Ahead of this year’s Annual Conference of SPAGN in Stockholm from 1- 3 May, the Swedish patient advocate Magnus Carlsson shares exciting developments in his country regarding genomic profiling of tumours suspicious of sarcoma. He explains why he believes that running Whole Genomic Sequencing routinely in the diagnostic process is an investment rather than an expense.

In the panoply of new technologies for treating cancer ultra-sound barely gets a mention. In this blog post Roger Wilson discovers how it is developing as a treatment. He explains why he believes this a worthwhile process to observe.

This year has seen remarkable progress in global sarcoma collaboration, with SPAGN ensuring that the patient voices are heard in several research and policy projects. The power of collaboration and the many people joining forces to achieve tangible outcomes for sarcoma patients worldwide gives Kathrin Schuster, SPAGN Chief executive, confidence for the future – which holds indeed quite a number of challenges for a cancer field that has been chronically underfunded for decades. Read here, why.

The Bone Cancer Research Trust this year received the inaugural Paola Gonzato Memory Award, dedicated to projects in bone sarcoma. They also took the second place in SPAGN's Advocacy in Action Awards. From educating future doctors on sarcoma to raising vital awareness through marketing campaigns, both awards highlight the importance of putting patients at the centre of all organisational activities. Silvia Kraft from BCRT presents their success projects.

An ongoing review of pharmaceutical regulations at the European Union’s level has the potential to unleash therapeutic innovations through drug repurposing. If approved, drug development could be influenced by evidence generated by academia or patient organizations. Why this would be a game changer also for sarcoma patients, explain Ornella Gonzato and Roger Wilson in this blog post.

This year, SPAGN awarded the third prize of Advocacy in Action Award to the Patiënten Platform Sarcomen in the Netherlands for their project on the management of phyllodes tumors, a rare form of cancer of the breast. By building expert partnerships and funding research, they pushed ahead the development of Dutch treatment guidelines—officially adopted in January 2024. A milestone for this small group of patients who have carried out tremendous advocacy work in recent years.