Biomarkers At The Crossroads

NCI's Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) is a consortium of investigators committed to translational research on cancer biomarkers and advancing them to clinical application.  The main goals of the consortium are to enable population cancer screening, detection of cancers at an early stage, and ultimately reduction in morbidity and mortality.  Major efforts are devoted to developing and validating cancer biomarkers and to creating the necessary infrastructure for their clinical validation.  EDRN investigators are interested in novel approaches to identify new and improve existing biomarkers and developing assays to detect pre-malignant lesions. The workshop, entitled “Biomarkers at the Crossroads” is sponsored by EDRN to facilitate dissemination of new information and to highlight accomplishments in cancer biomarkers development.  The workshop will address various aspects of cancer biomarker development, including novel technologies that led to the identification of biomarkers, discoveries that hold the promise for early detection of cancer, and hurdles in translating basic science into clinical application.  Experts in diverse fields will discuss how such wealth of information can be applied to develop biomarkers for early detection of cancer. The tentative dates and the location are March 17-19, 2008 in Bethesda, MD.