AACR to Honor Leading Researchers at Breast Cancer Symposium

The 33rd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium will honor two leading breast cancer researchers during its meeting, which will be held Dec. 8-12 in the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas. Klaus Pantel, M.D., Ph.D., is the recipient of the 2010 AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research, funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. Alan Ashworth, Ph.D., will give the 2010 AACR Distinguished Lectureship in Breast Cancer Research.

2010 AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research, funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

Klaus Pantel, M.D., Ph.D., professor at the Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, will receive the 2010 AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research, funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

This award recognizes an investigator under 50 years of age whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the etiology, detection, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of breast cancer.

Pantel is honored for his pioneering and original work on the detection of minimal residual disease and for using this information to provide improved care for breast cancer patients. His research breaks new ground toward a better understanding of the metastatic process and patient treatment.

Pantel will deliver his award lecture entitled, “Cancer Micrometastasis and Circulating Tumor Cells,” on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. CT.

2010 AACR Distinguished Lectureship in Breast Cancer Research

Alan Ashworth Ph.D., director of the Breakthrough Research Centre at the Institute of Cancer Research, will present the 2010 AACR Distinguished Lectureship in Breast Cancer Research.

Supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb, this AACR lectureship has been established to recognize outstanding science that has inspired or has the potential to inspire new perspectives on the etiology, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of breast cancer. The lectureship is selected by the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Program Committee.

Ashworth is recognized for his contribution to the discovery of the BRCA2 gene and his team’s identification of the synthetic lethality between BRCA mutations and PARP inhibitors. The high sensitivity of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutant cells to PARP inhibitors forms the rationale behind clinical trials that are now assessing the potential of these agents.

Ashworth will deliver his lecture entitled, “Synthetic Lethal Approaches to Cancer Therapy” on Friday, Dec. 10, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. CT.

The CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium is a four-day program that presents a balance of clinical, translational and basic research. It provides a forum for interaction, communication and education for a broad spectrum of researchers, health care professionals and those with a special interest in breast cancer.