October 17, 2024 5pm London time
Chair: Dr. Leeza Osipenko, Consilium Scientific
Speakers:
Prof John Hickman (Consilium Scientific)
Prof George Perry (University of Texas at San Antonio)
Prof Rudy Tanzi (Harvard University)
Prof John Lazo (University of Virginia)
Cancers and Alzheimer’s disease are the major health challenges of our era, with cases predicted to rise dramatically over the next decade. Both age-associated diseases share the characteristic of having multiple genes implicated in the onset and evolution of their complex pathologies. In the case of cancer, sequencing the DNA from human malignancies has revealed aberrantly activated genes (mutations and/or translocations) that drive malignancy. These present disease biomarkers and drug targets. Similarly, multiple genetic alterations and biomarkers have emerged for Alzheimer’s disease.
Failure of early- and late-stage clinical drug candidates is a commonality between cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, reflecting the challenges of target validation and the inherent limitations of preclinical models. Should the past decades of biomarker identification, imaging, and drug discovery in oncology act as a robust model for securing advances in the diagnosis and therapy of Alzheimer’s disease? Does an understanding of cell death/apoptosis mechanisms provide opportunities in both diseases, where Alzheimer’s is characterized by post-mitotic cell death and cancer often by stubborn cell survival and replicative potential? Does the inflammation associated with both diseases point to the potential of novel immunological approaches? In this dialogue, experts in cancer pharmacology will be joined by experts in the molecular pathology and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. They will discuss the question of whether progress in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer could be a template for making advances in Alzheimer’s disease.