ESF Research Conferences

ESF-EMBO Symposium

Molecular Biology and Innovative Therapies in Sarcomas of Childhood and Adolescence

29 September - 4 October 2012

Preliminary Programme

The conference will bring together biologists and clinicians to implement the interdisciplinary approach that is needed to advance research and therapy of rare childhood sarcomas. Newest results in molecular and biological research such as molecular characterization and identification of new targets for therapy, identification of novel risk factors for stratification, and new animal models will be combined with novel insights from clinical studies. This interdisciplinary approach will be used to discuss strategies on how novel agents can be incorporated into current treatment strategies directly in the course of the conference. The unique format of bringing together high-level researchers working on different sarcomas such as rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma and other very rare soft tissue sarcomas should further stimulate this goal.

Saturday 29 September
17:00–19:00Registration at the ESF Desk                          
19.00
Welcome Drink
19:30
Dinner
Sunday 30 September
08:30-08:45

Conference Opening and Welcome Message from the Chair

Session I : Clinical Research 
Chair:  Lee Helman, NIH, US
08:45-09:15 Uta Dirksen, University Hospital Münster, DE
Ewing Sarcoma- an overview on diagnosis, treatment and prognostic factors
09:15-09:45
 Ewa Koscielniak, Olga Hospital Stuttgart, DE
Identification of molecular signatures in soft tissue sarcoma  and their impact on therapy stratification
09:45-10:05Sabine Stegmaier, Olga Hospital Stuttgart, DE,
Prognostic Value of PAX/FOXO1 Fusion Status in Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Report from the Cooperative Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group (CWS)
10:05-10:25 Karoly Szuhai, Leiden university Medical Center, NL,
A novel tumor entity characterised by an EWSR1-NFATc2 translocation with variable histological features
10:30-11:00
Coffee Break
Session II: Tumor biology of sarcoma
Chair: Stephen Lessnick, University of Utah, US
11:00-11:30
Heinrich Kovar, St. Anna Childrens Hospital, AT
Multilayered gene regulation in Ewing sarcoma: from genomics to biology
11:30-12:00
Olivier Delattre, Institute Curie, FR
Ewing sarcoma, the right oncogene in the appropriate genetic and cell backgrounds
12:00-12:20
Gerald Grosveld, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, US,
The role of downstream targets of PAX3-FOXO1 in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma
12:20-12:40
Simone Hettmer, Harvard University, US,
Target identification in rhabdomyosarcomas induced in mouse skeletal muscle
12:45
Lunch

Session III: Transcriptional control and epigenetics
Chair: Poul Sorensen, University of British Columbia, CA

14:30-15:00

Stephen Lessnick, University of Utah, US
EWS/FLI and its targets in Ewing sarcoma

15.00-15:20Günther Richter, Technische Universität München, DE,
Novel target structures for therapy and diagnosis of Ewing tumors
15:20-15:40
Roland Kappler, University of Munich, DE,
Epigenetic silencing of developmental genes in rhabdomyosarcoma
15:40-16:00Elizabeth Lawlor, University of Michigan, US,
Determination of DNA methylation changes that contribute to the initiation and progression of Ewing sarcoma
16:00-16:20
Raphaela Schwentner, Children's Cancer Research Institute, AT,
EWS-FLI1 is the cofactor of E2Fs in Ewing Sarcoma
16:20-16:50
Coffee Break

Session IV: Animal models of rhabdomyosarcoma
Chair: Heinrich Kovar, St. Anna Childrens Hospital, AT

16:50-17:20
Charles Keller, Oregon Health & Science University, US
The COG DIPG Preclinical Symposium
17:20-17:50
Heidi Hahn, Institut für Humangenetik Göttingen, DE
The role of the Hedgehog Signaling Pathway in Rhabdomyosarcoma
17:50-18:20
David Langenau, Massachusetts General Hospital, US,
Zebrafish Models of Rhabdomyosarcoma
19:00    
Dinner
20:30-22:00
Poster Session
Monday 1 October
Session V: Identification of novel critical pathways
Chair: Heinrich Kovar, St. Anna Childrens Hospital, AT
08:45-09:15Timothy Triche, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, US
Non-coding RNA Dictates Diagnosis and Prognosis in Rhabdomyosarcoma
09:15-09:45
Poul Sorensen, University of British Columbia, CA
Searching for drivers of metastasis in high-risk childhood sarcomas
09:45-10:05 Carlos Mackintosh, University of Salamanca, ES,
From secondary alterations to therapy: 1q gain, CDT2, cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases, and MLN4924 in Ewing sarcoma
10:05-10:25 Michele Bernasconi, University Children's Hospital Zurich, CH,
Role of the proprotein convertase furin in rhabdomyosarcoma progression and potential as target for therapy
10:30-11:00
Coffee break & Group Photo
Session V: continued
Chair: Peter Houghton, Nationwide Childrens Hospital, US
11:00-11:30
Janet Shipley, Institut of Cancer Research, UK
Histone demethylase gene family members and myogenic differentiation of rhabdomyosarcoma cells
11:30-11:50
Taosheng Chen, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, US,
Identification of novel transcriptional targets and downstream effectors of PAX3-FKHR
11:50-12:10
Cecile Gauthier-Rouviere, Montpellier Sude de France, FR,
P-cadherin is a direct PAX3-FOXO1A target involved in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma aggressiveness
12:10-12:30
 Javier Alonso, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, ES,
Lysyl oxidase is downregulated by the EWS/FLI1 oncoprotein and its propeptide
domain displays tumor suppressor activities in Ewing sarcoma cells   
12:30-14:30
Lunch and break
14:30-18:30Free afternoon
19:00-20:30
Dinner
20:00-21:30
Poster Session II
Tuesday 2 October
Session VI: Fusion proteins as therapeutic targets
Chair: Fulda
08:45-09:15 Jeffrey Toretsky, University of Georgetown, US,
Targeting fusion protein transcription factors based upon their intrinsic disorder
09:15-09:45
 Beat Schäfer, University of Zurich, CH
Strategies to target PAX3/FOXO1
09:45-10:05 Andrew Hollenbach, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, US,
Altered States of Pax3 and Pax3-FOXO1 phosphorylation in Myogenesis and the Development of Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma
10:05-10:25Frederic Barr, National Cancer Institute, US,
Role of gene amplification in the pathogenesis of rhabdomyosarcoma
10:30-11:00
 Coffee Break

Session VII: Targeting signal transduction
Chair: Ivan Stamenkovich, University of Lausanne, CH

11:00-11:30
Lee Helman, NIH, US
Targeting the CRKL/Src Family Kinases in Rhabdomyosarcoma
11:30-11:50
Shi-Jian Ding, University of Nebraska Medical Center, US,
Inhibition of phosphorylated c-Met in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma by a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor SU11274
11:50-12:10
Monika Ehnman, Karolinska Institutet, SE,
Dual therapeutic targeting of tumor cells and stroma in RMS
12:10-12:30
 Josep Roma, Institut de Recerca Vall d'Hebron, ES,
Notch-mediated induction of N-Cadherin and -Integrin confers higher invasive phenotype on rhabdomyosarcoma cells
12:30-14:30
Lunch
Session VII: continued
Chair: Timothy Triche, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, US
14:30-14:50Yvonne Versleijen-Jonkers, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre,NL,
ALK aberrations in rhabdomyosarcoma: clinical and prognostic implications
14:50-15:10Pierre Aman, University of Gothenburg, SE,
Regulation of FUS-DDIT3 protein expression
15:10-15:30
Subbaya Subramanian, University of Minnesota, United States
MicroRNA gene regulatory networks in rhabdomyosarcoma
15:30-16:00Carola Ponzetto, University of Torino, IT
miR-206-mediated differentiation therapy of RMS: Novel targets
16:00-16:30
Coffee Break
16:30-18:00
Round table discussion
19:00 Dinner
Wednesday 3 October

Session VIII: Resistance mechanisms and cancer stem cells
Chair: Olivier Delattre, Institute Curie, FR

08:45-09:15TBA
09:15-09:35
Marc Hotfilder, Universitätsklinikum Münster, DE,
Side Population Cells in Ewing Sarcoma and Other Paediatric Sarcomas
09:35-09:55 Liang Cao, National Institutes of Health, US,
Rhabdomyosarcoma, from genome-wide analysis of PAX3-FOXO1 targets to preclinical evaluation of IGF1R targeted agents
09:55-10:15Peter Zammit, King's College London, United Kingdom,
PAX3/FOXO1A and PAX7/FOXO1A suppress the transcriptional activity of MyoD-target genes in myogenic cells
10:15-11:00
Coffee break
Session VIII: continued
Chair: Jeffrey Toretsky, University of Georgetown, US
11:00-11:30
Simone Fulda, University of Frankfurt, DE
Targeting apoptosis pathways in rhabdomyosarcoma
11:30-11:50
Françoise Redini, Université de Nantes, FR
TRAIL sensitivity in Ewing’s sarcoma patients is modulated by the expression of Death Receptor 4 and its new short isoform
11:50-12:10
Katja Simon-Keller, University medical center Mannheim, DE,
Survivin blockade sensitizes rhabdomyosarcoma cells for lysis by fetal acetylcholine receptor-redirected T cells
12:10-12:30
David Loeb, Johns Hopkins University, US,
Regulation of Ewing Sarcoma Angiogenesis by WT1
12:30-14:30
Lunch

Session IX: New drugs – preclinical and clinical evaluation
Chair: Ewa Koscielniak, Olga Hospital Stuttgart, DE

14:30-15:00Peter Houghton, Nationwide Childrens Hospital, US
The Pediatric Preclinical Testing Program. Mining Response Data for Biomarkers
15.00-15:30Julia Chisholm, Royal Marsden Hospital, UK
From bench to bedside: moving new drugs into the clinic
15:30-15:50
Gatz Susanne Andrea, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor inhibitors in rhabdomyosarcoma – preclinical evidence and the way into clinical application
16:00-16:30

Coffee break

16:30-18:00
Forward look and final discussion
19:00   Get together Drink and Conference Dinner
Thursday 4 October 

Breakfast and Departure