The mortality from cancer remains high and the vast majority of cancer patients die from metastatic, treatment-resistant disease. No major genetic drivers of metastatic disease have so far been identified. Rather, the concept is developing that metastasis is regulated by complex interactions with the host and diverse microenvironmental niches. Cancer cells can adapt to and shape the microenvironments of the distant organs. Conversely, the metastatic niches can foster cancer cell growth while microenvironmental changes driven by age, life style choices, and comorbidities can generate fertile soil for the disseminating cancer cells to survive and expand.

The aims of this meeting are to:

1. Address existing knowledge gaps in tumor-host interactions and mechanisms that drive metastasis;
2. Explore opportunities to better study metastasis in patients and diverse model systems;
3. Highlight emerging research areas, including the effects of the nervous system, the macro-environment, and cancer cell chromosomal instability on metastasis;
4. Support new ideas and innovation in metastasis research by highlighting rising stars in the field as plenary speakers and workshop presenters.

The meeting will bring together a diverse set of cancer biologists, systems biologists, engineers, and translational scientists that rarely have the opportunity to interact, to collectively asses the many drivers of metastatic disease and generate a new, host-centric view of metastasis. This interdisciplinary meeting will spark new collaborations and inspire new research directions toward identifying novel vulnerabilities that can be targeted to conquer metastatic cancer.

This conference will be held jointly with the Keystone Symposium on Neural Influence on Cancer, Tumor Microenvironment and Cancer Immunology to enable cross-disciplinary insights and collaborations towards neural drivers and/or suppressors of metastasis.

Meeting Organizers, Drs. Mikala Egeblad, Julio Aguirre-Ghiso and Manuel Valiente, talk about why you should attend this meeting in the video below:

Excited about the meeting. Check out some of the speaker highlights: