News from the NCRI Cancer Conference

NCRI Cancer Conference Newsletter

December 2011

Dear ,

This year's NCRI Cancer Conference was a great success and we would like to give a big thank you to all our delegates, speakers, session hosts, Programme Committee members, sponsors and exhibitors for attending and supporting the seventh annual Conference. Here are some highlights from this year's Conference and information about the 2012 NCRI Cancer Conference.

Highlights of the NCRI Cancer Conference

Watch videos: Videos from the Conference are now available. These include Professor Annie Anderson discussing the link between obesity and cancer and Professor Andrew Feinberg talking about epigenetics and cancer.

Listen to podcasts: Several podcasts were recorded during the Conference. These include discussions with top scientists and clinicians on topics such as the importance of diet and weight to bowel cancer patients, and the effect of lifestyle on the side effects of prostate cancer treatment. There is also a discussion between Professor Patrick Johnston and Dr Murray Brennan on the big issues in cancer care in the US and the UK.

See photos: Take a look at a selection of photos taken during the Conference.

And...

Read blog posts: See a selection of Cancer Research UK blog posts from each day of the Conference.

Award winners

Several awards are presented during the Conference. Congratulations to this year's winners.

Alexandra Leary &

Caroline Dive

Alexandra Leary (The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK) was awarded the Association for Cancer Physicians (ACP) McElwain Prize for her research on the dual EGFR/HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, lapatinib, in breast cancer.

Rebeka Sultana et al. (University of Nottingham, UK) were awarded the AstraZeneca Student Prize Award for their work on synthetic lethal targeting of DNA double strand break repair deficient cells by human APE1 inhibitors.

Dimitry Psheztskiy (Imperial College London, UK) was awarded the British Association for Cancer Research (BACR) AstraZeneca Young Scientist Frank Rose Award for research into the role of sphingosine kinase 1 in the development of proinflammatory tumour microenvironment and prostate cancer chemoresistance.

James Flanagan (Imperial College London, UK) was awarded the British Association for Cancer Research (BACR) Translational Research Award for his work on the epigenome to find biomarkers of cancer risk and prognosis.

Wei Dai et al. (Imperial College London, UK) were awarded the British Association for Cancer Research (BACR)/Gordon Hamilton-Fairley Young Investigator Award for their research into identification of prognostic biomarkers for epithelial ovarian cancer.

Jennifer Lynch et al. (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland & National Children's Research Centre, Ireland) were awarded the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) McElwain Award for their work on MiR-335 in neuroblastoma cells.

A comprehensive list of the winners of the NCRI Prize Awards and the Richard Hambro Student Prizes is also available on the Conference website.

Inspiring research scientists of the future

This year we had great success in engaging with local schools when over 50 A

level students attended a special event created for them at the Conference. They heard about the impact cancer research is having on patient outcomes, how involvement of patients and carers can enhance research as well as learning about the many different career options in both basic and translational research. The day involved both talks and interactive activities with the students playing a cancer risk board game and seeing the potential impact of sun damage using age-progression software.

All abstracts published online

Delegates to get access to speaker presentations

Speakers' and all accepted abstracts are available online to browse and search. For information on citing abstracts please view our online citation guidelines.

Delegates of this year's Conference will also be able to access a selection of speaker presentations. Further information about this will be sent to all delegates by email.

Feedback on the Conference

Thank you to everyone who submitted feedback

on the 2011 NCRI Cancer Conference. The results of the survey are currently being analysed and will be available in early 2012. We look forward to reading your suggestions and taking them on board to further improve the Conference next year.

Cancer Research UK Prizes

This year's Conference began with the Cancer Research UK Prize ceremony.

Professor Chris Marshall FRS

was awarded the

2011 Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research Prize.
He was presented with a trophy and gave the opening

plenary lecture about his research.

The 2011 Cancer Research UK Translational Cancer Research and Future Leaders in Cancer Research Prizes were also awarded.

The Translational Cancer Research Prize was awarded to a multi-organisation collaborative team in Manchester led by Professor Caroline Dive, who have substantially contributed

to the field of translational biomarker research and early clinical trials.

Professor Thomas Brunner and Dr Sarah Martin were both awarded the Future Leaders in Cancer Research Prize. The Prize was awarded to Thomas Brunner in recognition of his clinical and research achievements in radiation oncology, particularly in improving the outcome of pancreatic cancer. Sarah Martin received the Prize for her achievements in investigating DNA damage repair as a target for therapy in cancer.

Nominating your colleagues for the Cancer Research UK Prizes is an excellent opportunity to gain international recognition for the achievements made by cancer researchers at your institution. Nominations for the 2012 Prizes are now open, with a deadline of 11 April 2012 - see the Cancer Research UK website for more information.

Consumers at the Conference

Each year patients and carers are involved in the planning of the Conference programme, as well as hosting specific workshops and parallel sessions. Highlights from this year's Conference included a workshop about patient experiences of being recruited to a clinical trial, led by patients from the Welsh Cancer Research Network, and a session including pupils from the Thomas Alleyne School in Stevenage, who spoke about a cancer awareness campaign held in their school.

There was a high level of interest around the Consumer Liaison Group (CLG) stand, where delegates could meet CLG members and hear about research activities they had been involved in. View the CLG Annual Report 2010-11.

Enquiries about the achievements of the CLG are welcomed via ppi@ncrn.org.uk.

NCRI Conference in the press

Over the four days of the 2011 NCRI Cancer Conference, the press team issued press releases on some of the most exciting pieces of research being presented. This resulted in 11 broadcast interviews and more than 400 pieces of print and online coverage.

Our biggest story was on a study showing that the incidence of cervical cancer is up in young women, despite falling overall. It was covered by the Daily Mail, Mirror, Times, Independent, Sun, Guardian, BBC and Telegraph, as well as ITV and Sky News. The other stories were also picked up by BBC Scotland, the Evening Standard, Yorkshire Post, Manchester Evening News, as well as hundreds of other regional and trade media.

2012 NCRI Cancer Conference: 4-7 November 2012

The preliminary programme for 2012 is now available. More information on sessions and speakers will be added as soon as it is available so visit the website regularly for updates.

Important dates for 2012

Monday 2 April Friday 1 June

Abstract submission opens Online registration opens

Tuesday 5 June Friday 3 August

Abstract submission closes Earlybird registration closes

Wednesday 1 August Sunday 30 September

Late breaking abstract submission opens Online registration closes

Tuesday 28 August

Late breaking abstract submission closes

Sponsorship and exhibition opportunities

A wide range of sponsorship opportunities are available for the 2012 NCRI Cancer Conference. Becoming a sponsor will reinforce your company's position as a leading player in cancer research and treatment and provide you with access to high quality audiences. Opportunities include brochure adverts, branding, prime exhibition stands and the sponsorship of speakers and sessions.

The Conference Trade Exhibition is a prime opportunity for you to showcase products, technology and services, promote your organisation and create invaluable contacts within the UK cancer research community. The Trade Exhibition is an integral part of the Conference and exhibitors gain a range of benefits in addition to showcasing their organisation.

Please visit the NCRI Cancer Conference website for more detailed information about sponsorship opportunities and the Trade Exhibition, including booking a stand for the 2012 NCRI Cancer Conference.

The Conference also welcomes satellite meetings and commercial workshops. There are limited slots for lunchtime sessions so please contact the NCRI Conference Secretariat as soon as possible to discuss your requirements.

Thank you for your interest in the NCRI Cancer Conference. Please help us by on to friends and colleagues.

With best wishes,

NCRI Cancer Conference Secretariat

illumina logo This newsletter is sponsored by Illumina. Illumina offers a comprehensive line of products that address the scale of experimentation and the breadth of functional analysis required to achieve the goals of molecular medicine. Our offering includes leading-edge solutions for: SNP genotyping, copy number variation, DNA methylation studies, gene expression profiling, low-multiplex analysis of DNA, RNA, and protein.

The National Cancer Research Institute

The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) is a UK-wide partnership between the government, charity and industry. It promotes co-operation in cancer research among the 22 member organisations for the benefit of patients, the public and the scientific community.