Global Neurosurgery
Co-Chair: Kate Drummond, MD, and Walter Stummer, MD
Members: Anandh Balasubramanian, MD, James Balogun, MD, MBBS, Dominik Cordier, MD, Ather Enam, MD, PhD, Kostas Fountas, MD, PhD, Sameh Elmorsy Hassan, MD, PhD, Lindy Jeffree, BMedSci, MBBS, MSc, MHE, Francesco DiMeco, MD, Okezie Obasi Kanu, MBBS, Aristotelis Kalyvas, MD, MSc, PhD, Claire Karekezi, MD, Ricardo Komatar, MD, John Kuo, MD, PhD, George Samandouras, MD, Ugar Ture, MD, Fumio Yamaguchi, MD, PhD, Jose Valerio, MD, MBA, MIBS, Colin Watts, MBBS, FRCS, PhD, Manfred Westphal, PhD, MD, Pascal Zinn, MD, PhD
After an exciting 2023 and early 2024, the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors Global Neurosurgery Subcommittee has recently seen several changes in leadership and among its members. We particularly thank Ekkehard Kasper for his support and leadership as co-chair, and welcome Walter Stummer as new co-chair, and new members Kostas Fountas, Aristoteles Kolivas and Pascal Zinn. Together, it is our mission to continue intense collaborate with global organizations focusing on neurosurgical oncology, providing education and facilitating communication among international neurosurgical organizations, and ultimately, advancing neurosurgical care of brain and spine tumor patients across the globe. This mission is as important as ever with more than two-thirds of the world’s population unable to access even basic care for their brain and spine tumors.
The subcommittee in its new composition has already reached out and strengthened ties to the EANS, WFNS, FLANC, AASNS, SNOSSA and others.
We are planning an inaugural meeting with the subcommittee’s members to align on action areas regarding education and care in their respective countries and to structure the subcommittee’s activities for the next two years. This meeting will be held on September 1, prior to CNS in Houston.
The focus for the next period will again be on providing education activities with quarterly webinars, continuing the successful virtual tumor board concept together with EANS, which had its inaugural meeting in conjunction with the annual AANS meeting in May this year. We are also looking at new content for interactive webinars to aid the development of neuro-oncology and surgical neuro-oncology in emerging countries, in particular covering guidelines for structured neuro-oncological care and rational neuro-oncological surgery accounting for limited financial and technical resources in low-income countries. Finally, together with neurosurgical organizations worldwide, we intend to establish an observership matching platform.
We thank the members of the AANS/CNS Joint Tumor Section who have in the past contributed to the committee’s activities and look forward to continuing support!