First Macedonian Intercongress Meeting of Pathologists with International Participation

First Macedonian Intercongress Meeting of Pathologists with
International Participation (Skopje, May 27-29, 2013)

   The first Macedonian inter-congress meeting of pathologists with international participation, whose main topic was Lymphomas in South-Eastern Europe, was held from 27 to 29 May 2013 at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in Skopje. The meeting was organized by the Association of Pathologists of Macedonia in cooperation with the International Group for the Study of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas, and under the auspices of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Macedonia and the Faculty of Medicine at the University “Saints Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje. The meeting, in addition to 24 invited lecturers, was attended by more than 140 participants from Macedonia, neighboring and other European countries (Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Turkey, Germany, England, France, Switzerland, Hungary) and the USA.
Within the scientific program of the meeting on 28 and 29 May 2013, two introductory lectures and seven more lectures within 4 symposia were held by five distinguished professors and experts in hematopathology – members of the International Group for the Study of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas: Hans Conrad Müller-Hermelink (Würzburg, Germany), Dennis Weisenburger (Duarte, California, USA), Barat Natwani (Los Angeles, California, USA), Jacques Diebold (Paris, France) and Kenneth McLennan (Leeds, England), as well as by Prof. Dr. László Pajor (Pécs, Hungary), Prof. Dr. Werner Kempf (Zurich, Switzerland) and Dr. Stefan Dojchinov (Cardiff, England) who shared their significant experience in the field of hematopathology.
In addition, 3 workshops were held at which several lecturers-pathologists and hematologists from Croatia, Macedonia and Romania presented the results of the International Epidemiological Study of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which also included Macedonia with 220 patients. Within the framework of the meeting, seven selected oral lectures in the field of hematopathology and hematology prepared by lecturers from Serbia, Slovenia and Macedonia were presented in a special session, and 7 poster presentations were made, and two satellite symposia were also held, organized by the commercial companies Hoffmann-La Roche and Novartis. The final program and the Book of Lectures and Abstracts are available at the meeting’s website.
In addition to the working part, social activities were organized for the participants, such as the cocktail on the occasion of the ceremonial opening, which was held on the terrace of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, and a joint dinner for all participants and invited lecturers. 

The rich and well-chosen scientific program, together with the excellent conditions for holding the meeting in the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle and our capital city full of historical landmarks and known for its hospitality, enabled the meeting not only to exchange knowledge and experiences in the field of hematopathology, but also to establish many professional and personal contacts among the participants and to open up opportunities for further cooperation.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank, on behalf of the Macedonian Association of Pathologists and the Local Organizing Committee of the meeting, all the present participants, the invited lecturers, especially the members of the International Group for the Study of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas, all the institutions that supported us in the organization, primarily the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Macedonia. Macedonia and the Faculty of Medicine at the University “Saints Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje, as well as the sponsors, namely the companies Hoffmann-La Roche, Pharmachem (Dako), Novartis, Alkaloid, B-L and Salvus, without whose help and support this successful, stimulating and instructive event, both from a scientific and social perspective, would not have been possible.

Prof. Dr. Neli Baseska
President of the Association of Pathologists of Macedonia
Prof. Dr. Gordana Petrushevska
President of the Local Organizing Committee

Report – First Macedonian Intercongress Meeting of Pathologists with International Participation