Mechanisms Linking Inflammation and Cancer

Organizer(s): Lisa M. Coussens, Frances R. Balkwill and Glenn Dranoff

Supported by the Director's Fund

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Summary of Meeting:

Our appreciation of the complexity of tumor biology has led us from considering tumors as autonomous masses of mutant cells to an awareness of tumors as entities that can hijack and exploit various normal physiologic processes of the host. The frequent presence of inflammatory cell infiltrates and chemical mediators of inflammation in tumors has been recognized for over a century, although an understanding of their role during cancer development has been elusive. Leukocytic infiltrates and cytokine/chemokine networks in premalignant tissues and tumors can be distinct, depending upon the stage of malignant development and organ microenvironment. Current thinking is that activated immune cells provide both anti- and pro-tumorigenic signals, thus representing targets to be harnessed or attacked for therapeutic advantage depending upon environmental and/or cellular context. T lymphocytes are being exploited for their ability to induce tumor regression, as are strategies that disable innate immune cells or neutralize immunosuppressive or pro-inflammatory microenvironments. Such approaches may also provide clinical benefit for at-risk cancer patients and those with pre-malignant lesions. This meeting will link innate and adaptive immune regulatory mechanisms with cancer development and cancer treatment by focusing on relevant basic research, preclinical, translational and clinical studies.

Scholarship Deadline: October 10 2006

Discounted Abstract Deadline: October 10 2006

Abstract Deadline: November 9 2006

Discounted Registration Deadline: December 11 2006

We gratefully acknowledge additional support for this conference from:

We gratefully acknowledge the generous grant for this conference provided by:

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Grant No. 1 R13 CA124284-01

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