Aacr Meeting 2014 Pancreatic Cancer Sessions

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AACR ANNUAL MEETING
APRIL 5-9, 2014, SAN DIEGO, CA

PANCREATIC CANCER SESSIONS

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting is quickly approaching. To assist in your planning, following are sessions that specifically focus on pancreatic cancer. Many are being spearheaded by advisors and grantees of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. To access AACR’s itinerary planner and locate other relevant scientific and poster presentations, click here.

Sessions organized by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network are designated by a .

Educational Session
Anti-Ras Drug Discovery: Mission Impossible?
Saturday, April 05, 2014, 1:00 PM -- 3:00 PM
Room 30A-C, San Diego Convention Center
Chairperson: Dafna Bar-Sagi. New York Univ. Langone Medical Ctr., New York, NY
Oncogenic mutations in Ras are prevalent in a wide spectrum of human tumors and their presence predicts resistance to all current target-based therapies. Despite extensive efforts over nearly three decades, no effective strategies for intervening with the function of Ras oncogene have been identified to date. The goal of this session is to provide an account of ongoing efforts to exploit new molecular, biochemical and cellular information for the design of anti-oncogenic Ras therapeutic strategies.

Meet-the-Expert Session
The Dominant Immune Suppressive Process in a Model of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Therapeutic Target
Sunday, April 06, 2014, 7:00 AM -- 8:00 AM
Room 28A-C, San Diego Convention Center
Invited Speaker: Douglas T. Fearon. Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Inst., Cambridge, United Kingdom
Human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is resistant to therapy with T cell checkpoint antagonists, suggesting either that the tumors are not immunogenic, or that another immune suppressive process exists. This Meet-the-Expert session will discuss recent studies (Kraman M, et al. Science 2010; and Feig C, et al., PNAS 2013) that provide evidence for the immune suppressive role of the carcinoma-associated fibroblast (CAF) that expresses Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP). Depleting FAP+ CAFs from PDA tumors of the KPC mice (Hingorani and Tuveson, Cancer Cell 2005) allows immune control of tumor growth. Immune suppression by the FAP+ CAF is mediated by its biosynthesis of the chemokine, CXCL12, which physically associates with PDA cancer cells and prevents the accumulation of T cells. Treating mice with AMD3100, an antagonist of the CXCL12 receptor, CXCR4, causes the rapid appearance of intra-tumoral T cells unveils PDA sensitivity to antibody to PD-L1, and eliminates cancer cells. Since many studies have shown that the KPC model of PDA replicates the human disease in many respects, these findings have prompted plans for assessing the effect of blockade of CXCR4 in human PDA.

Meet the Research Icon Session
Meet the Pancreatic Cancer Research Icon: Margaret A. Tempero, M.D.
Sunday, April 06, 2014, 4:00 pm -- 5:00 pm
AACRcentral, Exhibit Hall A-E, San Diego Convention Center
This interactive and informal session is an opportunity to chat with a senior pancreatic cancer physician-scientist and learn how she charted a successful career in this field. Meet Dr. Margaret A. Tempero, Director of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Pancreas Center, Rombauer Family Distinguished Professor in Pancreas Cancer Clinical and Translational Science at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine at UCSF and member of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Scientific Advisory Board. Learn about the opportunities that exist in the pancreatic cancer research field and broaden your professional network. Career suggestions and tips will be provided. Topics to be addressed relate to post-doctoral development, starting your own laboratory, choosing a mentor, grantsmanship, networking, publications, collaborations, biospecimen access, little known professional opportunities, etc. This session will take place in the AACR Amphitheatre located in AACRcentral.

Special Session
Realizing Patient Benefit: Four-Year Results From the SU2C Dream Teams
Monday, April 07, 2014, 12:45 PM -- 2:15 PM
Room 6B, San Diego Convention Center
Drs. Daniel D. Von Hoff (TGen, Phoenix, AZ) and Rajesh Kumar Nv. (Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD) will present an update entitled: “Cutting off the Fuel Supply: A New Approach to the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer.”

Career Conversations Session
Career Conversations: Career Paths in Pancreatic Cancer Research
Monday, April 07, 2014, 4:00 pm -- 5:00 pm
AACRcentral, Exhibit Hall A-E, San Diego Convention Center
The pancreatic cancer research community continues to seek new investigators to join efforts in the laboratory and clinic. This session, which focuses on career paths in the field of pancreatic cancer, will be co-led by Dr. M. Celeste Simon, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and Scientific Director of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute and Dr. Andrew D. Rhim, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Assistant Director for Translational Research in the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Michigan Medical School and Comprehensive Cancer Center. Both Drs. Simon and Rhim received 2013 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network – AACR grants. This informal and interactive session will provide the opportunity to engage with both a renowned established investigator and a highly successful early career, clinical investigator and will focus on basic, translational and clinical research paths in pancreatic cancer. Pick up new ideas and suggestions about career paths, priority research needs for the field, post-doctoral opportunities, funding opportunities, how to start your own laboratory, the importance of clinical trials, choosing a mentor, networking and collaborations, etc. The forum will be an open dialogue, and question and answer format. Come meet others in the field and share your experiences. This session will take place in the AACR Amphitheatre located in AACRcentral.

Special Session
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-AACR Research Grants Poster Presentation and Discussion
Tuesday, April 08, 2014, 10:30 am -- 12:30 pm
Gallery 1-2, Omni San Diego Hotel
This session aims to stimulate opportunities for collaboration between Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-AACR grantees and others in the pancreatic cancer research field. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has adopted a goal of doubling survival from pancreatic cancer by the year 2020 and is building a robust Community for Progress comprised of researchers working together to accelerate scientific and medical advances. The grants portfolio targets early career and established investigators. Funding mechanisms support new and cutting-edge ideas and approaches, accelerate projects poised for important next steps, encourage team science, and provide strategic management support to fast track research with a clinical component. Beyond the financial support of their research, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-AACR grantees are provided with opportunities for information exchange and collaborations, professional development, and mentorship. Come meet the 2013 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-AACR grantees, learn about their funded projects and participate in the discussion. The session moderators serve on the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s Scientific and Medical Advisory Boards.

Pancreatic Cancer: Organ Site Research
Pancreatic Cancer: Current Concepts in Organ Site Research
Tuesday, April 08, 2014, 1:00 pm -- 3:00 pm
Room 33A-C, San Diego Convention Center
Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease that strikes without warning and responds poorly to therapies. Improved approaches of modeling pancreatic cancer offer the opportunity to delve more deeply into the basic biology and medical applications for this disease, and will be discussed here. For example, recent studies have shown that the epigenetic alterations in pancreatic cancer cells play important roles in tumorigenesis and will be highlighted as potential therapeutic targets. In addition, new diagnostic methods that can detect the disease in its earliest stages will be described, for potential applications as early detection methods in high risk patients. Finally, new means to trigger a specific immune response to pancreatic cancer cells will be demonstrated, with promising clinical applications. An improved future for our patients will be dependent upon scientific breakthroughs such as those covered in this session.

Special Session
RAS Pathway Social Interactome
Tuesday, April 08, 2014, 5:00 PM -- 6:30 PM
Room 1, San Diego Convention Center
Following upon the success of the inaugural RAS Interactome Session at the 2013 Annual Meeting, Frank McCormick and Stephen Friend will be returning to host a session focused on community building for RAS/RAF researchers. Through text mining of abstracts and a survey sent to AACR attendees, the interactome application will provide a visual map of research within RAS and highlight areas of interest within this community—enabling attendees of this session to identify potential collaborators working in adjacent areas. Annual Meeting attendees focused on RAS are welcome to attend this session to view a demonstration of the interactome and to provide feedback.