Could Molecular Diagnostics Provide Personalized Medicine for Cancer Patients?

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR; Philadelphia, PA, USA) convened the Third International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development in Philadelphia, (PA, USA), from September 22-25, 2008. The subtitle of the conference was: "Fulfilling the Promise of Personalized Medicine.” Scientists and clinicians discussed the potential role of molecular diagnostics to provide new strategies for tailoring therapies to fit the needs of each cancer patient's unique biology.

The meeting attracted a transdisciplinary group of participants from diverse areas of institutions and research--health, academia, industry, as well as government and regulatory officials. Therefore, it served as a powerful forum for the exchange of new ideas and information, the formation of new collaborations, and discussions concerning the opportunities and hurdles that are present in this exciting era of molecular diagnostics.

This year the conference program, sessions, and speakers were markedly changed and updated to reflect a much greater emphasis on the challenges that have arisen during attempts at fulfilling the promise of personalized medicine. Clear examples of successes and failures in this process were presented and discussed. There were additional sessions on patient decision making, assay validation, non-coding RNAs, molecular imaging, the process from discovery to product, and clinical trial design.

Sessions included discussions on the use of biomarkers in clinical practice and new drug development, advanced imaging technologies for diagnosis, and the application of proteomics in personalized medicine.

Novel findings reported at the conference included: a new gene expression analysis that shows important differences in brain cancer; a groundbreaking method of measuring changes in DNA; a new biomarker that could more accurately determine the prognosis of patients with head and neck carcinoma; and a more complete and accurate test for blood disorders.

"As genetic, proteomic, imaging, and other new technologies have become more sophisticated and our knowledge of tumor biology and signaling pathways advances, so too does our ability to molecularly characterize individual tumors by and identify germ line and somatic determinants of patient prognosis and response,” said conference chairperson Gordon B. Mills, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the department of molecular therapeutics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, USA).

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. The AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational, and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and 80 other countries. AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs.

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The American Association for Cancer Research