The SIOP Pediatric Psycho-Oncology Committee (PPO)

In January 2007 The Scientific Board of the SIOP has approved for the installation of a sub-committee, dedicated to Pediatric Psycho-Oncology research: SIOP PPO.

In health and medical settings as well as in pediatric oncology settings, pediatric psychologists, with their science based knowledge, have become vital members of multidisciplinary clinical and research teams, adding specialist knowledge to treatment and research of children with chronic or life threatening diseases. In pediatric oncology, active research is being conducted to improve the understanding of the impact of childhood cancer on the patients' well being as well as on that of their family members, within a developmental perspective. In order to incorporate the findings of pediatric psycho-oncology into clinical practice, it is important to make psycho-oncology an active component of cancer treatment, counseling and rehabilitation.

The purpose of the SIOP PPO is to

• facilitate the exchange of research data on pediatric psycho-oncology issues
• to support the integration of these data with current psychological research, theory, and practice, and
• to encourage the active incorporation of this psychological knowledge into clinical pediatric oncology practice

with the overall wish to improve the care of children with cancer.

Martha Grootenhuis (chair), research psychologist, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
John Spinetta, psychologist, San Diego, USA
Johnathan Hill, child psychiatrist, Manchester, UK
Gabi Calaminus , pediatric oncologist, Dusseldorf, Germany
Esther Meijer- van den Bergh, clinical psychologist, Nijmegen, the Netherlands (co-chair)

Contact: siopppo@amc.nl

In October 2008 the SIOP meeting took place in Berlin and it has been very successful. During the SIOP-PPO premeeting the who-is-who book has been presented.  Click here to see the pdf file.