Maria Antonietta De Ioris, Coordinator: Neuroblastoma Working Group at AIEOP: Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, shared on LinkedIn:
“Seventeen years later, SIOPEN came back to Rome.
Opening the SIOPEN Research Network Annual General Meeting in front of almost 400 people was an emotional moment for me. I found myself thinking back to the last Rome AGM, in 2009, when we were just entering the era of anti-GD2 antibody immunotherapy. This year, we closed the meeting with Prof. Franco Locatelli’s lecture on cellular immunotherapy.
Seventeen years of progress, somehow captured between the opening and closing of the same meeting.
There was another moment that was very special to me. While Francesca Del Bufalo was presenting our future GD2 CAR-T protocol, I was sitting in the audience holding her three-week-old daughter in my arms.
Science, life and the future – all in the same moment. I think I will remember that image for a long time.
We were also grateful for the opportunity to hear directly from patient advocates Solving Kids’ Cancer UK and Shir for Life. Their voices and perspectives are an essential part of our neuroblastoma community. And I will remember the warm, strong hug with Einat Dado Baralia – one of those moments that says more than many words.
I was also particularly proud of the strong participation of the young members of our Italian Neuroblastoma Working Group, including their informal rooftop gathering just one hour before dinner. Seeing them meet, exchange ideas and simply enjoy being together was one of the nicest moments of the AGM.
This meeting had exactly the atmosphere I had hoped for: strong science, open discussion, collaboration and friendship.
A special thanks to Carla Aguilera and Lucas Moreno for their support, enthusiasm and collaboration throughout this journey.
Rome 2009 to Rome 2026. From antibody immunotherapy to cellular immunotherapy.
And already looking towards what comes next.”
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