Minimal residual cancer

Abstract

Introduction There is now a body of literature that establishes the prognostic value of detecting micrometastatic spread of tumor cells to the BM and lymph nodes in a large variety of malignancies. An increasing number of investigators have therefore employed immunocytological approaches (with or without tumor enrichment procedures) to detect individual disseminated neoplastic cells based on their phenotypic characteristics. More recently, the development of molecular techniques such as the PCR has given the potential for detection based on tumor-specific genomic changes. At this conference investigators, actively working in the growing field of micrometastasis research, discussed the current concepts, clinical and research implications of detecting micrometastatic cells, whether at diagnosis, prior to autologous stem-cell transplantation or after therapy. The conference was attended by more than 300 scientists from 20 different countries. As stated by the organizing committee, the meeting had three major goals: n Providing a platform for young scientists to present their research. n Determining the clinical relevance of micrometastatic cells in a variety of tumors. n Presenting modern developments in the field of the detection and treatment of micrometastases. The success of the first aim was achieved, as evidenced by the 100 high quality abstracts which were presented and discussed in the workshops and poster sessions. The five plenary sessions concentrated on: (1) The tumor biology of early micrometastasis; (2) Advanced methods for characterisation of cancer cells; (3) Clinical relevance of minimal residual detection (MRD) detection; (4) MRD in stem-cell transplantation; (5) Therapeutic strategies in MRD. Specialized areas of micrometastasis research were covered in the four workshops: (1) Methodological challenges of MRD detection; (2) Metastasis in head and neck tumors; (3) Staging and monitoring of MRD; (4) Novel therapies against residual tumor cells.