By Rafael Oscar Risch, SOBRAFO Director of Regional Affairs

The city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, also known as the Marvelous City, world famous for its carnival and beaches (Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Ipanema) whose setting was the inspiration for Tom Jobim's Garota de Ipanema music, is also the city where INCA (National Institute of Cancer) is installed. This institute of the Health Ministry acts in the development and coordination of integrated actions for the prevention and control of cancer in Brazil, being the largest and most important in this area in the country.

Copacabana was the chosen place to host the 6th Congress of Hospital Oncology Pharmacy of INCA on October 25th-27th, 2018, an event that happens every two years and in this edition gathered 517 people including pharmacists, residents and pharmacy students from different regions of the country.

The central theme of the congress was "Oncology Pharmacists: From Public Policies to New Technologies, what represents you?" and there were three intense days of activities and reflections, with the well-known Symposia of SBRAFH (Brazilian Society of Hospital Pharmacy and Health Services) and SOBRAFO (Brazilian Society of Oncology Pharmacists), in addition to the courses in "Good Handling Practices for Antineoplastic Drugs" and "Pharmaceutical Care in Oncology".

On the first day, the SOBRAFO Symposium brought topics in management, immunotherapy in elderly patients, pharmacovigilance and news from the 2018 ASCO Meeting while the SBRAFH Symposium had topics such as pediatric oncohematology, patient management and safety. After the symposiums and courses on the first day, the opening ceremony was held with the lecture "Vocation and Meaning: what represents you?".

On the other two days, the congress brought topics such as patient safety, pharmaceutical care, incorporation of new technologies, oncopediatrics, access to new drugs in SUS, research and teaching, among others.

At the end of the last day, the president of this congress, Maely Peçanha Fávero Retto, held the award for the best articles and declared the congress closed, with excellent speakers, a lot of learning and rich experience exchanging.

2018 Congress of Hospital Oncology Pharmacy of INCA	2018 Congress of Hospital Oncology Pharmacy of INCA
SOBRAFO Board of Directors	Maely Peçanha Fávero Retto - the Congress President, and also SBRAFH President
Opening Ceremony Lecture