interesting press release from AACR meeting opening this weekend. note the plenary session highlights four areas as "New Horizons for Cancer Research", including two right in line with LGND technology:
-- Using gene therapy and other immunotherapies to harness the power of
the immune system to fight cancer. Drew M. Pardoll, M.D., Ph.D., of
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will present the latest
data from recent clinical trials using cytokines (molecules produced by
the body's cells that signal the immune system to act) to treat cancer.
-- Identifying strategies to prevent cancer in humans. Waun Ki Hong,
M.D., of University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, will cover
the most recent findings from clinical trials using retinoids
(naturally occurring or synthetic compounds with a broad range of
biologic actions) to prevent cancer.
Translating Discoveries from the Lab to Clinical Practice is Focus of 89th Annual Meeting of American Association for Cancer Research
PHILADELPHIA, March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- In order to catalyze the movement of basic research findings from the laboratory bench to the cancer clinic, scientists from around the world will converge next month to share the most up-to-date developments in the rapidly advancing areas of basic, clinical, and translational cancer research at the 89th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). The meeting will take place from March 28-April 1 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. It will feature 4,500 abstracts and approximately 200 invited presentations, as well as a special late-breaking research session that will feature reports of timely and highly significant discoveries that have occurred in the last few months.
"This past year has seen many fast-moving, across-the-board developments in cancer research that warrant our attention -- from cutting-edge, basic biology involving worms and fruit flies to clinical trials that will determine how patients respond to particular anticancer therapies," said Donald S. Coffey, Ph.D., AACR President and Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. "We will be focusing on all of these exciting developments at this year's meeting."
"The spirit and scope of the meeting is to provide a comprehensive forum for the presentation of the latest research discoveries across many disciplines of cancer research, reflecting what's going on in research laboratories throughout the world. As we move forward in the next battle in the war against cancer, our major goal is to translate discoveries in basic molecular biology into clinical practice to help cancer patients," said Frank J. Rauscher, III, Ph.D., Chairperson of the 1998 AACR Program Committee and Chairperson of the Plenary Session.
Plenary Session
The emphasis on both basic and clinical/translational research at this year's meeting is reflected in the content of the plenary session, entitled "New Horizons in Cancer Research." It is scheduled for Sunday, March 29, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and will cover state-of-the-art cancer research in four main areas:
-- Discovering new cancer genes in the most effective and efficient
manner. Bert Vogelstein, M.D., of Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, will
discuss the bioinformatics/genomic approach to gene discovery, focusing
on his own research in colon and gastrointestinal cancer.
-- Finding new approaches to target specific drugs at specific organs.
Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., of the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, will
talk about how these methods will revolutionize the ability to target
and treat tumors more effectively in specific organs.
-- Using gene therapy and other immunotherapies to harness the power of
the immune system to fight cancer. Drew M. Pardoll, M.D., Ph.D., of
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will present the latest
data from recent clinical trials using cytokines (molecules produced by
the body's cells that signal the immune system to act) to treat cancer.
-- Identifying strategies to prevent cancer in humans. Waun Ki Hong,
M.D., of University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, will cover
the most recent findings from clinical trials using retinoids
(naturally occurring or synthetic compounds with a broad range of
biologic actions) to prevent cancer.
In addition, Richard D. Klausner, M.D., Director of the National Cancer Institute, will discuss "Challenges and Opportunities in Cancer Research: The NCI Director's View."
Breakthrough Discoveries
Other notable discoveries in cancer research that will be presented at scientific sessions throughout the meeting include:
-- Identification of a serum hormone that can be used to assess prostate
cancer risk better than the standard PSA test
-- Successful human gene transfer using the p53 tumor suppressor gene
Controversy Sessions
Recognizing differences in opinion among cancer experts, the meeting will also feature two controversy sessions that both debate and take a critical look at current strategies in several areas of cancer etiology and treatment. "Will Multidrug Resistance Modulators Be Effective in the Clinic?" will be chaired by Dalia Cohen, Ph.D., of the Sandoz Research Institute, New Jersey, who will moderate a debate about whether resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs can be overcome in cancer patients in the clinical setting or whether this is only an experimental paradigm. "Environmental Estrogens and Cancer" will be chaired by Nancy E. Davidson, M.D., of Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, who will moderate a discussion that will explore the relationship between cancer risk and environmental estrogen exposure.
Other Featured Areas of Research
An estimated 7,500 scientists from around the world are expected to attend the annual meeting, reflecting the highest concentration of cancer researchers in the world at any one time. The latest findings in the following notable areas will also be highlighted at the meeting:
Basic Research
-- Cell Aging: Telomerase and Telomeres in Normal and Neoplastic Cells
-- Alterations of and Novel Mechanisms for Cell Cycle Control in Cancer
-- Nuclear Hormone Receptors in Development and Disease
-- Cell Death Signalling Pathways: Caspase Cascades and
Effectors/Initiators of Apoptosis
-- Environmental Carcinogenesis
-- Tobacco and Lung Carcinogenesis
-- Reconstruction of Human Tumorigenesis and Progression: Cancer Genetics
in Model Organisms
-- Basic Science and Clinical Aspects of Breast and Prostate Cancers
-- Progress in the Genetics of Cancer: The Identification of p73/p53/p51
and Individual Cancer Susceptibility and Risk Assessment
Clinical Applications
-- DNA Testing and Clinical Approaches to Familial Cancer Syndromes and
The Psychosocial Aspects of Genetic Diagnosis
-- New Concepts and Clinical Applications of Cancer Gene Therapy
-- Advances in Cancer Vaccine Development
-- Adenovirus and Antisense-Based Therapeutic Approaches
-- Progress in Clinical Antibody-Based Immunotherapy
-- Oncogene-Based Drug Targeting
-- Cancer Chemoprevention: Animal Models and Molecular Targets and
Endpoints
-- Diet and Cancer Prevention
AACR Preliminary News Briefing Schedule
News briefings will take place in Room 26 of the Morial Convention Center. Times are subject to change. The final schedule will be posted in the AACR press room (Room 28). Additional briefings may be scheduled during the meeting. (All times are CST).
Sunday, March 29
11:30 a.m. -- 12:15 p.m. Progress in Identifying New Familial Cancer
Genes
12:15 p.m. -- 1:00 p.m. New Approaches to Early Detection of Cancer
1:00 p.m. -- 1:45 p.m. The Newly Discovered Role of Telomerase and
Telomeres in Cell Aging and Cancer
2:00 p.m. -- 2:45 p.m. New Developments in Cancer Causation and
Prevention: Effect of Diet, Nutrition, and
Chemicals
Monday, March 30
9:00 a.m. -- 9:45 a.m. Effects of Environmental Estrogens on Breast
Cancer
10:00 a.m. -- 10:45 a.m. Late-Breaking Research
11:00 a.m. -- 11:45 a.m. Advances in Prognostic Markers for Cancer
12:00 p.m. -- 12:45 p.m. New Concepts in Cell-Based and Gene Therapy
Tuesday, March 31
9:00 a.m. -- 9:45 a.m. Funding for Cancer Research
10:00 a.m. -- 10:45 a.m. Tobacco and Lung Carcinogenesis
11:00 a.m. -- l1:45 a.m. The Discovery of a New Family of Cancer Genes:
p51/p53/p73
1:00 p.m. -- 1:45 p.m. Advances in Angiogenesis: New Drugs that Block
Blood Vessel Formation
Wednesday, April 1
10:00 a.m. -- 10:45 a.m. Wrap-Up News Briefing
SOURCE American Association for Cancer Research
CO: American Association for Cancer Research
ST: Pennsylvania
IN: HEA MTC
SU:
03/25/98 09:05 EST prnewswire.com |
