13^th Asia-Pacific Oncologists Annual Meeting October 17-19, 2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Biography:

Mauricio Camus A is a Breast Surgeon, Associate Professor, and Chief of the Department of Surgical Oncology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He is the President of Chilean Society of Mastology during 2014-2016; President of Federation of Cancerology Societies of South America (2012-2014); Vice-president Chilean Society of Surgeons (2010-2012); President Chilean Society of Cancerology (2008-2010). He is an active member of the Board of the Senologic International Society and President of the Scientific Committee of the Latin American Federation of Mastology. He has published 18 papers in reputed international journals and 35 papers in Chilean journals. He has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of 2 repute journals.

Abstract:

Introduction: Papillary breast lesions are rare and constitute less than 10% of benign breast lesions and less than 1% of breast carcinomas.

Objective: To analyze the clinical presentation, preoperative evaluation, and surgical and anatomopathological characteristics of the patients operated on for papillary breast lesions.

Material & Methods: It is a retrospective descriptive and analytical study. We analyzed the database of patients with definitive histopathological diagnosis of papillary breast lesions operated on at our institution from January 2004 to May 2013.

Results: During the period described, 70 patients with histopathological diagnosis of papillary breast lesions were operated upon. The median age was 50 years (19–86 years). Thirty-seven patients (52.8%) were symptomatic at diagnosis. Preoperative ultrasound was reported to bealtered in all patients. A mammography showed pathologic findings in only 50% of cases. All patients underwent partial mastectomy, afterneedle localization under ultrasound, if the lesion was not palpable on physical examination. The final pathological diagnosis was: benignpapillary lesion in 55 patients (78.6%) and malignant in 15 patients (21.4%). Adjuvant treatment was performed in all malignant cases. Median follow-up was 46 months (3–115 months).

Conclusions: Patients with papillary breast lesions presented with symptoms in half of all cases. There was a high frequency of malignancy (21.4%), therefore surgical resection was recommended for papillary breast lesions.

Biography:

Christian Ntizimira is the Head of Advocacy & Research department of Rwanda Palliative Care and Hospice Organization and worked with Rwanda Ministry of Health and Consultant in Palliative Care for Human Rights Watch (HRW) in Senegal. He is a Palliative Care Expert and Educator. He pioneered integration of end of life care into health services rendered to Rwandan patients with chronic illnesses in acute care and community settings. He is a Research Collaborator & Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Harvard Global Equity Initiative-Lancet Commission on Global Access to Pain Control and Palliative Care (GAPPCP).

Abstract:

Multi-disciplinary palliative care for patients with any cancer is rarely integrated into the public healthcare system at all levels in Africa. In Rwanda, we have developed palliative care services in a district general hospital and linked these services to home care. In a public district hospital that includes 60% of the population of Kigali, we initiated adult and pediatric pain relief and palliative care programs for cancer patients with short-term technical assistance and training by foreign experts. Available services include inpatient and home care provided by physicians, nurses, social workers and pharmacists with basic training in palliative care and home hospice care provided by a private home hospice organization. As of March 2015, more than 200 patients had received inpatient palliative care. Anecdotal data indicates a high level of satisfaction by patients and family members with palliative care services provided and a reduced tendency of patients with end-stage diseases to pursue costly treatment abroad. In Africa, palliative care is not optional. It is not an extra, an ‘add-on’, a luxury or an after-thought. It is an essential component of human cancer care. To develop cancer treatments without parallel development of palliative care is a cruel injustice to the millions of cancer patients around the world who suffer needlessly. In every country, it is absolutely essential that when people talk about access to radiotherapy and cervical cancer screening and chemotherapy- all vitally important- they must also be talking in equal measure and with equal conviction about access to palliative care.

Biography:

Devishree V Rai has completed her BDS degree from A B Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences & Hospital and is presently pursuing her MDS degree from SDM College of Dental Sciences & Hospital. She has presented poster titled “Virtopsy” for the National Conference held in Lucknow. She has presented case report on “Acromegaly” in PG Convention held in Bangalore. She has presented case report on “Odontogenic Myxoma” in a National Conference held in Mangalore. She has also been awarded the research grant from Indian Council of Medical Research for her dissertation.

Abstract:

Oral cancer imposes a considerable problem worldwide being a highly lethal and disfiguring disease. According to the report of the World Health Organization, oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the most common intraoral subtype is squamous cell carcinoma. The formation or progression of oral cancer may be associated with a polymorphism of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene. OSCC was associated with significantly elevated serum VEGF concentration and higher level of serum VEGF also correlated with lymph node metastasis and clinical stage of OSCC. There have been association of VEGF-460C/T polymorphism in oral cancer, diabetic retinopathy, breast cancer, prostate cancer, but very few studies are known to validate the association of the VEGF gene with potentially premalignant conditions like oral submucous fibrosis. The most frequently seen polymorphism is BstUI (C to T) located at the -460^th nucleotide upstream of the VEGF gene. With the malignant transformation rate of OSMF being 7-30%, VEGF gene -460C/T can become an important prognostic marker. The aim of our study was to assess the polymorphic nature of VEGF -460C/T gene in subjects with oral submucous fibrosis of North Karnataka population and analyze the comparison between the association of VEGF -460C/T polymorphism in patients with oral submucous fibrosis and healthy controls.

Biography:

Kahlil Lawless studied Biomedical Science at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Following a scholarship at Australia National University he conducted research for the state government of Victoria in Melbourne, and now works for Illumina in the South-Asia Pacifi c Region as a Product Marketing Manager with a focus on the use of genomics in Oncology.

Abstract:

The steep drop in price and increases in output of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), as well as the emergence of new methods and studies, are at the forefront in changing our understanding and management of cancer. Kahlil Lawless from Illumina delves into the opportunities and challenges of applying NGS to oncology practice, and highlights recent publications around large-scale initiatives, innovative techniques, and the promise of precision medicine. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies continue to deliver new insights into cancer biology, and these are being increasingly leveraged to develop new therapies and testing methods to support management of cancer. We review come recent translational studies where Illumina NGS has been used, and evaluate the potential challenges and benefi ts associated with routine adoption of these methods in practice.

Biography:

Craig Pierson earned his BSc in Zoology from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. His work started with Ovine Linkage Mapping projects while at AgResearch in Dunedin and continued into genome sequencing while at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He has trained and supported customers in Sanger sequencing, qPCR, NGS, and gene expression applications while at Applied Biosystems, Illumina, HTG, VelaDx and ArcherDx. He joined the ArcherDX team as a Field Application Specialist in July, 2015.

Abstract:

The landscape of driver mutations in cancer encompasses many types of mutations occurring across many genes. These include copy number variants (CNVs), single nucleotide variants (SNVs), insertions and deletions (indels), exon skipping and gene fusions. Traditional molecular testing to detect each of these mutation types in clinical samples cannot be easily coupled to detect all possible mutation types in a single sample. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) on whole transcriptome (RNA-Seq) enables comprehensive profiling of expressed mutations. However, low sensitivity and high cost renders RNA-Seq impractical for routine clinical use. Target-enrichment strategies for NGS, such as Anchored Multiplex PCR (AMP™), increase read depth and enhance sensitivity. AMP uses unidirectional gene-specific primers and molecular barcoded adapters ligated to DNA ends for amplification. This enables amplification of both known and unknown mutations and increases coverage of target regions. We developed AMP-based Archer® FusionPlex® assays to detect the presence and expression of known and novel SNVs, indels, exon skipping and fusions from RNA transcripts. Here, we used FusionPlex assays to detect each mutation type in RNA extracted from clinical sample types, including: EGFR L858R SNV in a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) FFPE sample; FLT3 internal tandem duplications (ITDs) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blood samples; MET exon 14 skipping in NSCLC FFPE samples and; EML4-ALK fusion in an NSCLC FFPE sample by breakpoint identification and expression imbalance. Together, these results demonstrate that FusionPlex assays enable comprehensive NGS-based detection of expressed mutations in RNA extracted from clinical sample types.

Biography:

Sarita Das has completed her MSc in Biotechnology from KIIT University, India and is currently pursuing PhD in Cancer Biology from KIIT University, India. She has published 3 research papers in international journals.

Abstract:

Based on the pharmacophoric features of the natural product, combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) and its synthetic analogues that inhibit tubulin polymerization, a series of novel 2-aryl-3-arylamino-imidazo-pyridines/pyrazines as potential antitubulin anticancer agents were designed. They were synthesized by a one-pot method involving preparation of isocyanides from the anilines via formylation and subsequent dehydration followed by their reactions with heterocyclic-2-amidines and aldehydes. Compounds 1, 2, 14, and 15 were found to exhibit significant tubulin polymerization inhibition and disruption of tubulin–microtubule dynamics similar to that of CA-4. They showed potent anticancer activities in kidney, breast and cervical cancer cell lines, and relatively low toxicity to normal cells, compared to CA-4. The compounds induced DNA and chromosomal damage, and apoptosis via cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. The molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies revealed that disruption of microtubule dynamics might occur by interaction of the compounds at the colchicine binding site at the a,b-tubulin heterodimer interface, similar to that of CA-4. Molecular modelling analysis showed that two of the three methoxy groups at ring A of all four potent compounds (1, 2, 14, and 15) were involved in bifurcated hydrogen bonding with Cysb241, an important molecular recognition interaction to show tubulin inhibitory activity. In comparison to CA-4, the bridging NH and the imidazo-pyridine/pyrazine moieties in the title compounds provide flexibility for attaining the required dihedral relationship of two aryls and additional pharmacophoric features required for the interaction with the key residues of the colchicine binding site.

Biography:

He is a working as a Research Scholar from Toho University, Japan. Makoto Sumazaki is extending his valuable service as a Research Scholar in Breast and Endocrine Surgery for years and has been a recipient of many award and grants. His research experience includes various programs, contributions and participation in different countries for diverse fields of study. His research interests as a Researcher reflect in his wide range of publications in various national and international journals.

Abstract:

Invasive lobular carcinomas have an increased propensity for distant metastases, particularly to the peritoneum, ovaries, and uterus. In contrast, distant metastases of nonpalpable lobular carcinomas are extremely rare, and the causes of underlying symptoms of primary carcinomas remain unclear. We report a case of an asymptomatic invasive lobular carcinoma with a primary mammary lesion in a patient with rectal stenosis. Peritoneal metastasis from nonpalpable invasive lobular carcinomas is very rare. However, breast cancer metastasis should be considered when carcinomatous peritonitis is present in a patient with an unknown primary cancer. A 69-year-old woman presented to us for treatment of constipation. Although rectal stenosis was confirmed, thorough testing of her lower digestive tract did not identify its cause. Thus, an exploratory laparotomy and tissue biopsy was performed, and the presence of an invasive lobular carcinoma was confirmed. Subsequent breast examinations showed that the invasive lobular carcinoma that led to the rectal stenosis was a metastasis from a primary lesion of the breast duct. As the present breast lobular carcinoma was asymptomatic and nonpalpable, we did not initially consider metastatic breast cancer as a cause of her symptoms.       

Biography:

Syed Mozammel Hossain has completed his FCPS in Surgery from BCPS Bangladesh. He is working at Khulna Medical College and Hospital since 1998. Currently, he is the Associate Professor and Head of the Department of the Surgery unit of Khulna Medical College and Hospital. He has published more than 30 papers in well reputed national and international journals and has been serving as an Assistant Editor of BMA journal. He is doing collaborative research on breast cancer for last 10 years with International Breast Cancer Research Foundation, USA.

Abstract:

In premenopausal women with metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, hormonal therapy is the first-line therapy. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue+tamoxifen therapies have been found to be more effective. The pattern of recurrence risk over time after primary surgery suggests that peri-operative factors impact recurrence. Secondary analyses of an adjuvant trial suggested that the luteal phase timing of surgical oophorectomy in the menstrual cycle simultaneous with primary breast surgery favourably influenced long-term outcomes. 249 premenopausal women with incurable or metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer entered a trial in which they were randomised to historical mid-luteal or mid-follicular phase surgical oophorectomy followed by oral tamoxifen treatment. Kaplane Meier methods, the log-rank test and multivariable cox regression models were used to assess overall and progression-free survival (PFS) in the two randomised groups and by hormone-confirmed menstrual cycle phase. Overall survival (OS) and PFS were not demonstrated to be different in the two ran- domised groups. In a secondary analysis, OS appeared worse in luteal phase surgery patients with progesterone levels <2 ng/ml (anovulatory patients; adjusted hazard ratio 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89-2.41, p=0.14) compared with those in luteal phase with progesterone level of 2 ng/ml or higher. Median OS was two years (95% CI: 1.7e2.3) and OS at four years was 26%. The history-based timing of surgical oophorectomy in the menstrual cycle did not influence outcomes in this trial of metastatic patients.

Biography:

Balaya Vincent is resident of Obstetrics/Gynecology in the Department of Gynaecological, Oncological and Breast Surgery at Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris and researcher at the Human Anatomy Department at University Paris Descartes.

Abstract:

Uterine cervical cancer is the second gynaecological cancer worldwide. Its incidence started remarkably dropping in developed countries where it is mostly constituted of early stages that are associated with good prognosis. As a consequence, the major concern became to find ways to improve the quality of life of the affected patients and to limit the considerable iatrogenic morbidities resulting from the treatments provided primarily pelvic lymphadenectomy. Sentinel lymph node biopsy was developed for this aim.

     Normally a  sentinel  node  corresponds  to the first  node  that  drains  a solid  tumour  as  such;  its status is considered representative of the status of the other draining  nodes.  The objective of this technique is to perform a selective sentinel lymph node sampling while preserving the remaining lymph nodes in a way to limit the morbidities mostly those related to the lymphatic drainage. It was shown in the literature that the combined isotopic and colorimetric technique with the capacity of pre and intra-operative detection was an applicable strategy with an excellent detection rate and diagnostic value and with minimal false negative results when it comes to bilateral detection. This combined technique also puts into evidence the aberrant drainage territories that are not systematically picked during lymphadenectomies and can be the source for future recurrence. Another advantage to be added to the list is lymph node ultra-staging; this anatomopathological processing is performed over a limited number of nodes and aims at detecting the micrometastases that can be missed on the routine processing performed over lymphadenectomies specimen and that are of major prognostic importance. Concerning the indications, sentinel lymph node biopsy concerns patients with early stage cervical cancer and with small tumour size. Novel methods like fluorescence and SPECT-CT are now being investigated as new strategies of detection aiming at the improvement and implementation of this technique in the daily practice.

Early stage uterine cervical cancer is associated with a good prognosis, especially in patients without nodal metastases. The management should take into consideration the quality of life of patients by reducing the iatrogenic morbidities related to the treatment. Sentinel lymph node biopsy can solve this drawback. The combined technique proved itself as a feasible strategy with excellent detection rates and diagnostic value.

Biography:

Ivy Chung completed her PhD from State University of New York at Buffalo and Postdoctoral studies from Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston. She currently is an Associate Professor in Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. She is also the Deputy Dean of Wellness Research Cluster for the Institute Management of Research and Innovation in the same university. She is actively looking to expand her collaborative network in various aspect of oncology research in this region.

Abstract:

Cancer was once thought to be a ‘stand-alone’ malignancy where we treat patients with drugs that target only cancer cells. Recently, more evidence is showing that cancer cells do not thrive alone, they rely on their environment to maintain their survival and to progress into an aggressive state. We found that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) isolated from human endometrial cancer (EC) tissues secreted high levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), which promotes EC cell proliferation in vitro. Neutralizing IL-6 activity reduced while IL-6 recombinant protein increased EC cell proliferation.  IL-6 receptors (IL-6R and gp130) were expressed only in EC epithelial cells but not in CAF, indicating a one-way paracrine signaling. In the presence of CAFs, Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT3) pathway was activated in EC cells, which led to induction of a target gene, c-Myc protein. CAFs-mediated cell proliferation was dependent on c-Myc expression, as RNAi-mediated c-Myc down-regulation led to a significant reduction in cell viability. The effect of CAFs in promoting EC cell proliferation was also evident in a subcutaneous tumor xenograft model. Further investigation showed that IL-6 receptors, phosphorylated-STAT3 and c-Myc were highly expressed in human EC tissues than in benign endometrium. Taken together, our data suggests that IL-6 secreted by CAF induces c-Myc expression to promote EC proliferation in vitro and in vivo. IL-6 pathway can be a potential target to disrupt tumor-stroma interaction in endometrial cancer progression.

Biography:

AbdulAziz AlHamad, MD FRCP (C)–Radiation Oncology is a Consultant of Radiation Oncology at Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract:

Introduction: Hypofractionated breast irradiation became as standard option; however, many limitations restrict such regimen like the safety for chest wall & lymphatic irradiation. In this trial, we would evaluate our result for cosmetic outcome for our breast cancer patients who have been treated with hypofractionated regimen.

Method: We did prospective study of single institute, with total of 75 patients of breast cancer who underwent adjuvant hypofractionated radiotherapy either for breast or chest wall irradiation ± lymphatic irradiation. All patients received 42.4/16fx ± boost of 10Gy/4 fx. We did evaluate their acute dermatitis and skin pigmentation according to CTC 3.0 by the last day of radiotherapy and late skin dermatitis & skin pigmentations on follow up assessment at 6 & 18 weeks post therapy. Then we compared the outcome for both groups in regard of each outcome.

Result: Out of 75 female patients of breast cancer (34 patients (45.33%) had lumpectomy) vs. (41 patients 54.66% had mastectomy) for the acute dermatitis, there was no significant difference between both groups (p value=0.14), for late skin dermatitis again there was no significant difference (p value=0.159). For acute skin pigmentation, there was no significant difference (p value=0.283), while for the late skin pigmentation there was significant difference (p value=0.028) in favor of patients who had hypofractionated breast irradiation.

Conclusion: Our prospective trial revealed that adjuvant hypofractionated radiotherapy is safe practice for patients who underwent lumpectomy or mastectomy with caution to late skin pigmentation, further proper randomized trial is demanded for proper assessment of therapeutic & cosmetic outcome for hypofractionated radiotherapy.

Biography:

Gaspar Banfalvi studied Pharmacy and completed his Doctorate in Szeged (1972), spent two years at the Institute for Drug Research in Budapest (1972-1974). He completed his Degrees (CSc, DSc and Med Habil) at the Department of Medical Chemistry, Budapest (1974-2000). He held the position of Chair in the Department of Biology at University of Debrecen (2000-2005). He teaches Medical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Genetics and Physiology. He visited: for four years BBRI-Harvard Medical, Boston, six months Harvard University, five months Leiden, six months NCTR, Jefferson, AR and eight months Weizmann Institute. His topic of research is on “DNA structure, function, genotoxicity and metastasis”

Abstract:

Tumor cell lines have been established in our department to follow the pattern of metastasis formation in rats. Tumor progression could be traced reliably by orthotopic implantation of tumor cells in peritoneal (liver) and retroperitoneal (kidney) organs. Upon abdominal primary tumor formation, the tumor cell population exhibited markedly similar abilities characterized by: tumor cells originating from peripheral ruptures of blood vessels near the surface of the primary tumors were shed into the abdominal cavity; tumor cells released in the abdomen crossed the stomata of the diaphragm; tumor cells accumulated in thoracal, primarily in parathymic (internal mammary) lymph nodes and; after exhausting the defense capacity of the parathymic lymph nodes, the metastatic migration continued in the superior thoracal lymph node chain where the chyle returned to the vascular system. Colloidal carbon particles injected into the peritoneal cavity mimicked faithfully the migration of tumor cells. The direct lymphatic connection and migration of abdominal tumors cells to thoracal lymph nodes provided an explanation for the origin of thoracal and breast cancer metastasis. It is assumed that metastasis associated with the poor prognosis in breast cancer patients is related to the lack of knowledge of thoracal spread of tumor cells from abdominal primary tumors.

Biography:

Craig Pierson earned his BSc in Zoology from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. His work started with Ovine Linkage Mapping projects while at AgResearch in Dunedin and continued into genome sequencing while at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He has trained and supported customers in Sanger sequencing, qPCR, NGS, and gene expression applications while at Applied Biosystems, Illumina, HTG, VelaDx and ArcherDx. He joined the ArcherDX team as a Field Application Specialist in July, 2015.

Abstract:

Tumors within the same anatomic locations often show significant heterogeneity, exhibiting diverse mutation and gene expression profiles. Distinct cellular origins or microenvironments of tumor-initiating cells have both been shown to uniquely influence the development of specific driver mutations. For example, lung cancer subtypes that arise from different anatomic locations exhibit distinct mutation profiles. Furthermore, subtypes of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) exhibit unique clinical behaviors and can be distinguished based on their cell-of-origin (COO), which can be identified based on the cells’ unique gene expression patterns. Therefore, identification of a tumor’s COO through gene expression profiling aids in the prediction of tumor behavior. Despite advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect mutations, these assays often cannot measure gene expression, leaving the COO elusive. Archer® FusionPlex® assays are based on Anchored Multiplex PCR (AMP™), a target enrichment strategy for NGS that uses molecular barcodes that enable the counting of unique molecules to assess differences of expression levels across target genes and between samples. This allows for simultaneous mutation detection and gene expression profiling to identify COOs. We analyzed expression patterns to predict the cellular origins of several 100 lung tumor FFPE samples by performing a principle components analysis on data generated by FusionPlex Comprehensive Thyroid Lung (CTL) NGS assays. Similarly, we identified DLBCL subtypes in a small cohort of samples using the FusionPlex Pan-Heme assay. These results show that AMP-based NGS, which is used to identify multiple mutation types, can also identify the cellular origins of tumors through gene expression profiling.

Biography:

Michael Bilous studied Medicine at Cambridge and Birmingham Universities and completed his Pathology Training in New Zealand and Australia. He was the  Head of the Tissue Pathology Department at Westmead Hospital until 2010. Currently, he is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Sydney and Conjoint Associate Professor at the University of Western Sydney. He has maintained a long standing interest in Breast and Gastrointestinal Pathology and written prolifi cally on breast and gastrointestinal pathology. He was a member of the Asia-Pacifi c task force and the 2013 ASCO/CAP update committee that published.
recommendations on HER2 testing in gastric and breast cancer, respectively.

Abstract:

Gastric cancer (GC) is the second most common malignancy aft er lung cancer and the third leading cause of death in Eastern Asia. As early gastric cancer is generally asymptomatic, patients oft en present with inoperable advanced or
metastatic disease. Importantly, the median survival time for patients with advanced or metastatic GC is less than a year. Given the above, exploring options that can help predict the prognosis and guide treatment of GC is of great importance. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression has been correlated with poor outcome and a more aggressive
disease in patients with GC in several studies. Th e assessment of HER2 has also led to the development of targeted therapy for the treatment of GC with trastuzumab. Th e Trastuzumab for Gastric Cancer (ToGA) trial demonstrated that patients suffering from advanced GC with HER2 overexpression experienced an overall survival (OS) beyond one year following treatment with trastuzumab and chemotherapy. As HER2 is the only validated marker for  predicting trastuzumab response, accurate detection of HER2 overexpression is essential. Enabling this, international recommendations for HER2 testing have been modifi ed to form APAC-specifi c HER2 testing guidelines. The guidelines contain recommendations that span the pre-analytic to postanalytic
stages of HER2 testing, emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and account for the challenges of day-to-day testing faced by laboratories in APAC.

Biography:

Thamil Selvee Ramasamy earned her PhD in Clinical Medicine Research Programme from Imperial College London, UK. Currently, she serves as the Head of Cell & Molecular Biology Laboratory, Central Research Facility and as a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. She has been actively engaged in stem cell research for a decade now and been invited to present the research findings in many national/international meetings. Currently, she also serves as the President of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society of Malaysia. She acts as a Sub-editor and Peer-Reviewer of a number of academic journals.

Abstract:

Hepatocellular carcinoma remains one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide with chemoresistance and recurrence being the major hurdles leading to the failure of conventional anti-cancer treatment. Acquired resistance and metastasis are the two key challenges thought to be caused by cancer stem cells (CSC), a sub-population of cancer cells with stem cell properties, which are enriched upon conventional chemo- or radio-therapy. Numerous lines of evidence unravel the molecular mechanism undelying differential phenotypic behaviour of CSC, importantly; (1) the stem cell related signaling pathways, including Wnt/β-catenin, Sonic Hedgehog, Notch and PI3K/Akt/mTOR, (2) microRNA and epigenetics (3) the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and (4) evading from the immune system. Acquisition of these properties masking CSCs from being targeted by anti-cancer agents. Therefore, development of new strategies and discovery of  inhibitors/lead compounds to enhance the chemosensitisation in CSC via reversal of EMT, modulation of critical regulators such as signaling pathways, microRNA and epigenetics, have the potential to be developed as an adjuvant anti-cancer treatment modalitites. The current effort are channeled towads the development and furmulation of these molecules using nanotechnology approaches to overcome the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic drawbacks in order to develop an effective and targeted therapy for eradicating cancer.

Biography:

Sumitha S has completed her MBBS from KMC, Manipal University and currently pursuing her internship in Kasturba Medical College and Hospital, Mangalore, Karnataka, India. She has been a part of various research works under different departments and participated in medical conferences held across India.

Abstract:

Supportive care includes those activities that ease the symptoms or the side effects of treatment. Research show that cancer patients are satisfied with clinical aspects of their care but they are dissatisfied with the information received about the disease, treatment and their side. The objective was to assess the supportive care needs of cancer patients under the following heads: Psychological; health system and information; physical and daily living and; patient care and support. A questionnaire based cross-sectional study (sample size=154) was done. Study tool used was supportive care needs survey short form-31 (SCNS-SF31) in the preferred language. Study population was cancer patients, above 18 years of age, diagnosed at least three months prior to the study. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 12 and mean scores along with standard deviations were expressed for each domain. Student independent test was used to know the observed difference between means across groups was statistically significant (‘p’<0.05). Out of 154 cancer patients, majority were females (88). Psychological needs of majority of cancer patients were met. There were unmet physical and daily living needs like handling the pain and tiredness with females having higher needs than males. Patients were found to have unmet needs in patient care and support domain, felt that the hospital staff were not empathetic (63.6%), and did not reassure that the way they feel is normal. Patients had unmet needs in getting information regarding tests (48.1%), benefits and side effects of treatment (49.4%), things to do to help themselves to get well (66.2%). This study will help doctors and hospital staff to address the felt needs of the cancer patients. Assessing the supportive care needs helps the caregivers to plan their supportive care according to the patient’s needs.

Biography:

Balaya Vincent is resident of Obstetrics/Gynecology in the Departement of Gynecological, Oncological and Breast Surgery at Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris and researcher at the Human Anatomy Department at University Paris Descartes.

Abstract:

Objectives: To  review the characteristic ultrasound features of primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC) and its relationship to the clinical history in order to establish specific findings useful for the preoperative diagnosis.

Method: An extensive review of the current literature was done on Medline via PubMed by using the following key-words: Primary Fallopian tube cancer , tubal cancer, adnexal malignancy mass, and ultrasound.

Results: PFTC corresponds to a complex, sausage shaped structures or cystic adnexal masses. A thick and an irregular capsule is in favour of a malignant lesion. Three-dimensionnal ultrasound is superior to 2-D ultrasound for the detection of tubal wall irregularities such as papillary projections or pseudosepta who were suggestive of tubal malignancy and allows a better assessment  of the extent of tumor infiltration through the capsule. Neovascularization with low resistance indices are typical of tubal malignancy. Three-dimensionnal power Doppler sonography accurely detected structural abnormalities of the malignant tumor vessels which are randomly dispersed within the papillary projections. Intra uterine collection and peritumoral fluid are often finded but ascite could be also an indirect proof of peritoneal carcinosis.

Biography:

Fazlul D Sarkar has completed his PhD from Banaras Hindu University and continued Post-doctoral studies at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute in New York. He has published 555 peer-reviewed research articles and review articles, and also published 50 book chapters. He edited four books and he is an Academic Editor for PLoS One, and also serves on the editorial board of 10 cancer journals. His basic science research led to drug discovery and he is an expert in conducting translational research including clinical trials.

Abstract:

Background: Th e combined annual mortality from pancreatic cancer (PC) and colon cancer (CC) is estimated to 88,170 deaths which surpasses the toll from breast and prostate cancer combined (72,280 deaths), and it represents the second leading cause of death aft er lung cancer (157,300 deaths), with no cure in sight, which is in part due to both intrinsic (de novo) and extrinsic (acquired) resistance to conventional therapeutics. Th is disappointing outcome is in part due to our inability to kill cancer cells that have undergone the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) reminiscent of cancer stem/stem-like cells
(CSCs) which are resistant to conventional therapeutics. The aggressiveness of PC, and recurrence of CC (aff ects nearly 50% of patients treated by conventional therapeutics), is in part due to the re-emergence of chemotherapy-resistant CSCs. If these cells are the “root” of treatment failure, then elucidation of their intracellular signaling processes and discovering ways to target those events would be of immense importance for overcoming drug resistance especially by killing those resistant cells.
Methods: Our working hypothesis was that treatment failure in PC and CC is primarily due to therapeutic resistance contributed by the presence or enrichment of EMT-phenotype cells or CSCs, which must be eliminated to eradicate tumor and prevent tumor recurrence. We tested our hypothesis in preclinical (in vitro and in vivo) studies using both PC and CC cells by investigating whether our newly developed small molecule CDF, derived from a natural agentcurcumin, could be useful in killing drug resistant cells. We also investigated whether specifi c microRNAs (miRNAs) may in part be responsible for the killing of drug resistant cells by CDF alone or in combination with conventional therapeutics.
Results: We found that CDF could up-regulate the expression of miR-200 (low expression is the “hallmark” of CSCs and drug resistance) and reduced the expression of miR-21 (high expression is the “hallmark” of CSCs and drug resistance associated with tumor aggressiveness) in gemcitabine-resistant PC cells. Down regulation of miR-21 by CDF resulted in the induction of PTEN, an endogenous negative regulator Akt signaling. We also found decreased expression of EZH2 and increased expression of a panel of tumor-suppressive miRNAs (let-7a, b, c, d, miR-26a, miR-101, miR-146a, and miR-200b, c that are typically lost in PC) by CDF. Mechanistic investigation showed that the re-expression of miR-101 by CDF led to decreased expression of EZH2
and the killing of CSCs. We also found that CDF in combination with 5-fl uorouracil and oxaliplatin (5-FU + Ox) were able to kill the CSCs derived from CC cells. Moreover, we found that the expression of miR-34a and miR-34c was down-regulated in CC specimens compared to normal colonic mucosa and the loss of expression was consistent with data from CC cell lines.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that deregulation of miRNAs and their targets by CDF is mechanistically associated with overcoming drug resistance in both PC and CC. Moreover, CDF could become a novel demethylating agent for restoring the expression of miR-34 family and potentially other miRNAs, and thus CDF could become a newer therapeutic agent for the treatment of both PC and CC, which could be largely due to the killing of CSCs, resulting in overcoming drug resistance and tumor recurrence.

Biography:

Malek Zihlif has completed his PhD from University of New South Wales, Post-doctoral studies from Stanford University School of Medicine. He is the Head of Pharmacology department at the School of Medicine, University of Jordan. He has published more than 25 papers in reputed journals. His research focuses on “How cells adapt to different condition and how cells overcome harsh condition such as hypoxia and drug assault”.

Abstract:

Hypoxia is a feature of most tumors and consider as a negative prognostic and predictive factor because of its role in the chemoresistance, radioresistance, angiogenesis, invasiveness, metastasis and resistance to cell death. Around 40% of all breast cancer and half of the locally advanced breast cancers include regions aff ected by hypoxia. Th is study was designed to simulate real hypoxic conditions as much as possible with the aim of characterizing the gene expression changes in metabolic and hypoxic related genes in response to long term hypoxia in MCF7 breast cancer cell line. Th e MCF7 breast cancer cells
were exposed to hypoxia episodes (1% oxygen) in two diff erent patterns. Th e fi rst was to expose the cells to 8 hours of hypoxia every other day with a total of 60 eposides and the second was to expose the cells to 72 hours of hypoxia every week for a total of 20 weeks. RNA was extracted at diff erent intervals in the two patterns and gene expression level was determined for the targeted genes. Regarding the hypoxic pathway genes, marked changes were identifi ed aft er both patterns of hypoxia. Half of the genes (12 genes) that shown remarkable changes were common to both conditions. Th ose common genes include the insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3, tumor protein p53 and endothelin-1. However, there was a very interesting observation regarding the gene expression of a gene called the hepatocyte nuclear factor 4, alpha (HNF4A) gene that was the most up-regulated genes in both cases scoring 32 folds aft er 60 hypoxic shots and 14 folds aft er 10 shots of 72 hypoxic shots.
Such changes in HNF4 were confi rmed using western blotting. Regarding the metabolic pathway changes, again some changes were observed giving a clear indication for switch from using glucose pathway as a scours of power toward using a diff erent pathway called pentose phosphate pathway. In conclusion, a collective gene expression data on diff erent long term hypoxic pattern fi rstly proposed HNF4A as a potential biomarker in tumor hypoxia and a major player in MCF7 breast cancer cell response to chronic hypoxia and secondly, indicate a switch in the normal metabolic pathway toward a new adapted pentose
phosphate pathway.

Biography:

Zubaida Hassan has completed her MSc in the year 2015 from Universiti Putra Malaysia. She has published two papers in reputed journals and attended conferences and workshops. She is now an Academic Staff of the Department of Microbiology, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, Nigeria.

Abstract:

The pharmacological and/or biological activity of organic molecules isolated from plants or microbes can be used to treat human diseases. In this review, the anticancer effects of plant based and biotherapy has been compared. Traditional medicine systems in most countries were formed on plant-based natural products. The compound 1-(2,6-dihydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) ethanone (DMHE) isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the Phaleria macrocarpa (Scheff.) Boerl fruit was found to cause a significant decrease in cell proliferation in HT-29 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner after a 72 h treatment primarily due to necrosis. In another studies the potential anti-cancer activity of the Saussurea involucrata extract against hepatic cancer in vitro and its partial molecular mechanisms of activities were investigated. The results demonstrated that the extract has strong anti-cancer activity against liver cancer without significant effect on normal cells. However, probiotics known to boost human immune system are now been studied for anticancer properties through apoptosis. Interested to note is that probiotics found in human breast milk (E. faecalis and S. hominis) were able to cause significant decrease in MCF-7 (up to 33.29%) cell proliferation with no significant difference between the treated and the untreated MCF-10A cell line (>90% viability). Similarly, Lactococcus lactis spp lactis induced a strong anti-proliferative activity through S-phase accumulation in SNUC2A cells. Since apoptosis mechanism of cancer cell death is vital in chemotherapy-induced tumor cell death, biotherapy may be more comfortable supplement and future alternative to the current chemotherapy compared to the plant base therapies.

Biography:

Mauricio Camus A is a Breast Surgeon, Associate Professor, and Chief of the Department of Surgical Oncology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He is the President of Chilean Society of Mastology during 2014-2016; President of Federation of Cancerology Societies of South America (2012-2014); Vice-president Chilean Society of Surgeons (2010-2012); President Chilean Society of Cancerology (2008-2010). He is an active member of the Board of the Senologic International Society and President of the Scientific Committee of the Latin American Federation of Mastology. He has published 18 papers in reputed international journals and 35 papers in Chilean journals. He has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of 2 repute journals.

Abstract:

Introduction: Although breast conserving treatment (BCT) has been standard practice for more than 20 years, there was no
consensus on what constitutes an optimal negative margin width, until the last 2 years.
Objective: To review the Consensus Guidelines on Margins for BCT with whole-breast irradiation in DCIS and in Stages I and II invasive breast cancer.
Material & Methods: A multidisciplinary consensus panel used a meta-analysis of margin width and ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) from a systematic review of 33 studies including 28,162 patients for invasive breast cancer and a review of 20 studies including 7,883 patients for DCIS.
Results: Positive margins (ink on invasive carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in situ) are associated with a 2-fold increase in the risk of IBTR compared with negative margins. For invasive breast cancer, negative margins (no ink on tumor) optimize IBTR.
Wider margins widths do not significantly lower this risk. Th e routine practice to obtain wider negative margin widths than ink on tumoris not indicated. For DCIS, a 2-mm margin minimizes the risk of IBTR compared with smaller negative margins. More widely clear margins do not significantly decrease IBTR compared with 2-mm margins.
Conclusions: Th e use of no ink on tumor is the standard for an adequate margin in invasive cancer. A 2-mm margin is the standard for an adequate margin in DCIS. Clinical judgment should be used in determining the need for further surgery in DCIS patients with negative margins narrower than 2-mm. Both consensus guidelines have the potential to decrease reexcision
rates, improve cosmetic outcomes, and decrease health care costs.