The first in the series of Biology and Treatment of Metastatic Cancers Fusion conferences. 

Key Sessions

• The processes involved in tumor dissemination
• The role of circulating tumor cells and cancer stem cells
• The tumor microenvironment
• Metastatic dormancy
• Tumor cell plasticity
• Chemoresistance
• Novel targeted therapies for the treatment of established metastases

As many as 90% of all cancer deaths can be attributed to metastatic disease.   Cells from the primary tumor, after travel to regional or distant sites, cause failure of essential organs including the lungs, liver, brain and bone marrow.  Significant advances in the field make this an exciting time for the study of metastasis.  Genetic signatures in primary tumors as well as circulating tumor cells and oligonucleotide or protein biomarkers hold the promise of predicting cancer outcomes and allowing selection of optimal drug candidates.  The isolation of circulating tumor cells has further improved our ability to analyze the tumor genotype.  The ability to metastasize is influenced by the invasive potential of cells in the primary tumor and particularly by self-renewing tumor cells that have properties of cancer stem cells.  New results highlight the plasticity of tumor cells.  Genetic and epigenetic changes take place over time both in the primary site and in the secondary metastatic sites.  Tumor cells can take on the properties of mesenchymal cells or epithelial cells and transition back and forth between these two states.  Furthermore, cells that occupy metastatic sites and primary sites may be so different that they respond to completely different drugs.  An important current goal is the identification of agents that selectively target the cells in established tumor metastases.

Target Audience

Scientists working in either academic centers or in a pharmaceutical/drug development laboratories will benefit from this meeting.

Keynote Speaker

Dr. David Lyden
Weill Cornell Medical College

Plenary Speakers

Professor Dr. Thomas Brabletz
University of Freiburg
Dr. Janine Erler
University of Copenhagen
Professor Dr. Jonathan Sleeman
University of Heidelberg

Invited Speakers:

Dr. Catherine Alix-Panabières
Laboratory of Rare Human Circulating Cells Montpellier
Dr. Roger Gomis
Institute for Research in Biomedicine of Barcelona
Dr. Sonja Loges
University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf
Professor Massimiliano Mazzone
KU Leuven
Professor Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia  

Contributing Speakers

Dr. Amina Zoubedi 
Vancouver Prostate Centre
Professor Dario Marchetti
Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Khalid Sossey-Alaoui
Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
Dr. Vivek M. Rangnekar
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Professor Menashe Bar-Eli
UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. Gabri van der Pluijm 
Leiden University
Professor Susan L Bellis
University of Alabama at Birmingham 
Professor Stuart S. Martin
University of Maryland School of Medicine 
Professor James Lorens
University of Bergen
Dr. Adriana Albini
Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova
Dr. Frank Rauscher
The Wistar Institute 
Dr. Arijit Chakravarty
Takeda 
Shiladit Sengupta
Brigham and Women's Hospital 

Short Talks

Dr. Andreas Möller
QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
Dr. Alex Chenchik
Cellecta, Inc.
Dr. William Schiemann 
Case Western Reserve University
Mme Yu-Ting Huang
University of Fribourg 
Dr. Madeline Oudin 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mme Sarah Knuchel
University of Fribourg
Dr. Klaus Luecke
GILUPI GmbH