WFSA-JSPA2023 webinar: Anesthesia and Cancer Care in Pediatrics

7 October 2023

13:00 – 14:40 UTC

22.00 – 23.40 JST

Pediatric cancer patients are individuals diagnosed with cancer before reaching adulthood. Although a rare condition, it significantly impacts young patients and their families. The most common types of pediatric cancers include leukemia, brain and central nervous system tumors, and lymphoma. Fortunately, pediatric cancer survival rates have improved significantly over the past few decades, with more than 80% of children diagnosed with cancer expected to survive for five years or more. However, pediatric cancer treatment can be complex, often requiring multiple treatment rounds over several years, which can greatly affect the child’s and their family’s quality of life.

Anesthesia is a crucial component of pediatric cancer care, ensuring patient comfort and safety during surgical procedures and imaging tests. Moreover, anesthesia plays a vital role in pain management, especially for patients experiencing pain related to cancer or its treatment. Anesthesia providers collaborate closely with the treatment team to guarantee safe and effective care during chemotherapy and radiation therapy, particularly important for younger patients who may struggle to remain still during these procedures. During radiation therapy, patients may need repeated anesthesia and sedation within short periods, making iterative anesthesia a challenging aspect of pediatric anesthesia that is not widely known, with protocols varying among centers worldwide.

The webinar aims to discuss the role of anesthesia in pediatric cancer care, focusing on its use during surgical procedures, imaging tests, and pain management. Furthermore, the webinar will address the challenging activity of iterative anesthesia in pediatric anesthesia and explore methods for ensuring its safe and effective implementation. The goal is to enhance the understanding of anesthesia’s importance in pediatric cancer care and to improve the skills and knowledge of anesthesia providers in this field.

This is a free webinar