A New Era for Neuro-Oncology in New Zealand

On Saturday 11th February 2023, around sixty of New Zealand’s top brain tumour specialists gathered at the Auckland Airport Novotel for the first ever New Zealand Neuro-Oncology Conference.?

The event may well be remembered as the dawn of a new era in the field of neuro-oncology in New Zealand. Never before had so many of the country’s pre-eminent brain tumour clinicians, researchers, allied health professionals and patient advocates gathered together in one room to rally behind a common cause.?

The one-day, hybrid meeting featured presentations from clinicians representing a range of disciplines involved in brain tumour treatment and management and researchers covering a range of diverse topics from pre-clinical research to clinical trials. The afternoon session featured a patient and caregiver panel (run by Brain Tumour Support NZ), a presentation from neuro-oncology nurses and an introduction to graphic medicine. The day ended with a round table discussion which resulted in the decision to form a new neuro-oncology special interest group (SIG).

The conference was expertly co-chaired by Dr Catherine Han (medical oncologist) and Dr Thomas Park (brain tumour researcher) and made possible by seed funding from the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) with support from the University of Auckland. Dr Makarena Dudley opened the conference with a karakia, followed by an opening address from CBR Director, Sir Richard Faull. Importantly, Sir Richard pledged the Centre’s ongoing support for a New Zealand neuro-oncology group.

In summary, this conference was both well run and well attended. Previous attempts to establish a neuro-oncology group in New Zealand have fallen by the wayside for various reasons. Conference participants seemed determined to mark this event as “a beginning” and not “the end”. They may well have witnessed a landmark event in the development of neuro-oncology practice and research in Aotearoa, New Zealand.