Kinghorn Cancer Centre, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, Translational Oncology co-lead at the Garvan Medical Research Institute, and Professor at the St Vincent’s Clinical School, University of NSW.
- Dr Wenchang Wong, Senior Radiation Oncologist, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney
- Susan Vine, Founder of OcuMel Australia and New Zealand Support Group
- Merrin Morrison, Marketing and Communications Manager, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials
Australasian Ocular Melanoma Alliance (AOMA)
The Australasian Ocular Melanoma Alliance (AOMA) is the peak national body representing medical, para-medical, nursing and consumer representatives who aim to improve the care and treatment of ocular melanoma patients in Australia and around the world.
AOMA members include Ophthalmologists, Surgeons, Medical and Radiation Oncologists, Pathologists, Allied Health, Scientists, Researchers and Consumer Representatives from across Australia and New Zealand. The focus of this extensive collaboration is treatment paradigms for ocular melanoma, and current and future research.
Founded in 2017 by Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials, AOMA is a priority research special interest group.
Visit the AOMA website for more information.
Partnership and fundraising opportunities
Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials provides a range of benefits to sponsors of its AOMA Virtual Summits. We also support community members to fundraise for our ocular melanoma research. To learn more, please email hello@masc.org.au
Resources
Uveal Melanoma Registry
Gathering data to improve clinical practice for uveal melanoma.
Learn more.
AOMA website
Visit the AOMA website
Patient information brochures
By AOMA and Melanoma Institute Australia
Patient stories
Illana Klevansky
Michelle Taylor
Jessica Rowe
Facebook private patient support group
OcuMel Australia and New Zealand (Ocular Melanoma Support)
This is a private Facebook group for Australian and New Zealand ocular / uveal melanoma patients and their families and carers. Membership rules apply.
Facebook ocular melanoma awareness page
Ocular Melanoma Awareness – AUS
The is a public Facebook page to raise awareness of ocular / uveal melanoma in Australia and New Zealand
Contact
AOMA news
Email: hello@masc.org.au
Phone: +61 3 9903 9022