Professor Volker Schirrmacher from the IOZK in Cologne opens the conference at Kiel University with his lecture on research into oncolytic viruses in connection with individual cancer immunotherapy.
Kiel Oncology Network hosts nationwide symposium on tumor immunology at Kiel University
On April 26, 2019, around 80 cancer researchers from all over Germany will meet at the 3rd Kiel Oncology Network Symposium at the Kiel Science Center. The theme of this year's event is tumor immunology and the associated opportunities and challenges for future immunotherapies.
At the heart of this subfield of oncology is research into immunological processes involved in the defense against cancer cells. The resulting therapeutic approaches aim to trigger specific immune responses, thereby causing the death of tumor cells or inhibiting tumor growth. The Kiel Oncology Network (KON), an association of oncologists within the Kiel Life Science (KLS) research focus at Kiel University (CAU), will comprehensively present the activities and focal points of Kiel's cancer research in this field during the conference. The focus will be on three main aspects: diagnostics, therapeutic concepts, and the diverse strategies tumors use to evade immune responses. In this forum, scientists will report on their current research in over 20 presentations.
Promising approaches for future forms of treatment
The symposium is being organized by Professor Susanne Sebens from the Institute for Experimental Tumor Research at the Medical Faculty of Kiel University and the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), who, together with her colleagues, is driving forward the Kiel Cancer Research Network (KON). "In recent years, there has been an immense gain in knowledge in tumor immunology, which has already improved the treatment of many types of cancer," emphasizes Sebens. "But even for those types of cancer that cannot yet be treated satisfactorily, we hope that our research will lead to decisive therapeutic advances in the future," Sebens continues.
One example of the great potential of tumor immunology research lies in the further improvement of antibody therapy. Cancer researchers in Kiel, among other places, are developing specific antibodies that can be used to introduce cell-killing substances into tumor cells in order to combat them. Research into certain viruses that can specifically attack and kill cancer cells also opens up promising possibilities for combination with immunotherapy approaches. "Such oncolytic viruses have the ability to selectively infect tumor cells and destroy them in such a way that an immune response directed against the tumor is generated," emphasizes Professor Volker Schirrmacher from the Immuno-Oncology Center Cologne (IOZK), who is making a key contribution to the symposium as one of the plenary speakers. "We use these special features in Cologne for individualized cancer immunotherapy. This is characterized by only minor side effects," Schirrmacher continues.
From research to everyday treatment
Another aspect of the symposium and of cancer research in Kiel in general is its strong translational orientation: KON not only aims to promote scientific exchange and intensive cooperation between basic and clinically oriented researchers working in the field of oncology. It also offers comprehensive training and continuing education programs for physicians. To this end, the scientists of the Kiel research network collaborate with, among others, the Schleswig-Holstein Medical Association, which recommends the KON event series to its members for continuing education. Sebens and her colleagues hope that only through close exchange between researchers, clinics, and practicing physicians will improved treatment options in the fight against various cancers emerge in the future.
About the Kiel Oncology Network (KON)
The Kiel Cancer Research Network was founded in 2013 as part of the CAU research focus Kiel Life Science with the aim of bringing together the research activities of as many basic and clinically oriented researchers as possible in the field of oncology and promoting their collaboration. KON thus encompasses a broad spectrum of long-standing and excellent expertise in the field of oncology, including tumor biology, genetics and epigenetics, immunology, pharmacology, pathology, structural biology, and state-of-the-art imaging techniques. KON's vision is to use comprehensive and multidisciplinary analysis strategies to gain a significantly improved understanding of all the important steps in tumor evolution and resistance mechanisms to cancer therapies. This knowledge forms the basis for the development of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to significantly improve the prognosis and survival of cancer patients.
https://www.uni-kiel.de/de/detailansicht/news/129-kon-symposium/
