First Symposium on Head and Neck Cancer Stem Cells

首届头颈部癌症干细胞研讨会计划于2012年5月10日至11日在密歇根大学安娜堡分校举行。干细胞在癌症的病理生物学中扮演着重要的角色。然而，干细胞在癌症发生和发展中的作用是肿瘤类型所特有的。虽然在某些肿瘤中，大多数细胞是高度致癌的(如黑色素瘤)，但在另一些肿瘤中，有一小部分干细胞是肿瘤(如乳腺癌)发生和发展的主要原因。这次研讨会将是第一次集中讨论干细胞在头颈部癌变中的作用。对头颈部癌症干细胞生物学的了解对于开发新的策略来鉴定这些细胞并选择性地消除它们对肿瘤生长和进展的贡献至关重要。本次研讨会的总体目标是介绍和讨论癌症干细胞生物学领域的最新进展，鼓励该领域最先进的合作新研究项目，并将新知识用于为头颈癌患者设计更有效和更安全的治疗方法。本次研讨会的具体目的是：A)介绍和讨论癌症干细胞生物学的最新进展；B)介绍和讨论干细胞在头颈癌病理生物学中的作用；C)找出阻碍头颈部癌症干细胞研究进展的挑战，并提出克服这些障碍的策略；D)促进从事癌症干细胞研究的顶尖科学家和年轻研究人员之间活跃的科学交流；以及E)通过出版会议纪要来传播研讨会的报告。我们进行了广泛的工作，以吸引来自不同学科的杰出科学家参加这次研讨会。我们预计，观众可能包括牙科和医学科学家、病理学家、肿瘤学家、耳鼻喉科医生、口腔颌面外科医生、生物学家和数学家，他们对干细胞和头颈癌有着共同的兴趣。我们预计将有80-120人参加。研讨会分4个主要会议，为期2天，其中1个主题演讲，然后是3个研究讲座，每个会议有充足的讨论时间。为了培养下一代科学家，将鼓励年轻研究人员参加，在竞争的基础上颁发12个旅行奖项，并从年轻研究人员那里挑选最多8个摘要进行简短口头陈述。组委会将在挑选演讲者和与会者时认真考虑，以培养平衡的听众，并确保妇女、少数群体和残疾人有充分的参与机会。本次研讨会的预期成果包括传播这一新兴头颈肿瘤学领域的知识，建立新的研究合作关系，以及加速将实验室研究成果转化为改善头颈癌患者的治疗方法。 公共卫生相关性：拟议中的首届头颈部癌症干细胞研讨会与公共健康的相关性在于，它有可能加速为晚期头颈癌患者发现更安全、更有效的治疗方法的进程。这一点至关重要，因为目前治疗对这些患者的益处不大，而且他们的5年存活率仍然很低。本次研讨会的总体目标是传播癌症干细胞生物学领域的最新进展，并鼓励该领域的合作新研究项目，最终目标是开发旨在改善头颈癌患者生存和生活质量的新疗法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The First Symposium on Head and Neck Cancer Stem Cells is planned for May 10-11, 2012, at the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Stem cells play an important role in the pathobiology of cancer. However, the impact of stem cells in the initiation and progression of cancer is tumor-type specific. While in certain tumors most cells are highly tumorigenic (e.g. melanoma), in others there is a small sub-population of stem cells that are the primary responsible for the initiation and progression of the tumor (e.g. breast cancer). This Symposium will be the first one to focus on the role of stem cells in head and neck carcinogenesis. The understanding of the biology of stem cells in head and neck cancer is pivotal for the development of new strategies to identify these cells and to selectively eliminate their contribution to tumor growth and progression. The overall goal of this Symposium is to present and discuss the most recent advances in the area of cancer stem cell biology, stimulate state-of-the-art collaborative new research projects in this field, and use the new knowledge in the design of more efficacious and safer therapies for head and neck cancer patients. The specific aims of this Symposium are A) To present and discuss the state-of-the-science in cancer stem cell biology; B) To present and discuss the role of stem cells in the pathobiology of head and neck cancer; C) To identify challenges that impedes progress in head and neck cancer stem cell research and propose strategies to overcome these roadblocks; D) To foster lively scientific exchanges among leading scientists and young researchers engaged in cancer stem cell research; and E) To disseminate the symposium presentations by publishing its proceedings. We have worked extensively to attract outstanding scientists across a spectrum of disciplines for this Symposium. We expect that the audience will likely include dental and medical scientists, pathologists, oncologists, otolaryngologists, oral maxillofacial surgeons, biologists, and mathematicians with a common interest in stem cells and head and neck cancer. We anticipate 80-120 participants. The Symposium is organized in 4 main sessions over a period of 2 days, with 1 keynote talk, followed by 3 research talks, and ample time for discussion in each session. To cultivate the next generation of scientists, young investigators will be encouraged to attend by granting 12 travel awards distributed in a competitive basis, as well as by selecting up to 8 Abstracts from young investigators for short oral presentations. The organizing committee will provide careful consideration in selecting speakers and participants to foster a balanced audience and to ensure ample opportunities for participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. The expected outcomes of this Symposium include the dissemination of the knowledge in this emerging area of head and neck oncology, the establishment of new research collaborations, and the acceleration of the translation of laboratory findings into improved therapies for patients suffering from head and neck cancer. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The relevance to public health of the proposed First Symposium on Head and Neck Cancer Stem Cells lies in its potential to accelerate the process of discovery of safer and more efficacious therapies for patients with advanced head and neck cancer. This is critical since the current benefits of therapy are modest for these patients, and their 5-year survival remains very low. The overall goal of this Symposium is to disseminate the most recent advances in the area of cancer stem cell biology and stimulate collaborative new research projects in this field, with the ultimate goal of developing new therapies that aim at improving the survival and quality of life of patients suffering from head and neck cancer.