Ostrava hosted the 16th annual International Myeloma and Cell Therapy workshop

The world's leading scientists, researchers, and physicians working in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Germany,
the Netherlands, Spain, the USA, and the Czech Republic met at
XVI. Myeloma and Cell therapy workshop in Ostrava as part of a hybrid meeting. The event was organized by the Blood Cancer Research Group, a part of the Department of Hematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava. The meeting provided a space for a unique international exchange of knowledge in the field of pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of multiple myeloma, the second most common blood cancer.


The two-day workshop consisted of a total of 21 lectures (by 17 foreign and 4 Czech speakers), which were also streamed online to all the interested audience worldwide. The speakers presented diverse topics covering a wide range of myeloma issues – from basic research, through diagnostic methods, to the possibilities and limitations of therapy.
Among the other topics covered during the workshop, special attention was given to the issues of the tumor microenvironment and intercellular interactions that play an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease. The first-class research in this area was presented by, among others, prof. Tom Cupedo (Erasmus MC Rotterdam), prof. Eline Menu (VUB Brussels), and Dr. Cirino Botta (University of Palermo).

The second part of the workshop was focused on cell therapy which is currently one of the most modern approaches in cancer treatment. The experience in the use of therapeutic CAR – T cells was presented by prof. Michael Hudecek (University of Wüzburg), Dr. Piotr Celichowski (Blood Cancer Research Group, Ostrava), or Dr. Michal Šmída (CEITEC, Brno).
Prof. Michael O'Dwyer (National University of Ireland) presented the current role of NK cells in myeloma therapy.
Dr. Leo Rasche (University of Wüzburg) drew attention to the issue of tumor diversity affecting the effectiveness of immunotherapy.

A special section of the event belonged to the top hemato-oncologist and professor at Harvard University - Dr. Kenetth C. Anderson (Dana-Farber Cancer Insitute), who gave a talk on the latest available treatment options for multiple myeloma.

The organizers believe that the next Workshop will attract an even larger number of listeners and lecturers, especially from the Czech Republic.

The workshop was financially supported by the OP RDE project New Directions of Biomedical Research in the Ostrava Region, reg. No. CZ.02.1.01 / 0.0 / 0.0 / 18_069 / 0010060.

22.10.2021


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