Thursday, May 2, 2024
5/2/2024
ABSTRACT Accelerated understanding of nervous system functions and cancer has led to cancer neuroscience evolving into a new frontier of discovery in cancer biology and therapy. The proposed hybrid Cancer Neuroscience: An Emerging Hallmark symposium will be held both on-site at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and virtually in recognition of the comprehensive role the nervous system plays in cancer, including its initiation, growth, and spread. A platform such as this one that nurtures interdisciplinary discussions among oncologists, neuroscientists, immunologists, and cancer biologists is an unmet need. Based on the highly successful, first-of-its-kind 2022 Cancer Neuroscience Symposium that included more than 1200 participants from 70 countries, we propose to create a platform for cross-fertilization of adjacent disciplines with the long- term goal of improving cancer treatment and services with targeted inclusion of variables and outcomes in cancer neuroscience research aiming to reduce disparities based on race, sex, gender, and age. We are seeking partial support to enable rising postdoctoral fellows, trainees, and junior faculty to attend the Cancer Neuroscience Symposium. The proposed program will feature a keynote session on communication between cancer and the nervous system in the brain and another keynote session on these interactions in the peripheral nervous system. The scientific program will include pioneering results on the impact of cancer on the central and peripheral nervous systems, neural regulation of cancer, cross-talk between nerves and immune cells, nerves and glial cells in cancer growth and spread, community and patient advocacy and brain health during cancer therapies, and neural injury in cancer patients. Our overall goal is to leverage advances in neuroscience and fertilize ideas from key opinion leaders in cancer biology as well as to leverage advances in immuno-oncology and other clinically relevant fields as focus areas (e.g., the biology of aging). To achieve this goal, we aim to 1) enable attendees of the Cancer Neuroscience Symposium to gain knowledge about cancer neuroscience investigations and methodologies and foster collaboration and cross-institution mentorship to advance the field of cancer neuroscience around the world; 2) recruit and invite speakers and attendees from diverse backgrounds (i.e., race, sex and gender) to participate in the Cancer Neuroscience Symposium and make a significant impact on the field’s future directions; 3) encourage investigators at very early stages of their careers to further pursue interdisciplinary cancer neuroscience research as a long-term career; and 4) provide financial registration and travel support to enable trainees and students to present their research at the Cancer Neuroscience Symposium in a safe, public scientific environment. This “call to arms” will spur research to help fill critical gaps across the spectrum of cancer patient care and treatment strategies. The Cancer Neuroscience Symposium will be at the leading edge of the intersection of exciting new breakthroughs in the world of neurobiology and discoveries in fundamental cancer biology that will break down the barriers that have separated these fields in the past.
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