World's leading cancer scientists gather in Honolulu

Conference will explore University of Hawaii led discovery of a gene mutation linked to mesothelioma

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Kevin D. Cassel, (808) 564-5916
Community Education Coordinator, University of Hawaii Cancer Center
Posted: Dec 2, 2011

In a major breakthrough in the fight against cancer, a team of University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center researchers discovered a cancer syndrome caused by BAP1 mutations that can lead to mesothelioma, melanoma and potentially other cancers. Now more than twenty world-renowned experts in cancer genetics from national and international research institutions will join forces to discuss clinical applications made possible by this discovery.
 
What: The Third Annual Translational Cancer Medicine Symposium, hosted by the UH Cancer Center and The Queen’s Medical Center. This international symposium will feature presentations by global cancer experts on the recent discovery of a mutation in the BAP 1 gene that can lead to the development of certain cancers.
 
When: Friday, December 2
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., program begins at 8:15 a.m.
 
Who: The keynote presentation will be given by genetic scientist Dr. Carlo M. Croce, Director of Human Cancer Genetics Program at Ohio State University, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and recipient of the prestigious Weinman Foundation’s Innovator in Cancer Research Award.
Also presenting will be Dr. Joseph Testa, Director of the Genomics Facility at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Dr. Micheael Speicher a physician and cancer researcher, Chair of the Institute of Human Genetics of the University of Graz in Austria, and Michele Carbone, MD, PhD, Director of the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center, whose research team lead the discovery of the BAP1 gene link to mesothelioma.
 
Where: The Queen's Medical Center, Conference Center
1301 Punchbowl Street Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813
 
Why: Researchers including a team from the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center have shown that people with hereditary mutations in a gene known as BAP1 are predisposed to develop malignant mesothelioma and melanoma of the eye (uveal or intraocular melanoma). The findings, published online August 28 in Nature Genetics, suggest that inherited BAP1 mutations may also be linked to some other forms of cancer, including melanoma of the skin.