30th International Conference on Chelation (ICOC) -
A Landmark on Chelation Science and Medicine

9th International Conference on Oncology and Anticancer Research (ICOAR)

12th International Conference on Recent Advances in Health and Medical Sciences (RAHMS)

Paphos, Cyprus: 4th October – 8th October, 2024

Instructions for Preparing Abstracts

1. All abstracts are strongly encouraged to be submitted using the Abstract Form and send to kontoghiorghes.g.j@pri.ac.cy.

2. The abstract should be written in English, typed or printed in Times New Roman of font size 11 and single-spaced. Use standard abbreviations and place a special or unusual abbreviation in parentheses after the full word appears. Use generic names of drugs. White numbers as numerals rather than words. 

3. By submitting an abstract, it implies that the authors warrant that the work is conducted in accordance with local, national and international ethical guidelines and regulations. It is also understood that the abstract has not been previously published or internationally presented. The authors agree to transfer the copyright to the 8th RAHMS for publication. 

4. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to edit the abstract for clarification of English. 

Abstract Form

CLICK HERE TO: Download Abstract Submission form


Online abstract submission 
Submit abstract as an e-mail attachment to kontoghiorghes.g.j@pri.ac.cy. If this is not possible, please enclose a floppy diskette with your abstract(s). 

Papers for oral or poster presentations will be selected according to the contents of the submitted abstracts. The selection and placement decisions by the Organizing Committee regarding the presentations will be final. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to edit the abstract for clarity of English. 

Presentation Type 
Indicate your preference of presentation type. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to rearrange your presentation into any appropriate type. 

How to Submit

All abstracts are strongly encouraged to be submitted as an e-mail attachment or an electronic file on a 3.5" diskette in Microsoft Word format (.doc) with the enclosed ABSTRACT SUBMISSION FORM to: 

George J Kontoghiorghes 
E-mail address: kontoghiorghes.g.j@pri.ac.cy 
Postgraduate Research Institute of Science, Technology, Environment and Medicine 
3, Ammochostou Street, Limassol 3021, Cyprus. 
Tel/Fax: 00357 26272076 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: www.rahms-medicine.org 

Format for writing the manuscript

1. Title 
The title of paper should be concise in bold and IN CAPITALS, size 12 and justified to the left. 

2. Authors & Affiliation 
The name of presenting author must be underlined. Separate multiple authors with commas and place "and" before the last author. 

Do NOT include degrees or professional titles or postal address of affiliations. 
Include : Telephone / Fax / e mail as shown in the example 


3. Text 
Use a structured layout: 
Introduction (purpose of the study, objective), Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions. 

4. Presentation Type 
Indicate your preference of the presentation type. The organizing committee reserves the right to rearrange your presentation into any appropriate type. 

5. AV equipment for oral presentation 
If you have chosen oral presentation, please note that an LCD projector for powerpoint presentations will be used. 

Receipt of your abstract will be acknowledged. The presenting author must register at the time of abstract submission. Moreover, abstracts will NOT be printed in the abstract book if the registration fee is not received by that date. 

Abstract Sample

UNIVERSALLY EFFECTIVE IRON CHELATION THERAPY USING THE ICOC DEFERIPRONE / DEFEROXAMINE COMBINATION PROTOCOL. 

Kolnagou A, Eracleous E, Economides C and Kontoghiorghes GJ. 
Postgraduate Research Institute of Science, Technology, Environment and Medicine, Limassol, Cyprus. 
Tel: 00357 26272076. Fax: 00357 26271434. E-mail: kontoghiorghes.g.j@pri.ac.cy 

Introduction: The main cause of death of thalassaemia patients is cardiomyopathy caused from excess iron deposition in the heart. MRI T2* and T2 are the only reliable, non-invasive methods for the assessment of the presence of excess iron in the heart and the efficacy of chelation therapy protocols. The efficacy of the International Committee on Chelation (ICOC) combination protocol using deferiprone (L1) (80-110 mg/kg/day) and deferoxamine (DF) (40-60 mg/kg/day, at least 3 days per week) has been studied in a group of patients. 
Methods: Eleven patients (7 males, 4 females) of variable serum ferritin levels (0.56 - 4.6 mg/l) and mostly with heavy cardiac iron levels as detected by MRI T2* (4.7 -24 ms) took part in the study. The selection criteria were the presence of excess iron in the heart and the liver as detected by MRI. The combination therapy protocol involved the administration of L1 during the day (75-100 mg/kg/day) and of DF (40-50 mg/kg at least 3 days / week) during the night using a pump or the whole 24 h using an infuser. The monitoring period of the combination therapy ranged from 6 to 39 months. 
Results: The ICOC dose protocol was well tolerated but 3 patients could only receive DF 2 instead of 3 days/week. There was a substantial reduction in serum ferritin in almost all the patients, especially those who had initial levels greater than 1mg/l (0.25- 3.9 mg/l). Similarly, there was a substantial increase in cardiac MRI T2* (15-40 ms) reaching normal levels in all but one (using DF 2 days / week), where it remained unchanged (light siderosis). In 2 patients excess cardiac iron was cleared within 6-8 months. 
Discussion and conclusion: The ICOC combination protocol of L1 and DF appears to be effective in the rapid clearance of excess iron from the heart as detected by MRI T2*. In 2 patients the clearance was observed within 6-8 months. This rate of iron removal is faster than that previously reported in patients using high doses of either L1 or DF. Liver iron levels were also reduced in all the patients but at a slower rate than cardiac iron. There were no toxic side effects reported during the study. Randomised clinical trials are needed to confirm the universal effectiveness of the ICOC protocol in thalassaemia and other transfusional iron loaded patients . 

1] Kontoghiorghes GJ, Kolnagou A. Lancet 2003; 361:184. 2] Peng CT et al Eur J Haematol 2003: 70: 392-7. 3] Kolnagou A et al Brit J Haematol, 2004; 127: 360-1.