The Necessity of ­Knowledge Transfer to Save Lives

Photo by: Roger Kellerman

Professor Petra Tesařová has been trying to elevate Czech oncology to the world level throughout her professional life, including organising international conferences. She has worked in the field of oncology for 40 years, and her academic career is marked by significant achievements and contributions to medical oncology, particularly in breast cancer research.

Petra Tesařová is Head of the Department of Oncology, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and the General University Hospital. She lectures at domestic and foreign congresses, advocates for the organisation of international conferences in Prague, such as the Gastric Cancer Congress (IGCC) 2019, and actively promotes the Czech Republic.

In addition to being proactive in the meetings and events industry, she is the chairwoman of Project 35, which is focused on a group of young women under 35 who have fallen ill with breast cancer. Petra Tesařová also founded the non-profit organisation Dialog Jessenius, established to raise awareness about severe diseases among the general public.

The Prague Convention Bureau has recognised and celebrated her efforts. In May, she was appointed to the Congress Ambassador Awards for the long-term contribution of Prague and the Czech Republic, an appointment she commented like this:

“Anyone who has organised a large professional congress knows how big this job is. The advantage is that a considerable part of it is carried out by Prague itself, where European and overseas colleagues come willingly and gladly. My efforts aim to establish professional relationships, raise the profile of Czech oncology and show how we fight cancer bravely and successfully in our country. I definitely have more congress plans for Prague.”

Petra Tesařová’s influence extends to international medical organisations. For example, she serves as the Secretary-General for the International Gastric Cancer Congress, demonstrating her global reach in the medical community. Her efforts have contributed to positioning Prague as a prominent destination for international medical conferences. By leveraging her expertise and connections, she has helped attract numerous congresses to the city, enhancing Prague’s reputation in the global scientific community.

Through her work, Petra Tesařová has become an essential person in the medical field and the conference industry. She is crucial in bridging academic knowledge with international networking opportunities in Prague.

“I am also a haematologist, but breast cancer is a completely different diagnosis from other solid tumours because it is a systemic disease from the moment the cancer occurs. So I decided to switch from haematological diseases to breast cancer. My patients are the same age as my children. It’s fierce. So, what is the most important issue on my desk right now? It is some miracle treatment for my patients, that saves their lives. But that is not a reality today. We need new drugs and treatment options for these patients.

“Congresses and conferences are significant for me and all doctors and researchers in the Czech Republic because it is an opportunity to meet our colleagues in the same field. Oncology is a branch of medicine that is developing very fast, and because of that it is necessary to keep up to date with global oncology and prepare for oncological conferences.”

She says that medical oncology in the Czech Republic has three essential events. The first one is the traditional Czech conference; the second is her conference, Prague Onco, and the third is a primarily social meeting, in Český Krumlov in South Bohemia, to meet with colleagues.

My efforts aim to establish professional relationships, raise the profile of Czech oncology and show how we fight cancer

“We have very close cooperation with Slovak oncologists, not only because of our previous common Czechoslovakian history but also because we have a very similar language, so there is no problem talking to each other. However, the concept of our congress is quite different from that of other local congresses. Its main goal is knowledge-sharing and continuity. It is essential for our field in medicine.”

The Velvet Revolution was a nationwide protest in Czechoslovakia from November to December 1989. It ended more than 40 years of communist rule in the country and radically changed the conditions for Petra Tesařová and her colleagues.

“For us, the Velvet Revolution was essential, because attending congresses and conferences abroad just wasn’t possible before it took place. Up until that point, we had only local events. But after the Velvet Revolution, in 1989, we finally had the opportunity to visit destinations in other countries, for the first time.

“The political climate in our country is unfortunately not always stable. We may face different situations after each election. But when it comes to medical conferences, there are no changes – we can always participate in the organisation of conferences. Prague Convention Bureau is very professional and supports us, and it is possible to organise not only local meetings but also European or global congresses. In 2019, I was the scientific secretary of the international conference on gastric cancer in the Czech Republic, and it was a very successful meeting.”

Talking about the connection between conferences, congresses and the Nobel Prize, it seems you basically cannot win a Nobel Prize in medicine, chemistry or physics without attending many international congresses.

“Yes, I would have to agree with that assessment. To achieve a Nobel Prize, it is necessary to be open to different points of view, about your opinions, or your field of research, and so on. Being exposed to many different colleagues and large groups of people is very important for achieving new insight into your field. And medical oncology is a special medical branch in this regard, because we can metastasise in so many other medical branches, and all other indications for treatment are not only necessary but the direct result of having comprehensive information about each patient. We can communicate and moderate our discussion with our colleagues, and we know that this is essential, and that is not only my personal opinion. I think this point is relatively modest, because we have this multidisciplinary team discussion each week, and I have to be involved in this discussion regardless of whether I’m a young doctor or an old professor.”

Regarding medical congresses, Petra Tesařová believes in face-to-face meetings and meeting colleagues in person, even if modern tools like digitalisation and artificial intelligence are widely available. Moreover, she also believes that we will have access to new anti-cancer treatments, even though it may not happen within her own lifetime.

“We already have many different treatment tools today, and I am so happy that I can be part of developing these new treatment options and improving hope for many of our patients. I also believe we will see many new disease subsets in the coming years. Breast cancer today is just an umbrella term for many different types of cancer, with different causes and different treatment options, and this diversification trend will probably extend into the future.”