January 12 – 15, 2009
Hyatt Regency San Francisco
San Francisco, California
CHAIRPERSONS:
Joanna L. Groden, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH
Douglas Hanahan, UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA
Scott W. Lowe, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Andrea I. McClatchey, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Charlestown, MA
Mouse models of cancer provide us with the ability to learn about tumor biology in complicated and dynamic physiological systems. Previous efforts to model cancer in the mouse have produced fundamental insights into various aspects of cancer, including the action of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, the biology of tumor-host cell interactions, the factors that influence cellular responsiveness to chemotherapeutic agents, and the role of stem cells during cancer development and progression. Moving forward, it seems likely that genetically engineered mice will become even more elegant and powerful tools for studying various aspects of cancer biology, particularly those that can only be examined in the context of an in vivo microenvironment. Moreover, owing to information obtained from the cancer genome atlas project, genetically engineered mice will likely take an even more prominent role in cancer gene identification and validation. Finally, these models will become increasingly important for identifying and validating new drug targets, and as advanced preclinical test systems for new drugs or drug combinations to combat cancer.
This AACR Special Conference on Mouse Models of Cancer was designed to cover cutting edge research that involves the use of mouse models as tools to investigate basic biological mechanisms of growth and differentiation, cancer gene function, and as systems to test new approaches to diagnosing and treating cancer. Topics covered included: (i) the application of genetic and genomic approaches in mice for understanding cancer susceptibility, development, and maintenance; (ii) the use of mouse models to explore cancer biology in the context of a tissue microenvironment, including the role of inflammation on cancer initiation and progression, as well as factors influencing tumor angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis; (iii) stem cell biology in the context of the cell of origin or particular malignancies and the cancer stem cell hypothesis; and (iv) general lessons obtained from mouse models of particular organ sites, most notably gastrointestinal and hematopoietic malignancies. New technologies and models for studying cancer in the mouse were also presented.
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