's Biography

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Prof Klaus Pantel (MD, PhD) graduated in 1986 from Cologne University in Germany and completed his thesis on mathematical modelling of hematopoiesis in 1987. After his postdoctoral period in the USA on hematopoietic stem cell regulation (Wayne State University, Detroit), he performed research at the Institute of Immunology, University of Munich for 10 years. Currently, Prof Pantel is Chairman of the Institute of Tumour Biology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. The institute is part of the Hubertus Wald Cancer Center/University Cancer Center Hamburg (UCCH). The pioneer work of Prof Pantel in the field of cancer micrometastasis and circulating tumor cells is reflected by more than 200 publications in excellent high ranking biomedical and scientific journals (incl. NEJM, Lancet, Nature Journals, PNAS, JCO, JNCI, Cancer Res.) and has been awarded recently (AACR Outstanding Investigator Award 2010, German Cancer Award 2010, ERC Advanced Investigator Grant 2011). Moreover, Prof Pantel is member of the Editorial Boards of several international cancer journals (e.g., Clin. Cancer Res., Breast Cancer Res.) and organizer of international symposia (ISMRC) on minimal residual cancer and circulating tumor cells.

Circulating Tumor Cells: Current State and Future Perspectives

Friday, 11 May 2012 at 09:30

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Microscopic spread of cancer cells is usually undetected by current imaging technologies. Therefore, a variety of sensitive methods have been developed to detect circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the peripheral blood. The capture of CTC that are surrounded by millions of blood cells is based on the physical and/or biological properties of cancer cells. Thus far, only the automated CellSearchTM system has been cleared by the FDA. However, many assays including the CellSearchTM system rely on EpCAM for CTC capture and cytokeratins for CTC detection but these epithelial marker proteins can be downregulated during epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Besides assessing the clinical utility of CTC for assessment of prognosis, monitoring of CTC during and after systemic therapy can provide unique information for the clinical management of individual cancer patients. In particular, the molecular analysis of CTC as “liquid biopsy” will give new insights into therapeutic targets and the selection of tumor cells under specific therapies. In addition, molecular and functional characterization of CTC opens a new avenue for understanding metastatic spread of tumor cells with important implications for future therapies. Implementation of CTC analyses in clinical trials testing new anti-cancer agents as companion diagnostics will speed up the cumbersome and expensive drug validation process in oncology.

Add to Calendar ▼2012-05-10 00:00:002012-05-11 00:00:00Europe/LondonMolecular Diagnostics EuropeMolecular Diagnostics Europe in London, EnglandLondon, EnglandSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com

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