Integrative Molecular Cancer Epidemiology
An IARC-EACR-AACR-ECNIS Symposium
Lyon, 3-5 July 2008
Please click here to download the programme.
Molecular epidemiology has developed during the last two decades as an independent discipline at the crossroads of epidemiology and molecular sciences. On the one hand, molecular epidemiology aims to overcome the limitations of traditional approaches in epidemiology, by measuring events relevant to exposure, disease development, and response to therapy, reducing exposure and outcome misclassification, and identifying determinants of individual susceptibility to disease and treatment response. On the other hand, it offers a framework for applying novel molecular techniques to population and clinical studies. Furthermore, the finalization of the HAPMAP project and the advent of new technologies for genotyping 100,000s of variants for a limited cost have led to a new generation of studies aimed to identify cancer genes.
Recent technological advances and discoveries in genomic and molecular research, including in particular the use of microarrays and high-throughput analyses pose novel challenges to the design and analysis of molecular epidemiological studies, whose theoretical implications have yet to be fully explored. Molecular epidemiology, however, should not be seen as a mere application of novel molecular techniques to human studies, rather as a rapidly evolving field in which both epidemiologists, clinicians, molecular scientists – and even more so the new generation of ‘molecular epidemiologists’ with a multidisciplinary background – work together to address the most relevant aetiologic and clinical questions.
Cancer research has represented an area of particular importance for the theoretical development and the application of molecular epidemiology. The long duration of disease development, entailing the need to measure exposures back in the past, the heterogeneity of the relevant phenotypes, the complexity of carcinogenic pathways and the limited success in developing effective therapeutic strategies have traditionally represented major challenges to aetiological and clinical cancer research. The application of molecular techniques to epidemiological and clinical studies has therefore been seen as a potentially promising approach to overcome these limitations.
An international symposium on Integrative Molecular Cancer Epidemiology will be organized in Lyon, France, on 3rd-5th July 2008, immediately before the 20th meeting of EACR (EACR20), scheduled to take place in Lyon on 5th- 8th July 2008.
To download the IARC-EACR-AACR-ECNIS Symposium updated programme please click here.
The International Symposium will be a joint initiative of IARC, AACR and EACR, in partnership with the EC-sponsored Network of Excellence on Cancer, Environment, Nutrition, and Individual Susceptibility (ECNIS, www.ecnis.org).
It aims to represent a forum for young and established investigators to present their work and to review the most promising areas of future development of the discipline.
The Symposium will focus on aetiologic and mechanistic aspects of molecular and genetic cancer epidemiology research. Sessions on clinical applications of molecular epidemiology will be included in the main EACR meeting, to promote cross-participation between the two events.
Target participants include epidemiologists, geneticists, biochemical and molecular biologists, pharmacologists, pathologists and researchers who are interested in the field. Efforts will be made to attract also clinicians. It is expected that a sizeable number of participants will also attend the EACR meeting.
Date and venue
The conference will start on 3rd July 2008 at 10:00am and will end on 5th July 2008 at 12:00 noon.
The conference will be organized in the International Congress Center of Lyon, where the main EACR 20 meeting is to take place.
Please click here to download the programme of the symposium on Integrative Molecular Cancer Epidemiology.
Registration
Registration to the conference is handled together with the registration of EACR20. Information, prices and forms are available the website of EACR20 http://www.ecco-org.eu/Conferences-and-Events/EACR-20/page.aspx/213.
Abstract submission
Participants are invited to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations. Forms are available from the website of symposium http://www.iarc.fr/molepi2008.
Deadline for abstract submission for the IARC-EACR-AACR-ECNIS Symposium is 15 April 2008. Authors will be notified by 20 April 2008.
Page last modified: 03 Sep 2008