In the afternoon, the second oncological focal topic takes a closer look at new developments in the field of liquid biopsies. Prof. Ellen Heitzer, University Hospital Graz, and Dr Verena Haselmann, University Hospital Mannheim, talk about the current state of research and its implementation into the routine diagnosis of circulating nucleic acids in the blood of tumor patients. The speakers explain the current state of technical developments, their suitability for routine use, the implementation into guidelines and quality assurance as well as the reimbursement of costs by health insurance companies.
In his talk, expert Prof. Dr Michel van den Heuvel, Radboud University Nijmegen, focuses on monitoring immune therapies through conventional protein and molecular markers. Besides targeted therapies, immune therapies are the greatest innovation in oncological therapy of the last years. This form of therapy requires the careful selection of patients who can be expected to respond to it as well as attentive monitoring in order to modify and steer this costly therapy in good time should patients prove non-responsive. Prof. Dr Michael Pfaffl, Technical University of Munich, talks about new diagnostic possibilities that have opened up thanks to exosome markers.
Day 3: Young talents present projects for the future
As in any other discipline, young talents and junior scientists determine the future of their fields; they contribute new ideas, are inquisitive and emphasize innovative focal points outside traditional boundaries. Laboratory medicine is surely the most diverse medical discipline in terms of diagnoses; at the same time, this field is also characterized by its professional diversity when it comes to its junior staff. In the first session on the third day of the event, young and more established junior scientists present their scientific findings with a focus on the role of cellular immunity in SARS-CoV-2 infections as well as the meaning of exosomes in cardiomyopathy. One talk takes a look at South America, explaining the significance and perspectives of laboratory medicine in Bolivia, while another expert talk focuses on how the analysis of all circulating nucleic acids can supplement traditional liquid profiling and expand the diagnostic possibilities in oncology.
The second session of the day is dedicated to integrative diagnostics that are controlled by artificial intelligence. Expectations are high that these will enable a leap in terms of more precise and less expensive diagnostics in the future compared to current standard evaluations. At the same time, there are hopes for an improvement in the quality of life and/or life expectancy of affected patients. Young talents from a range of disciplines including laboratory medicine, radiology, computational biology and computer science discuss the value and potential challenges of this new diagnostic approach.
