No. 131 (June 2020)
Podcasts of the webinars held on 22 and 29 April can be heard at anchor.fm/apsr. Click here for the 22 April webinar programme, video, slides and Q&A, and here for the 29 April webinar programme, video, slides and Q&A
As we are all aware, public health and medical communities around the Asia-Pacific region are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
This dominates the clinical working life of many at the moment, whether in dealing with large numbers of patients or in the planning and prevention of an overwhelming medical crisis.
In countries such as Australia and New Zealand, which have so far had relatively low case numbers, the pandemic has had a marked effect on "business as usual" with a slow-down in non-COVID research activity, a reduction in surgical activity, a reduction in emergency department presentations and an increase in telehealth consultations.
While the impact of these changes on lung cancer outcomes is not yet clear, there are concerns about the effects of social isolation on smoking rates as well as about access to treatments and worries about the immunosuppressive effects of cancer therapy in the midst of a viral pandemic.
Many local and international meetings have been cancelled or postponed although on a happy note, the Australian Lung Cancer Conference was held in Melbourne in February 2020, "just in time" and was an excellent opportunity for the sharing of research and ideas.
This was particularly so for lung cancer screening with presentation of a number of abstracts from the International Lung Screen Trial (ILST), which includes sites from Australia, Canada and Hong Kong.
The Lung Cancer Assembly members are grateful for the support and commitment of colleagues during this difficult time and look forward to meeting again, when we can, to advance clinical care and research in the region.
The following announcement was made on 24 April 2020
To all concerned;
We are writing to inform you that the APSR Executive Committee has regretfully decided to postpone the 25th Congress of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology originally scheduled in Kyoto, Japan for 15-18 October in 2020 after careful evaluation of the potential risks to our members, delegates and communities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We would like to reiterate our gratitude for your kind support and solidarity for the 25th Congress of the APSR.
New dates of the Congress have been scheduled for 18-21 November 2021 at the Kyoto International Convention Center in the same venue as we originally secured. Eventually the 26th Congress of the APSR in Seoul, Republic of Korea will also be postponed to 2022.
We understand that you may have been concentrating on caring for patients and conducting important research during this critical time, and hope our decision to postpone will enable respirologists all over our region to better care for affected people.
The APSR recognizes the vital importance of research and education for this virus and also other lung conditions especially the Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRDs), and so we are planning a very active schedule of educational Webinars for COVID-19 and other lung conditions with colleagues, sponsors and others until the next Congress. Details will be announced soon, as detail are confirmed.
We are determined with your help, to use modern digital technology to follow our Mission which is to advance and promote of knowledge of the respiratory system in health and disease, by encouraging research, improving clinical practice through teaching, increasing awareness of health problems and promoting the exchange of knowledge among respirologists in the Asia-Pacific region. Indeed, the APSR has just established the new section of e-Health, which we believe will become increasing important.
On behalf of the APSR, we look forward to your understanding of our congress postponements and appreciate your patience during this unprecedented public health crisis. Please take appropriate precautions to stay healthy.
Sincerely yours,
Yoichi Nakanishi, President
Shu Hashimoto, Congress President, 25th Congress of the APSR
Kazuto Matsunaga, Chairperson, Central Congress Committee
Suga Konno, Executive Manager
You might have noticed one or two style changes in this Bulletin, also changes appearing on pages of the APSR website.
The project is ongoing and improvement ideas are always welcome by the Secretariat at APSRinfo@theapsr.org
Respirology Case Reports, Volume 08 Issue 5
The spotlight this month is on
Each month we share details of activities of a particular country, region or society.
If you would like the spotlight to be on your country, region or society next month, contact the Bulletin Coordinator or APSR Secretariat.
The following activities were organized by the Bangladesh Lung Foundation (BLF) in 2019, as reported by the Bangladesh Councillors:
Dr Asif Mujtaba Mahmud
Dr Hena Khatun and
Dr Ashraful Alam Khan
The Bangladesh Lung Foundation undertook many activities last year, the important ones being:
A new Executive Committee consisting of 21 members was formed in March with Prof. Md Ali Hossain as President and Dr Asif Mujtaba Mahmud as Secretary General. Dr Mohammad Abdus Shakur Khan and Dr Kazi Saifuddin Bennoor were nominated as Treasurer and Joint Secretary respectively.
The posts of office bearers and member secretaries of cells have also been redesignated to infuse fresh blood into the organization.
Medical checkup and health awareness campaign has been conducted among workers in leather tannery areas and underprivileged children.
Since this is an innovative undertaking strengthening PPM, the BLF is providing technical collaboration for the enterprise, particularly in building networks and motivating medical practitioners to optimally utilize the services at the centres. The cases have been notified to the National TB control programme. We are thereby contributing to TB control in Bangladesh, a high-burden TB country.
The BLF is a component society of the UFAT which is regularly organizing various activities for tobacco control.
In response to the FIRS and APSR President's call for observing World Lung Day in a befitting manner, the BLF organized an awareness programme on the challenges of lung health at a leading public school.
Following a keynote presentation, a lively talk by Zahid Hossain, a charismatic showbiz icon, generated great enthusiasm among the students. He led the students in taking an oath against smoking. He pledged to serve as a goodwill ambassador for the BLF. We intend to launch an awareness campaign for promotion of lung health with him at the forefront.
The date has changed for the World Congress of Bronchology & Interventional Pulmonology (WCBIP), biennial flagship international congress of the WABIP (World Association of Bronchology & Interventional Pulmonology).
This had been scheduled to be held in Shanghai, China, on 16-19 April 2020 and has been postponed to 24-27 September 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Please check the WABIP webpage www.wabip.com/congress for the latest details.
The date has changed for the 60th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Respiratory Society
This had been scheduled to be held in Nagoya on 24-26 April 2020 and has been postponed to 20-22 September 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The venue has also been changed and the Annual Meeting will now be held at the Kobe Convention Center, Japan.
Please check the JRS webpage www.jrs.or.jp/jrs60/en/index.html for the latest details.
The Singapore Thoracic Society's Singhealth Interstitial Lung Disease Workshop will be held on 11 July 2020.
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be delivered online as a web-based workshop.
Please check the STS website www.thoracic.sg for the latest details.
Also due to the pandemic, the date of the World Conference on Lung Cancer has changed.
This had been scheduled to be held on 9-12 August 2020 and has been postponed to 26-29 January 2021.
Please check the IASLC website wclc2020.iaslc.org for the latest details.
Press release:
Tokyo, 31 May – Respiratory groups call for stronger measures to protect young people from tobacco industry marketing On World No Tobacco Day, 31 May 2020, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which the APSR is a founding member, calls on governments and policymakers to implement stronger measures to protect teenagers and adolescents from tobacco industry marketing, in order to safeguard health and to support global public health goals for a tobacco-free generation.
The call is issued in support of the World Health Organization's (WHO) overarching World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2020 theme, which focuses on exposing the strategies used by the tobacco industry to appeal to young people in its marketing of novel tobacco and nicotine products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and "smokeless" tobacco products.
In its WNTD 2020 launch statement, the WHO outlines the key strategies used by the tobacco industry to entice young people to use novel tobacco and nicotine products, including through the use of sweet flavourings, false claims about the "safety" of novel tobacco products, indirect marketing on TV, film and online through social media influencers, and by using "sleek" product designs to hide the fact its products are devices of tobacco and nicotine inhalation.
Many studies have found that e-cigarette vapour contains toxic and cancer-causing chemicals, and almost all independent research has revealed some negative health effects associated with e-cigarette use. Existing evidence indicates that this damage will have lasting effects and may lead to the development of diseases in later life [1].
Further, there is currently no evidence to show that heated or "smokeless" tobacco products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes to health. Previous research has shown that more than 20 harmful chemicals were found in heat-not-burn products in higher amounts than in traditional cigarette smoke, and there is some evidence that new chemicals exist in heat-not-burn products that are not present in traditional cigarettes, which could be toxic to the health of young people [1].
FIRS believe that governments have an important role to play in the implementation of legislation to limit these strategies and strongly supports the WHO's recommendations on ways to counter the tobacco industry, including by:
We must stop the tobacco industry targeting a new generation. FIRS encourages the public health community, civil society organisations, governments, the media and the public, to support World No Tobacco Day 2020 and to get involved in WHO activities for this important awareness event.
[1] breathe.ersjournals.com/content/16/1/161ELF.article-info
About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is an organization comprising the world's leading international respiratory societies working together to improve lung health globally: American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latino Americana de Tórax (ALAT), European Respiratory Society (ERS), Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union), and the Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS).
The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to improve lung health through the combined work of its more than 70,000 members globally.
Contact: Lisa Roscoe, lisa.roscoe@firsnet.org
The Teaching Library is open for your self-study. Challenging yourself to choose the correct procedure for any of the 91 cases in the Library at apsresp.org/education/teaching-library/index.php.
Many more cases are needed for this Library and any member is welcome to submit a case through the same link as above.
The following article has recently been selected from Respirology for its specific educational value. Previous articles on further topics can be seen at apsresp.org/education/articles/index.html
Of special interest to those working in:
* Environmental & Occupational Health
* Cell and Molecular Biology
* Clinical Respiratory Medicine
Effects of E-cigarette E-liquid components on bronchial epithelial cells: Demonstration of dysfunctional efferocytosis Miranda P Ween, Rhys Hamon, Matthew G MacOwan, Leigh Thredgold, Paul R Reynolds and Sandra J Hodge (DOI: 10.1111/resp.13696)
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/resp.13696/full (May 2020)
Comment by Dr Mark Lavercombe:
While the cause of the outbreak of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI) in the United States remains under investigation, the broader issue of the long-term safety of vaping remains contentious. This paper contributes to the literature demonstrating abnormalities of human bronchial epithelial cell function associated with e-cigarette use. Further investigation and long-term data will be required.
A warm welcome to the following members who have recently joined or re-joined APSR assemblies.
| Erwin Arief | Clinical Allergy & Immunology Critical Care Medicine Lung Cancer |
| Chuling Fang | Interstitial Lung Disease |
| Abdulrahman Hakami | Clinical Respiratory Medicine Tuberculosis Paediatric Lung Disease |
| Arun Chowdary Kotaru | Bronchoscopy and Interventional Techniques Pulmonary Circulation Lung Cancer |
| Chin Tong Kwok | COPD Tuberculosis Lung Cancer |
| Saurabh Mittal | Bronchoscopy and Interventional Techniques Respiratory Neurobiology and Sleep Critical Care Medicine |
| Vorakamol Phoophiboon | Critical Care Medicine Clinical Respiratory Medicine Pulmonary Circulation |
| D Sachin | Clinical Respiratory Medicine Bronchoscopy and Interventional Techniques Critical Care Medicine |
| Nirmal Kanti Sarkar | Clinical Respiratory Medicine Tuberculosis Bronchoscopy and Interventional Techniques |
| Ika Trisnawati | Lung Cancer Respiratory Infections (non-tuberculous) Bronchoscopy and Interventional Techniques |
| Ye Tun | Clinical Respiratory Medicine Respiratory Infections (non-tuberculous) COPD |
| Peet Viviers | Clinical Respiratory Medicine Interstitial Lung Disease Critical Care Medicine |
Here are the main respiratory events in Asia-Pacific region for the next few months. You can see our full listing on the APSR Calendar.
For more pulmonology events, see apsresp.org/calendar.html
(These events are for information only and APSR endorsement should not be assumed.)
If you have news of interest to APSR members, please send details to one of the Bulletin Coordinators; Prof. A Azuma (a-azuma@nms.ac.jp) or Prof. C K Rhee (chinkook77@gmail.com).
