Introduction
Interest in the tumour antigen carboxyanhydrase IX (CA IX) has accelerated in recent years. CA IX has been identified in numerous tumour types, including renal, breast and cervical cancers, and a putative role for CA IX in non-oncology indications has also been proposed.
The CA IX Symposium will bring together leading researchers and clinicians to give a comprehensive review of the latest in CA IX laboratory research and clinical development for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
Organizing Committee
- Chairman: Dr. Paul Bevan, Wilex AG, Munich, Germany
- Professor Arie Belldegrun, Division of Urologic Oncology and Department of Urology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA
- Professor Egbert Oosterwijk, Centre for Molecular Life Sciences, University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Professor Silvia Pastorekova , Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
ESMO accredited Symposium
Programme
| Morning Session | The discovery, distribution and function of CAIX | |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00–09:15 | Welcome | Paul Bevan, Munich, Germany |
| 09:15–10:00 | G250/MN/CAIX–historical and future perspectives | Egbert Oosterwijk, Nijmegen, The Netherlands |
| 10:00–10:45 | Molecular mechanisms of CAIX-mediated pH regulation under hypoxia | Silvia Pastorekova, Bratislava, Republic of Slovakia |
| 10:45–11:15 | Coffee & Posters | |
| 11:15–12:00 | Significance of pH regulation in tumour progression and implications for therapeutic approaches | Seppo Parkkila, Tampere, Finland |
| 12:00–12:45 | Hypoxia pathways regulating CAIX | Peter Ratcliffe, Oxford, UK |
| 12:45–14:00 | Lunch | |
| Afternoon Session | Diagnosis, Prognosis and Therapy | |
| 14:00–14:45 | The use of PET in the diagnosis of tumour phenotype | Chaitanya Divgi, Philadelphia, USA |
| 14:45–15:30 | CAIX and prognosis kidney cancer | Arie Belldegrun, Los Angeles, USA |
| 15:30–16:00 | Tea & Posters | |
| 16:00–16:45 | CAIX and bladder cancer | Alan Pantuck, Los Angeles, USA |
| 16:45–17:30 | CAIX and the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma | Michael Atkins, Cambridge, USA |
| 17:30–17:45 | Selected poster presentation | |
| 17:45 | Closing Remarks | |
CA-IX Summary
Carboxyanhydrase IX (CA IX) was first recognised as a potentially important tumour antigen in 1986 in a paper published by the Dutch group led by Sven Warnaar. At that time, the identity of the antigen was not known and so it was named after the antibody—G250—with which it had been identified Independently, Zavada, Pastorek and Pastorekova raised monoclonal antibody M75 against an antigen expressed in mammary tumour MaTu cells and in cervical carcinoma HeLa cells—they coined the term “MN” antigen. Subsequently, working with Stanbridge and colleagues, this antigen was described as a diagnostic marker of cervical carcinoma. It was not long before it became apparent that the G250 and MN antigens were one and the same; moreover the antigen was synonymous with an isozyme of carboxyanhyhrase which we now call CA IX. The importance of this antigen in tumour hypoxia was recognised by Harris and colleagues.
Research interest in this tumour antigen has accelerated in recent years with CA IX identified in tumour types other than renal and cervical; indeed a putative role for CA IX outside of cancer has been proposed.
This symposium brings together leading researchers in the field for a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of CA IX “from laboratory to bedside”. We hope to see you in Brussels.
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR)—with operations at 73 sites in 17 countries—quite literally spans the globe. LICR seeks to be an integrating force in cancer, believing that a multi-disciplinary, coordinated team effort is the most effective way to have an impact on this disease. The Institute also has a long-term research philosophy that encourages these teams of investigators to tackle larger, more complex scientific questions than those that can be safely ‘fit’ within a three year funding window by an individual group or two.
Several key differences between LICR and a typical research organization are:
Focus: The mission of LICR is no less than to understand and control human cancer. Our activities, including those involving intellectual property protection and licensing, are guided by our singular focus on controlling cancer.
Flexibility: LICR’s structure allows it to take advantage of opportunities—talented investigators, patient populations, distinctive technologies and resources—wherever they exist in the world. Additionally, unlike most academic organizations, LICR funds more than 70% of the research conducted in its laboratories. The Institute thus has the ability and will to focus resources such that promising findings can be explored comprehensively and translated rapidly into clinical trials.
Full spectrum: LICR is one of few cancer research organizations to have an infrastructure that bridges the missing link between the laboratory and the clinic. Most academic groups cannot produce clinic-grade reagents, write, file and maintain protocols to FDA standards, or even access top clinicians that share a research mind-set. LICR has established an organizational structure that allows it to conduct early-phase clinical trials of its discoveries.
Wilex AG
WILEX is a biopharmaceutical company based in Munich, which was founded in 1997 by a team of physicians and oncologists from the Technical University of Munich.
WILEX is focused on the development of new cancer therapies based on antibodies and small molecules. The therapeutic approach of WILEX targets the prevention of growth, spread and the metastasis of malignant tumours and the destruction of malignant tumours in the body.
The portfolio includes both drug and medical product candidates ranging from research to late stage clinical development.
Currently the following compounds are in clinical development: WX-G250 (development name: RENCAREX®), WX-671, WX-UK1 and CA9-SCAN. The company's strategy is to develop WILEX into a commercially successful biopharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of new drugs and medical products for the treatment of cancer.