World-class experts will meet from 24 to 26 September. The event is sponsored byUCBM
Strengthening one's immune system and 'vaccinating' against cancer: it is one of the many paths that researchers want to take to try to defeat a disease that is among the main causes of death in the Western world. Experts from all over the world will take stock of the state of the art in research in this field and will meet in Rome for the "14th International Conference on Advances in Cancer Vaccination (PIVAC14) ".
The conference, which is organized in collaboration with the EACR (European Association for Cancer Research), and which was sponsored byUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma (UCBM) and the National Research Council (CNR), will be held from 24 to 26 September. The event was organized by Prof.ssa Emanuela Signori, teacher atUCBM and head of the laboratory of Molecular Pathology and Experimental Oncology of the Institute of Translational Pharmacology of the National Research Council (CNR-IFT), together with the Prof. Federica Cavallo, immunologist at the University of Turin.
In particular, the researchers will explore the potential of the different vaccination strategies, discussing the first positive results of the clinical and pre-clinical trials conducted in recent years. In this edition, particular emphasis will be given to the possibility of using nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) as drugs administered through the so-called electrotransfer technique. A method that would make it possible to increase the effectiveness of genetic vaccines which, unlike traditional vaccines characterized by the administration of live, inactive or killed microorganisms, use DNA vectors to transport the gene sequences that activate the body's immune response into the cells. As part of the Rome conference, a session will be dedicated to this topic, sponsored by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), the intergovernmental body for European cooperation which distributes research funds, through the COST Action TD1104-EP4Bio2Med programme.
"The 'vaccination' and immunotherapy against cancer - comments Emanuela Signori - they can represent innovative alternative strategies or support to current oncological treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The preliminary results of the pre-clinical and clinical studies conducted so far are very promising, though - points out - there is still a long way to go to reach their full use in clinical practice”. The news that emerged from the congress will be reported in the scientific journal Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy.
