Introduction

Evading programmed cell death is a major hallmark of cancer cells and contributes to tumour progression and therapy resistance. Emerging hallmarks such as metabolic plasticity, genomic instability and an immunosuppressive tumour environment allow the tumours to escape from standard cytotoxic as well as targeted therapies. Thus, understanding the underlying mechanisms in appropriate pre-clinical/clinical models is crucial for the design of more effective combination therapies to avoid treatment failure or tumour recurrence.

Building on the strong success of four previous editions, this will be the 5^th conference on this topic. Its objective is to cover recent and exciting developments in the field of cancer research that are crucial to our understanding of the multifaceted role of cell death in tumour initiation, progression and therapy response.

Target audience

The conference aims to bring together scientists from different fields of cancer research with an interest in the role of cell death and its deregulation in cancer initiation, malignant progression, and therapy resistance. The conference will also be of interest to scientists exploiting deregulated cell death pathways, or the consequences of therapy-induced cell death for improving treatment outcome. Given its translational character, the conference is of broad interest for basic scientists, medical and clinician scientists as well as representatives from industry. We will provide various opportunities for early stage basic and translational cancer researchers, and young clinicians to present their work to the international community and to meet experts in the field of cell death research in an inspiring informal atmosphere to share research findings, to build their own network and to establish or strengthen collaborations.

Topics to be covered

• Basic mechanisms of cell death, e.g. apoptosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, and autophagy
• Senescence
• Metabolic reprogramming and therapeutic targeting
• Cancer cell plasticity and resistance to cancer therapies
• Tumour immunology and microbiota
• Therapy-induced immune activation
• New combination strategies
• Immunotherapy - Opportunities & Challenges

Scientific Programme Committee

• Patrizia Agostinis, Belgium
• Peter de Keizer, Netherlands
• Simone Fulda, Germany
• Verena Jendrossek, Germany (Chair)
• Marion MacFarlane, UK

Follow us on twitter for updates @EACRnews and engage with the conference with #EACRLifeOrDeath20
 

Coronavirus update

We are actively monitoring WHO statements and travel advice on the current outbreak of coronavirus; the most recent WHO statement advises against any restrictions on international travel based on the current situation. We advise participants to pay attention to travel advice from your own country’s government.

The organisation of the conference remains on schedule and the normal participant cancellation policy applies. If anything changes we will inform participants as soon as possible.

Above: the beautiful city of Bergamo