Now in its 6th annual edition, ESMO’s Symposium on Signalling Pathways: Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), is coming to Barcelona, Spain, 23 – 24 March. To be hosted by the Vall d´Hebron University Hospital, located within the Vall d´Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, this superb ESMO Symposium series is being held for the second time in partnership with the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR). Under the expert co-chairmanship of Josep Tabernero, Director of VHIO and ESMO President, and Alberto Bardelli, Professor, Department of Oncology at the University of Torino (Italy), and President Elect of EACR, this continued pairing between these two Societies will guarantee an essential translational flavor and achieve the necessary balance, scope and depth to attract basic scientists, translational and clinical researchers.
This two-day exploration into the role and therapeutic exploitation of cell cycle proteins in cancer will deliver up-to-the-minute cancer discovery and the latest results coming out of clinical studies with a view to potentiating the anti-cancer performance of CDK inhibitors.
“Over the past two decades we have been determinedly been pursuing agents that inhibit cyclin-dependent kinases, with largely modest activity reported with first-generation inhibitors. In order to improve the efficacy of novel agents we must continue to consider lessons learned from the early compounds as well as successfully apply precious insights generated through preclinical research and predictive cancer science. This meeting represents a truly translational next-step towards better validating and improving the clinical efficacy of CDK inhibitors in cancer therapy – now and in the future”, observes Josep Tabernero.
Kicking-off with the Keynote to be delivered by Jane Endicott, Professor of Cancer Structural Biology, Newcastle upon Tyne Northern Institute for Cancer Research (NICR – UK), participants and speakers alike can look forward to the very latest updates on cell cycle regulation and the biological basis of CDK inhibition towards the development of CDK-directed therapies. This insightful lecture will be followed by a series of Educational Sessions. Exploring the role of CDK along the mitotic process in normal pathological condition, chaired by VHIO’s Joan Seoane, Director of Translational Research, and Secretary General of EACR as well as Member of this Symposium’s Scientific Committee, will be followed by reports on the latest progress and pitfalls of CDK inhibition across a range of targeted CDK subtypes, as well as recent findings on the preclinical performance of a trio of novel CDK inhibitors: palbociclib, ribociclib and amemaciclib.
Day two offers a further three comprehensive Educational Sessions closing with an expert Panel Discussion on the role and relevance of CDK 4 – 6 inhibitors as a new treatment option across a variety of solid tumors. The first Educational Session will center on the interaction between CDKs, CDKI and other targets, featuring VHIO’s Violeta Serra, Principal Investigator of Experimental Therapeutics, based on her important contribution to advancing the field of PI3K inhibitor resistance. The second, themed Disappointing results and lessons learned from initial CDKI and their role in other diseases, will provide clinical updates surrounding the antitumor activity of CDK inhibitors roscovitine, alvocidib/flavopiridol, and dinaciclib – the latter to be presented by Cristina Saura, Principal Investigator of VHIO’s Breast Cancer and Melanoma Group.
The third and final Educational Session of the meeting will hone in on CDK4 and CDK6 in breast cancer with palbociclib, ribociclib and abemaciclib under the lens. This session, co-chaired by Javier Cortés, Head of Breast Cancer and Gynecological Tumors, Ramon y Cajal University Hospital (Madrid, Spain), and Associate Translational Investigator at VHIO, and Fabrice André, Professor, Department of Oncology, Institut Gustave Roussy (Villejuif, France), will close with University of Milan’s Associate Professor of Medical Oncology (Italy), Giuseppe Curigliano’s Are all CDK 4-6 created equal? This question, which he initially raised in relation to the MONARCH III data presented at last year’s ESMO Congress – is sure to trigger further debate and discussion during this forthcoming Symposium.
To discover more about this ESMO meeting held in partnership with EACR and register before Early Registration closes 24 January 2018, please visit:
http://www.esmo.org/Conferences/Signalling-Pathways-2018/Programme.
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