ACTIVITY REPORTS
The Turkish Urooncology Association’s establishment request to operate internationally according to Article 11 of the Associations Law No. 2908 was approved by the Council of Ministers’ decision dated 05.07.1999 and numbered 99/13099. Our association’s establishment was completed and officially notified to us on 03.09.1999.
The association aims to conduct, commission, support, and encourage all kinds of scientific research, organization, and activities to advance scientific and professional studies in the field of urological oncology and related medical and scientific disciplines to a contemporary and higher level. The association has no political affiliation.
During the approximately six months following the establishment until the first general assembly, the focus was primarily on member registrations. Up to now, a total of 30 colleagues working in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Manisa, and Diyarbakir have joined our association as members.
Another activity carried out by our Board of Directors was the organization of scientific meetings. As the association’s first scientific activity, an international meeting was planned, and efforts began to host the 15th Congress of the European Society for Urological Research (ESUR) in Istanbul on October 5-7, 2000. These efforts are still ongoing. Fourteen foreign speakers have been invited and have accepted to participate. Similar scientific meetings are planned to be organized in the future.
Dear Members,
The Urooncology Association, established by the decision of the Council of Ministers in 1999, held its first ordinary general assembly on 26-02-2002. The 7-member board of directors elected by your votes at the General Assembly divided the duties in the first meeting and elected Dr. Atıf Akdaş as President, Dr. Haluk Özen as Vice President, Dr. Levent Türkeri as General Secretary, Dr. Erdinç Ünlüer as Treasurer, Dr. Yaşar Bedük as Member Responsible for Administrative Affairs, Dr. Ziya Kırkalı as Member Responsible for External Relations, and Dr. Ahmet Erözenci as Member Responsible for Scientific Publications and Session Secretary.
A – Administrative Activities
Four receipt booklets were procured following initiatives taken on behalf of the Association.
Following the resignation of Vice President Dr. Haluk Özen, 1st and 2nd alternate members Dr. Tarık Esen and Dr. N. Yalçın İlker waived their rights, and 3rd alternate Dr. İbrahim Cüreklibatur was invited and started his board membership on 04-07-2000.
It was decided that applicants must be Urology Specialists for at least two years and have at least 5 published articles related to Urological Oncology to apply for membership.
Twenty-two new members were registered, increasing total membership to 52.
Application was made for the Association’s headquarters to be changed to Prof. Nurettin Öktem Street, Lale Palas Apt. No:18/2 Apartment:1, 80260 Şişli-Istanbul, the center of the Turkish Urology Association. With the approval of the Turkish Urology Association Board on 05-12-2001, necessary legal procedures were completed and the headquarters were moved. We express our thanks to the members of the Turkish Urology Association Board.
The resignation of Dr. Levent Türkeri from the Board and General Secretaryship was accepted by the board decision dated 27-09-2001. The next alternate member Dr. Murat Lekili was invited and became a board member by decision. Dr. Ahmet Erözenci was unanimously appointed as General Secretary.
The Association’s logo was prepared.
It was decided that the Ordinary General Assembly would be held in February 2002.
B – Scientific Activities
The ESUR Congress (European Society of Urological Research), held from 5-7 October 2000, was the Association’s first international congress and considered highly successful. The scientific organization was solely managed by our esteemed member Dr. Levent Türkeri. We owe him our sincere thanks for his dedicated efforts.
On 19-20 April 2001, the Association participated with speakers and provided scientific support at the Aegean Cancer Fight Association Meeting.
On 28-30 September 2001, scientific support was provided by attending with speakers at the Ankara Urooncology Course held in Antalya.
From December 2000 to February 2002, the Association participated monthly in the Turkish Urology Association meetings with one guest and one topic (10 topics, 10 speakers).
On 3 November 2001, a joint scientific meeting was held with İnönü University Faculty of Medicine Urology Department in Malatya on the topic “Innovations in the Treatment of Prostate Diseases.” On 19 January 2002, a joint scientific meeting was held with Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Medicine Urology Department in Aydın on the topic “Bladder Cancer.” Participation and contributions to both meetings were very high and both were deemed highly successful. Both meetings were accredited by the Turkish Medical Association.
The first issue of the “Urooncology Bulletin” was published in February.
The Association’s website was developed and launched.
On 11-09-2001, a Urooncology seminar was held in Istanbul with Prof. Dr. Bruce Malkovitz from the United States as a speaker.
Discussions were initiated to start a “Prostate Diseases Awareness Campaign” to raise public awareness about prostate diseases and their importance. The new board approved this initiative.
On 21 November 2001, our member Dr. Haluk Özen was awarded a “Service Plaque” for his contributions to the Association’s foundation during our monthly meeting.
During its two-year activity period, the Urooncology Association has continued its activities in the areas outlined above. Both board members and association members have worked hand in hand with unity and cooperation.
Respectfully,
On behalf of the Urooncology Association Board of Directors
Board President
Prof. Dr. Atıf Akdaş
Dear Members,
The management board members elected at the 2nd Ordinary General Assembly of the Urooncology Association held on February 20, 2002, held their first meeting and distributed duties. Dr. Atıf Akdaş was elected as President, Dr. Haluk Özen as Vice President, Dr. Levent Türkeri as General Secretary, Dr. Can Öbek as Treasurer, Dr. Ziya Kırkalı as Member Responsible for External Relations, Dr. Yaşar Bedük as Member Responsible for Administrative Affairs, and Dr. Ahmet Erözenci as Member Responsible for Scientific Publications and Session Secretary.
During the activity period, the Board of Directors regularly held monthly meetings to evaluate developments related to the association and to plan activities. The number of association members increased to 82 during the 2002-2004 activity period, with colleagues interested in urooncology from many regions of our country registering as members. Additionally, Professor of Pathology Dr. Kutsal Yörükoğlu joined as an advisory member.
Membership application criteria were revised, requiring applicants to be at least two years urology specialists, have at least three published articles related to urooncology, and have the signatures of at least two active members on their application. Membership applications thereafter were carefully evaluated according to these criteria.
General Declaration Forms related to association and union activities for 2002-2003 were reviewed, signed, and submitted to the associations office.
Required legal changes to the Association’s bylaws were reviewed by the Istanbul Governorship Legal Affairs Directorate, necessary corrections were made, the new bylaws were signed by members, and submitted to the associations office.
A plaque was presented to Prof. Dr. Sedat Tellaloğlu on behalf of our Association during his retirement ceremony.
Plans were made for the association’s website to be professionally developed and its infrastructure services provided, with content developed according to needs. A member was appointed as website coordinator, and an agreement was made with a professional company. The website will soon be launched with rich content and become a frequently visited resource with members’ contributions.
Due to the Urooncology Association and the Urology Working Subgroup consisting of the same people under different names, it was decided to unify these structures under a single entity, and members were informed.
On September 24, 2003, Dr. Atıf Akdaş resigned as Association President, and Dr. Haluk Özen was unanimously elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Dr. Can Öbek’s resignation from the Board due to going abroad was accepted, and first alternate Dr. Özdal Dillioğlugil was invited to the board.
Working subgroups were formed and members appointed to plan new scientific research and coordinate proposals. These open groups to all members include Quality of Life, Prostate, Bladder, and finally Kidney-Testis working groups. They began work by preparing patient information forms for various diseases. Agreements were made for printing and distributing information forms about prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers, with plans to distribute these to all urology clinics in Turkey in the first half of 2004.
A Protocol Review Committee was established for reviewing scientific protocols, consisting of a chair, vice chair, former chair, a board member, a medical oncology specialist, and a biostatistician.
The International Prostate Ultrasound Congress was organized and successfully completed in Antalya on October 4-5, 2002, by Dr. Atıf Akdaş, Dr. Can Öbek, and Dr. Hakan Özveri.
A Urooncology session was organized during the Turkish Urology Congress held October 5-8, 2002, and three foreign guest speakers were invited.
The 6th Ankara Urooncology Course was organized on September 25-28 by Dr. Haluk Özen and Dr. Cemil Uygur. This well-attended international meeting was highly successful. Our President Dr. Haluk Özen donated $30,000 from the meeting proceeds to the association. We thank him sincerely.
It was planned to hold scientific meetings twice a year with the participation of all members, with the first taking place during the 6th Ankara Urooncology Course in Antalya on September 25-28, 2003. These meetings are planned to continue biannually in spring and autumn, with the General Assembly held during these meetings.
During this period, a priority was to regularly publish and distribute the Urooncology Bulletin to colleagues. Between March 2002 and February 2004, five issues were published. Intensive efforts were made to enrich and improve the quality of the bulletin. Based on field research, distribution was planned to be reorganized. The bulletin printing and distribution would be coordinated by an editor and two assistant editors from the association and carried out by a professional agency via courier system.
The Bladder Cancer Book, containing scientific presentations from bladder cancer meetings, was printed in 2003 and distributed to colleagues. A Prostate Cancer book was in preparation and planned to be distributed shortly. Work was also initiated to write a fundamental Urooncology book for the Turkish Urooncology community.
Another activity of the board was organizing regional scientific meetings. All regional meetings were accredited by the Turkish Medical Association. In 2002, meetings on bladder cancers in Zonguldak and Elazığ and prostate cancer in Antakya were organized jointly with urology departments of medical faculties in those cities. Similarly, in 2003, meetings on kidney and testis tumors in Manisa, bladder cancer in Samsun, prostate cancer in Van, and bladder cancer in Adana were held. The last meeting in January 2004 on bladder cancers was held in a different format in Eskişehir and was well received. Positive feedback from participating colleagues was noted with satisfaction. It was decided to hold meetings on bladder tumors, prostate cancer, kidney and testis tumors in Edirne, Sivas, and Denizli in 2004. The format of these regional meetings was aimed to be improved to make the scientific content more engaging and accessible to all participants.
Between March 2000 and February 2004, a total of 16 invited speakers gave scientific presentations on behalf of the Urooncology Association at monthly meetings of Turkish Urology Associations.
Two successful clinical studies are ongoing. The Urooncology Association’s activities during the previous period have been summarized here. As board members, we sincerely believe that the association will continue its successful activities in the future.
Respectfully,
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Prof. Dr. Atıf Akdaş
Dear Members,
At the 3rd Ordinary General Assembly of the Urooncology Association held on February 20, 2004, the elected principal members of the Board of Directors held their first meeting and distributed duties as follows: Dr. Haluk Özen as President, Dr. Yaşar Bedük as Vice President, Dr. Levent Türkeri as General Secretary, Dr. Cemil Uygur as Treasurer, Dr. Ziya Kırkalı as Member Responsible for External Relations, Dr. Ferruh Zorlu as Member Responsible for Administrative Affairs, and Dr. Ahmet Erözenci as Member Responsible for Scientific Publications and Session Secretary.
During the activity period, the Board of Directors held monthly regular meetings to assess developments related to the association and plan activities. The number of members increased to 113 during the 2004-2006 activity period, with many colleagues interested in urooncology from various regions of our country registering as members. Additionally, four physicians specialized in pathology, medical oncology, and radiation oncology joined as advisory members.
The membership application criteria remained the same: applicants must be urology specialists for at least 2 years, have at least 3 published articles related to urooncology, and the application must bear the signatures of at least 2 active members. Subsequent applications were carefully evaluated according to these criteria.
General Declaration Forms for association and union activities for 2004-2005 were reviewed, signed, and submitted to the associations office.
Mandatory changes to the association’s bylaws according to Law No. 5253 were discussed, voted on, and unanimously approved at the extraordinary general assembly on June 18, 2005. These changes included that general assemblies would be held every 3 years and that association presidents could serve for a maximum of one term.
At this Extraordinary General Assembly, a historic development took place: the association’s name was unanimously changed to the “Turkish Urooncology Association.” The amended bylaws were submitted to the Istanbul Governorship for approval, but after 8.5 months, the administrative process remains pending.
Plans were made for the association’s website to be professionally developed and its infrastructure services provided, with content developed according to needs. A member was appointed as website coordinator, and an agreement was signed with a professional company. With financial support from Novartis pharmaceutical company, our renewed website provided free online access to five foreign journals — Journal of Urology, British Journal of Urology, Current Opinion in Urology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and New England Journal of Medicine — for our members. The “Communication Working Group” was established to coordinate web-based activities, chaired by Dr. Bülent Soyupak.
Great importance and support were given to the activities of working groups formed to plan new scientific research and coordinate proposals. These groups, open to all members, include Quality of Life, Prostate, Bladder, and Kidney-Testis working groups. They have continued their activities and completed translations of the European Urology Association’s guidelines on bladder, kidney, and testis tumors. The prostate cancer guideline translation is nearly complete. They also prepared patient information forms for various diseases, and arrangements were made for printing and distributing these forms related to prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers. Distribution to every urology clinic in Turkey was completed in 2004. It is believed that reviewing, updating, and redistributing these forms will benefit public information efforts. Additionally, a prostate cancer book was prepared in 2004 and distributed to colleagues.
The 7th Ankara Urooncology Course, held on September 22-25, was organized by Dr. Haluk Özen and Dr. Cemil Uygur. This international meeting with high-level scientific content and intense participation was very successful. As with the 6th course, our President Dr. Haluk Özen donated $30,000 from the proceeds to establish a “Urooncology Scholarship.” Thanks to this scholarship, each year a young colleague will be financially supported for six months of training at an institution abroad. An announcement on this will be made soon.
Our biannual scientific meetings, held in spring and autumn, continued in 2004 and 2005, with the association covering transportation and accommodation costs for members coming from outside the city. These meetings have been scientifically and socially very productive.
During this period, the Board placed great emphasis on regularly publishing and distributing the Urooncology Bulletin to colleagues. Intensive efforts were made to enrich content and improve quality. Based on field research, a database was created with address information for nearly all urologists nationwide. Distribution was restructured with courier services. The bulletin printing was carried out by a professional agency under the coordination of an editor and two assistant editors from the association. Positive feedback from members indicates great progress. We thank Editor Dr. Ahmet Erözenci, Assistant Editors Dr. Süleyman Ataus and Dr. Gökhan Toktaş, and all contributors for their tremendous efforts in bringing the bulletin to this point.
Another activity of our board was organizing regional scientific meetings, all accredited by the Turkish Medical Association. Positive feedback from attendees encouraged us to improve the format and effectiveness of these educational meetings. In 2004, meetings on bladder tumors in Edirne, prostate cancer in Sivas, and kidney and testis tumors in Denizli were held. In 2005, a prostate cancer meeting was held in Isparta. Efforts continue to enhance the scientific content and reach of these meetings. The enthusiastic participation of colleagues has been a source of joy.
Panels organized by the association included “Bladder Tumor Markers” during the 2nd National Medical Oncology Congress (September 7-11, 2005), and “Metastatic Kidney Tumors” and “Locally Advanced Bladder Cancer” panels during the Surgical Oncology Congress (December 9-12, 2005), all organized and conducted by members of our association.
In 2004, prostate cancer meetings were held in Konya and Gaziantep, and in 2005 in Diyarbakır and Mudanya, sponsored by AstraZeneca. In 2005, Novartis sponsored 11 meetings on prostate cancer held in Istanbul (3), Ankara (2), İzmir (2), and one each in Samsun, Bursa, Antalya, and Adana.
Members invited to participate in monthly scientific meetings of Turkish Urology Associations have represented our association with high-level scientific presentations.
Two multicenter studies conducted with member participation were completed: the “Validation of Partin Tables in Turkey” coordinated by Dr. Saadettin Eskiçorapçı and Dr. Haluk Özen, published in the European Journal of Urology, and the ongoing study on “Early Single or Two-Dose Intravesical Epirubicin Chemotherapy in Superficial Bladder Cancer” coordinated by Dr. Levent Türkeri and Dr. Eyüp Gümüş.
Currently, there are two ongoing bladder cancer studies, three prostate cancer studies, and one testis tumor study. We hope these studies will be successfully completed soon.
Work on the long-anticipated Urooncology Book has begun, with nearly all colleagues agreeing to contribute. This multidisciplinary work is planned to be the most comprehensive urooncology book prepared in Turkish to date. We sincerely thank all colleagues who will contribute.
In summary, the activities of the Urooncology Association during this period have been as described above. As Board members, we sincerely believe that the Association will continue its successful activities in the future.
Respectfully,
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Prof. Dr. Haluk Özen
