Hormone-dependent cancers represent a major component of morbidity and mortality caused by malignancies. Two such diseases, prostate and breast cancer, will account for ~465,000 cancer diagnoses and nearly ~70,000 deaths in 2014 in the US. Further, hormones drive other cancers (ovary, testes, endometrium), and influence the etiology of lung and liver cancer. Developing better treatments for these cancers is critical, given their dramatic impact on human health. To address this, the goal of the 2015 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) Hormone-Dependent Cancers, entitled Mechanisms to tailored therapeutics, is to encourage interaction and exchange of ideas to fuel new projects and collaborations across disciplines, identify translational opportunities, and create improved therapies targeting hormone-dependent cancers. The 2015 meeting is designed to maximize interaction among participants, in order to engender creativity and cross-fertilization of ideas across scientists and clinicians from academia and industry, with basic, translational, and clinical research expertise. Integrating these disciplines, coupled with the intimate, open and collaborative environment of GRC meetings, is an important and unique strength of this meeting. This meeting will bring together basic scientists with translational researchers, industry scientists, and physician-scientists that can apply new findings to novel model systems, lead drug development, and test new clinical strategies. Novel observations from the clinic can be brought back to the laboratory to identify new targetable pathways. This is the only GRC meeting that integrates basic, translational, and clinical aspects of multiple solid tumors. The 2015 GRC is also unique in its dedication to the development of the next generation of scientists, via a new Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), entitled Bridging research in hormone response and resistance in cancer. Held prior to the GRC, the GRS is a unique forum specifically for early-career researchers (ECRs; graduate students, post-docs, and clinical fellows). The GRS is a novel format that will build the foundation of the future community of scientists studying hormone-dependent cancer. This proposal requests support specifically for ECRs, so that no ECR is excluded from attending for financial constraints. Overall, this meeting will generate new ideas and collaborative projects, and identify the translational opportunities that can ultimately lead to improved therapies. This unique environment will develop the future leaders of this field, ensuring continued progress in advancing our understanding the biology of hormone- dependent cancers and improving patient outcomes.
Cancers that are driven by hormones, including breast and prostate cancer, are a major cause of the suffering and mortality caused by cancer in the United States. The 2015 Gordon Research Conference 'Hormone- Dependent Cancers: Mechanisms to tailored therapeutics' will bring together scientists and physicians from academia and industry to fuel new projects and collaborations. Ultimately, the goal of this meeting is to initiate the research that will lead to improved therapies targeting hormone-dependent cancers.
