November 30 - December 4, 2005
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa
Bonita Springs, Florida
CONFERENCE CHAIRPERSONS:
Yves A. DeClerck, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Ruth J. Muschel, University of Oxford, Oxford, England
What happens outside the cancer cell, in what is designated as the tumor microenvironment, has a profound effect on cancer progression. Nonmalignant cells like inflammatory cells, fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, pericytes, and endothelial cells interact with tumor cells and contribute in a complex way to influence cancer progression. The extracellular matrix (ECM) which is intensively remodeled by proteases produced by malignant and nonmalignant cells also actively contributes to the microenvironment. The microenvironment thus provides the critical soil of the malignant seed and in such can promote or restrict tumor cell growth.
The 2005 AACR Special Conference on Cancer, Proteases, and the Tumor Microenvironment featured leading researchers in the fields of tumor vasculature, inflammation and cancer progression, hypoxia and stress, bone microenvironment, tumor plasticity and the ECM, cell trafficking, tumor cell and stromal cell interactions, proteases, and new therapeutic targets and strategies. In addition to the impressive roster of invited speakers, the conference chairpersons also included short talks from researchers of selected proferred papers.
Basic scientists interested in cancer biology, as well as investigators focused on experimental, translational, and clinical aspects of cancer from nearly 20 different countries attended this conference. Over half of the 230 participants submitted abstracts and presented posters of their latest research during the poster sessions on Thursday and Friday evenings.
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Please visit the AACR Meeting Calendar for a complete list of upcoming programs.