European School of Haematology International Conference on The Tumour Microenvironment in the Haematological Malignancies and its Therapeutic Targeting

The conference is designed to promote scientific interaction and ample discussion between scientists and clinicians working in the field. Scientific presentations by international leaders will provide with the current status and a perspective of these exciting developments. In separate sessions, results from both basic and clinical research will be presented. The target audience will comprise besides key opinion leader scientists, PhD students, basic scientists, physician-scientists, as well as clinicians with an interest in the field.

It has long been appreciated that tumour cells interact with their microenvironment and often disrupt the normal tissue architecture in different haematological malignancies. However, only recently specific alterations of the microenvironment have emerged as driving causes of malignancy and/or as critical steps during disease progression. In addition, new strategies to target the microevironment are being developed. These findings suggest that protecting, rescuing or targeting the abnormal microenvironment might provide a complementary or alternative way to treat some haematological malignancies. In this workshop we will try to deconstruct the niches for normal haematopoietic stem cells and leukaemic stem cells, and have lectures and discussions on visualising, dissecting and modelling the interactions of these cells with their microenvironment. Finally, several examples will be presented of how to target the microenvironment in certain haematological malignancies.