This proposal requests funds to support a two-day international symposium on Environmental Skin Cancer: Mechanisms, Models and Human Relevance to be held on October 16 and 17, 1992 in Cleveland, Ohio. The major objective of this symposium is to provide a forum for clinicians who manage cutaneous malignancies and experimental investigators working in multiple areas of skin carcinogenesis research to come together and discuss recent clinical and research findings. To achieve this goal, leading experts from around the world working in virtually all of the major areas of cancer biology will present """"""""state-of-the-art"""""""" knowledge in this area of scientific investigation. Epidemiological studies conducted in human populations at risk of developing neoplasms, and experimental studies conducted in human tumor tissue specimens will also be discussed as one of the focal themes of this symposium. The panel will address the problem of relating animal data to human cancer. To maximize interaction among speakers and attendees, the meeting will be limited to 200 registrants. Attendees will be encouraged to present their current research in a poster session format. Most important, speakers and attendees will participate in discussion groups to formulate an agenda for research in skin cancer for the next decade. A summary of the meeting will be prepared and submitted for publication in Cancer Research. This timely and unique conference promises to provide a compendium of the latest knowledge in the field of cutaneous carcinogenesis and the role of environmental factors in the development of these types of neoplasms.
