Positions Available, University of Pennsylvania. 8

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1 NEWSLETTER February, 2010 EDITORS: JONATHAN SLEEMAN, KAZAYUKI ITOH Contents: Nominations due for MRS Officers, Board, Paget Award.. 1 MRS-AACR TME Meeting 2 Website is Live. 2 European Journal of Cancer Review Series on Translational Metastasis Research.. 2 Sticking together: worldwide efforts to integrate research and training efforts in metastasis research. 4 Have your say!. 6 JAMR Meeting.. 7 Positions Available, University of Pennsylvania. 8 Nominations due for MRS Officers, Board, Paget Award The future of a Society is decided, at least in part, by its leadership. Every other year the MRS elects a President, Secretary-Treasurer, and several Board Members. Please give some thought to the question of who would be most able to take this Society into the future and keep momentum going. To nominate, please send a short paragraph describing the potential nominee in terms of their research and other contributions to the field. Also list 2-3 references, we do not need full CV s. Please make sure that the nominee would accept the position if elected. The Board will review 1

2 the list and finalize the list of candidates. Send all nominations to Pat at by March 1 st. Joint Metastasis Research Society - AACR Conference, held in conjunction with the Tumor Microenvironment Working Group of the AACR. Dates: September 12-15, 2010 Place: Sheraton City Center Hotel Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US Chairs, Bruce Zetter (TME), Pat Steeg (MRS) MRS Website is Live, Membership Dues Accepted The MRS website, is live again. Thanks to Danny Welch for getting this back onboard. Two points: 2010 dues can be paid by going to the website. Several payment options are now available. This is your chance to let us know what you want to see on the website. We will be posting the past newsletters, by-laws and other information. Several people contributed protocols which can appear in a Metastasis 101 subsection designed for investigators new to the field. What else would you like to see on this site in terms of scientific interaction and/or interaction with the public? Send ideas to Pat (steegp@mail.nih.gov). European Journal of Cancer Review Series on Translational Metastasis Research Several months ago, in this newsletter, a call went out for potential authors for a series of reviews on translational metastasis research for a special issue of the European Journal of Cancer. I am happy to report that MRS responded overwhelmingly, and that we expect this issue to be out mid Jonathan Sleeman and Patricia Steeg are the co-editors. Contributors are listed below: 2

3 Senior Author Diane Palmieri Patricia Steeg Véronique Topic Translational research in brain metastasis is identifying molecular pathways that may lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies. CD44, a target for anti-tumour therapy Orian-Rousseau Yibin Kang Manav Korpal Targeting Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling Pathway in Metastatic Cancer Danny Welch Yves DeClerck Tasnim Ara The KISS metastasis suppressor: A goodnight kiss for disseminated cancer cells Interleukin-6 in Bone Metastasis and Cancer Progression Robert Coleman Helen Neville- Webbe Bisphosphonates and RANK (receptor activator of nuclear factor-κβ) ligand inhibitors for the treatment and prevention of metastatic bone disease Jean-Claude Marshall The Nm23 metastasis suppressor as a therapeutic target Patricia Steeg Heike Allgayer Translational research on u-par Dan Theodorescu RhoGDI signaling provides targets for cancer therapy Michael Harding 3

4 Ann Chambers Jeffrey Green Extracellular Matrix: A Gatekeeper in the Transition from Dormancy to Metastatic Growth Dalit Barkan Klaus Pantel Insights into minimal residual disease in cancer patients: Implications for anti-cancer therapies Riccardo Fodde Cancer Stemness and Metastasis: therapeutic consequences and perspectives Joana Monteiro Donald Bottaro Targeting the HGF/Met signaling pathway in cancer Sticking together: worldwide efforts to integrate research and training efforts in metastasis research. Jonathan Sleeman The complexity of metastasis is becoming increasingly appreciated, and demands a multidisciplinary basic research approach coupled to rational translation of findings into clinical medicine. Conversely, clinical experience and expertise needs to inform and drive basic research goals. However, basic and clinical metastasis research are often disconnected and fragmented. Furthermore, individual groups only able to investigate and understand specific facets of the process. A broad spectrum multidisciplinary integration of research activities is required to effectively tackle the problem of metastasis through engendering synergistic collaborative efforts in a common research infrastructure. In addition to EU-funded and national government funded consortia (see January 2009 MRS Newsletter), there are currently several integrating activities in the metastasis research field worldwide. In the USA, several research institutes have recently been established that bring together researchers from many different backgrounds into Institutions that focus on metastasis. For example, Danny Welch heads up the National Foundation for Cancer Research Center for Metastasis Research, a virtual institute based in Birmingham, Alabama bringing together severa 4

5 lreearch groups from different US cities (see search/tabid/217/default.aspx). At Memorial Sloane-Kettering in New York around 30 research groups focus on metastasis under the direction of Joan Massague in the Metastasis Research Center ( In Texas, Josh Fidler leads the Cancer Metastasis Research Center at the McCombs Institute, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center that brings together more than 100 scientists working on the problem of metatasis ( The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research has also recently established the Ludwig Center for Metastasis at Chicago under the direction of Geoffery Greene and Ralph Weichselbaum ( Elsewhere in the world, Institutions focussing on metastasis research are thin on the ground. At Yonsei University in South Korea a Cancer Metastasis Research Center has been established that is directed by Jae Kyung Roh (see under University-wide Research Institutes ). In Europe there are currently no Institutions dedicated to metastasis research, although one is being established in Lisbon, Portugal that is due to open in October 2010 (for more details, see Yibin Kang s report in the December MRS Newsletter). This venture is funded by the Champalimaud Foundation and is being developed under the direction of David Lyden. The Champalimaud Metastasis Center will be part of the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, and will combine basic research, prevention and treatment of metastatic disease on one site, bringing together around 30 research groups focused on basic and clinical metastasis research ( In addition to integration of research activities, comprehensive training in problems associated with the basic biology and clinical management of metastatic disease should have positive effects on the quality and relevance of metastasis research in the future. An innovative contribution to such training has been made within the last year at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center where a graduate program in cancer metastasis is now offered ( 5

6 Have your say! It goes without saying that fighting metastasis lies at the root of successfully combating cancer. However, budgets for cancer research are limited, and there are many demands from the different areas of oncology that all rightly expect a slice of the research budget. How much cancer research funding should be devoted to metastasis research? This question is difficult to answer objectively, given the need to balance many different factors that are all relevant to patient treatment. Perhaps a good starting point would be to determine how much of the funding pie metastasis research currently receives. This is not that straightforward to evaluate, and reliable figures are difficult to obtain. However, by scanning for key words such as metastasis, dissemination, progression and invasion in reports from a number of international governments and organizations that fund cancer research, we have attempted to evaluate the amount of cancer research funding devoted to basic and clinical metastasis research (Table 1). The results show that there is considerable variation, both from organization to organization as well as over different periods of time. Nevertheless, the median proportion of total cancer research funding dedicated to metastasis research seems to be around 5%. Is this appropriate? If not, what would be appropriate? What do you think? Let us know your opinion (sleeman@medma.uniheidelberg.de). Table 1. Proportion of total cancer research funding dedicated to metastasis research. Organisation / country Period Cancer research funding Deutsche Krebshilfe (German Cancer Aid) 1 EUR Metastasis research EUR % devoted to metastasis 4.3% National Cancer Research Institute % Partners, UK 2 National Cancer Research Institute % Partners, UK 2 Oncosuisse, Swiss Cancer League and Foundation Cancer Research Switzerland CHF CHF 11.6% 6

7 European Union (FP6) EUR EUR 5.0% American Cancer Society, USA $ $ 2.3% Canadian Cancer Research Alliance CAD Sources: 1 Deutsche Krebshilfe Annual Report 2008, CAD 6.5% 2 NCRI web site: 3 Cancer Research in Switzerland, a publication of Oncosuisse, Swiss Cancer League and Foundation Cancer Research Switzerland on their funded research projects Edition Jungbluth S, Kelm O, van de Loo JW, Manoussaki E, Vidal M, Hallen M and Trias OQ. (2007) Molecular Oncology 1: and 5 ACS web site: 6 Cancer Research Investment In Canada 2006, report published by CCRA ( Modified from Sleeman, J. P. and Steeg, P. S. (2010). Cancer metastasis as a therapeutic target. European J. Cancer, in press Report on JAMR annual meeting, July Kazayuki Itoh Welcome party after the board meeting. President Dr. Kogo-the most right, president-elect Dr. Sato-the second from the right. 7 Last year s JAMR (Japanese Association for Metastasis Research) annual meeting was held at Asahikawa in Hokkaido (the Northernmost island in Japan) organized by the president Yutaka Kogo (Professor and Chairman, Department of Internal Medicine, Asahikawa Medical College) on July 23 rd and 24 th Hokkaido was a great venue to visit during the summer season. Approximately 330 participants including the four invited speakers from US (Dr. Vivek Mittal (Cornell Univ.), Dr. Alana L. Welm (Univ. of Utah), Dr. Sandra S. McAllister (Harvard

8 medical school) and Dr. Jung-whan Kim (UCSD) attended and discussed recent topics in the cancer metastasis research field.on the first day, there was a special lecture followed by three plenary lectures given by the invited speakers, with one symposium focusing on Cancer Stem Cells. There were also large poster sessions and an educational lecture by Mr. Kunio Yanagida, one of the most famous non-fiction writers in Japan. This year s young investigator award recipient Ms. Rila Watanabe and the president Dr. Kogo The international young investigators meeting with breakfast The meeting s second day began with the international young investigators meeting with breakfast between 7-9 am. This special opportunity was planned by the president Dr. Kogo in order to establish close interactions between young Japanese scientists and the invited speakers. The 59 participants were divided into three groups according to their research topics. In each group, 4-5 researchers gave short presentations that were followed by free discussions in the style of a lab meeting. Discussion was intense and two hours passed very quickly. using a micro-bubble reagent (Sonazoid) coupled to ultrasonography. On the second day, one symposium focused on drug development for metastasis. There were also six workshops and the presidential address. Professor Kogo s talk was really impressive as he expressed his sincere commitment to fight against pancreas cancer and its metastasis. The meeting ended with the young investigator award talk. This year s recipient was Ms. Rila Watanabe from the pharmaceutical company Daiichi-Sankyo in Japan. She has developed a new technique to detect sentinel lymph nodes The meeting was completed with great success. The next meeting will be held in June 2010 at Kanazawa and will be organized by Professor Hiroshi Sato (basic scientist). The 2011 meeting will be organized by Professor Hiroyuki Konno (surgeon) and will be held in Hamamatsu. 8

9 Employment Opportunity, University of Pennsylvania The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine seeks candidates for several Associate, Assistant, and/or Full Professor positions in the tenure track. Rank will be commensurate with experience. Applicants must have an M.D and/or Ph.D or equivalent degree. Sufficient postdoctoral or fellowship experience to demonstrate accomplishments, independence and outstanding promise. The faculty appointment will be in the Department of Pediatrics or Pathology & Laboratory Medicine or an appropriate department at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, depending on the scientific expertise of the final candidate. The successful applicants will be expected to establish and maintain independent, extramurally funded research programs in basic mechanisms of cancer pathogenesis and progression with strong emphasis on pediatric malignancies. All areas of cancer biology will be considered; however, a premium will be put on multi-disciplinary interactions with existing faculty. Current CCCR strengths include cancer genomics, DNA damage responses, non-coding RNAs, the Hedgehog signaling pathway, tumor microenviroment, and developmental therapeutics. Launched in 2007 as a bold initiative aimed at curing more patients with childhood cancer, the CCCR is a Center of Emphasis at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute. It represents a highly integrated basic, translational, and clinical research environment dedicated to eradicating the pain and suffering caused by cancer in children. John Maris, MD, an internationally recognized expert in pediatric oncology, is the inaugural Director fo the CCCR. More information about the CCCR can be found at: The CCCR is located in the newly-constructed, state-of-the-art Colket Translational Research Building, certified as Leadership in Energy and Environment Design by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is the first in a series of buildings to be constructed on Children's Hospital's new South Campus, adjacent to Penn and in the heart of the University City District of Philadelphia. Philadelphia is a historic city offering a unique blend of centuries-old architecture, vibrant culter, diverse outdoors opportunities, and an outstanding quality of life. Dr. Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko is the Chair of the CCCR Basic Scientist Search Committee. Positions will remain open until filled. The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women and minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. 9