OncoAlert, a “worldwide network of oncology professionals and patient advocates with the common goal of ending cancer,” with a majority of its faculty in the U.S. and Europe, has temporarily suspended all activities taking place in Russia:
In response to the invasion of Ukraine, the OncoAlert network will be pulling out of ALL collaborations & congresses in Russia. The OncoAlert network is non-political, but we cannot stand idle and not take a stand against this aggression towards our Ukrainian friends and colleagues.
Valery Fadeyev, Russian rights councilor, mentioned the organization during an appeal to European rights groups discrimination faced by Russians living abroad. Concerning harassment, he said “there shouldn’t be discrimination based on nationality and citizenship.” Fadeyev acknowledged the loss, but went on to cite the examples of ongoing Russian collaboration with foriegn oncology departments:
The global network of oncology professionals, OncoAlert, halted cooperation with Russia…Fortunately, we still have contacts with the U.S. (ASCO) and European (ESMO) clinical oncology groups and with the WHO.
OncoAlert’s decision is part of a wider trend towards excluding Russia and Russian delegations from a host of fora, including the exclusion of Russian athletes from international competitions and venues. This raises questions concerning what areas of international collaboration should continue uninterrupted by the politics of war.
