CHAIRPERSONS:
Lisa M. Coussens, UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center and Cancer Research Institute, San Francisco, CA
Michael Karin, Moores UCSD Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA
Lawrence J. Marnett, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Recent clinical and experimental data have expanded the concept that inflammation is a critical component of solid tumor progression. Many cancers arise from sites of infection, chronic irritation, and inflammation; thus, it is now clear that the tumor microenvironment, which is largely orchestrated by inflammatory cells, is an indispensable participant in the neoplastic process altering not only the metabolic needs of the tissue, but also fostering DNA and protein damage, proliferation, survival, mutagenesis, migration and metastasis of malignant cells. Leukocytic infiltrates and pro-inflammatory 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 protumorigenic signals, thus representing targets to be harnessed or attacked for therapeutic advantage depending upon environmental and/or cellular context. This AACR Special Conference will examine critical cellular, molecular, and chemical mediators involved in regulating DNA and protein damage, pro- and anti-tumor immunity, and will consider how balancing these dynamic programs may lead to more efficacious anti-cancer therapeutics. We look forward to your participation in this exciting conference in beautiful Ko Olina, Hawaii.
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