Horizon CME is pleased to announce its sponsorship of a multidisciplinary conference that will bring together clinicians, scientists, researchers, and pharmaceutical industry experts in the field of oncology to discuss recent advancements, challenges, and future directions in the areas of novel therapeutic agents and drug discovery, clinical trial design, molecular profiling, and precision oncology.

The First Annual Summit for Novel Therapeutics in Oncology & Precision Medicine in Cancer (STOP Cancer), to be held August 22-24, 2024, in Las Vegas, NV, will highlight the latest in early-phase research and interpretation and application of precision medicine.

The STOP Cancer international conference planning committee is led by Course Director Hani M. Babiker, MD, who is renowned for his expertise in new drug development. Dr. Babiker is Senior Associate Consultant and Director of Early Phase Therapeutics at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, where he focuses on pancreaticobiliary cancer and GI oncology.

“The world of cancer drug development is advancing very rapidly,” Dr. Babiker said. “The purpose of the STOP Cancer Conference is to bring together the leaders—the scientists, pharmaceutical leaders, and clinicians who push drug development forward—in early phase therapeutics and precision oncology to help patients with cancer, hence the name of our conference, ‘STOP Cancer.’”

Horizon CME President and CEO Brian Lee, PharmD, emphasized the comprehensive nature of the conference. “Not only will we be talking about bringing more novel therapies to clinical trials we’ll be talking about how to improve patient access to and diversity in clinical trials, including improving diversity and the role of patient advocacy in drug development,” Dr. Lee said.

Those sessions will be led by Elmer Bernstam, MD, MSE, Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Internal Medicine and The Reynolds and Reynolds Professorship in Clinical Informatics UTHealth Houston, and Owen Garrick, MD, Dean of Clinical Trials at Mayo Clinic, respectively. In addition, Stacie Lindsey, BS, Founder and CEO of the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, will speak on patient advocacy and drug development.

Dr. Babiker is joined by the following international leaders in phase 1 therapeutic development and precision oncology as co-chairs:

• Elena Garralda, MD, MSc, Director of Early Drug Development at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital and Director of the Phase I Unit at NEXT Oncology in Barcelona, Spain.
• Patricia M. LoRusso, DO, PhD (hc), FAACR, Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine, Chief of Experimental Therapeutics, and Associate Cancer Center Director at Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, CT. DR LoRusso is President-Elect (2023-2024) of the American Association for Cancer Research.
• Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD, Chair of the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics—the Phase 1 Program, Medical Director of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy (IPCT), and the Nellie B. Connally Chair in Breast Cancer at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.
• Toshio Shimizu, MD, PhD, Professor at Wakayama Medical University Hospital/WMUH Cancer Center; Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Medical Oncology at Wakayama Medical University Graduate School of Medicine in Wakayama, Japan.
• Mitesh J. Borad, MD, Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Phoenix, Ariz., and Program Lead of the Gene and Virus Therapy Program at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

The STOP Cancer Conference will feature the inaugural Daniel D. Von Hoff Keynote Lecture, which will be given by Kevan M. Shokat, PhD. Dr. Shokat is a Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at UCSF, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at UC Berkeley, and an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute at UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, in San Francisco, CA.

The keynote lecture honors Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, FACP, FASCO, FAACR, Distinguished Professor at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, AZ, and Virginia G. Piper Distinguished Chair for Innovative Cancer Research at HonorHealth Clinical Research Institute. He is also Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic and Medical Director of Research as well as Chief Scientific Officer at US Oncology. Dr. Von Hoff’s major interest is in the development of new anticancer agents, both in the clinic and in the laboratory. He and his colleagues were involved in the development of many agents now used routinely to treat cancer. His clinical trial work has led to the approval of 3 of the 4 drugs approved by the FDA for treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. At present, he and his colleagues are concentrating on the development of therapies for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

For more information about the STOP Cancer Conference, registration, and accommodations, visit: 
 https://horizoncme.com/summit-for-novel-therapeutics-in-oncology-precision-medicine-in-cancer/

Call for Abstracts

STOP Cancer poster sessions provide authors time to display their work, informally discuss projects, and network with other participants. The final abstract submission deadline is 11:59 PM EDT, May 15, 2024. For more information, visit https://horizoncme.com/stop-cancer-abstract-submissions/

Exhibits and Sponsors

For information about STOP Cancer exhibits and sponsors, contact Cheryl Morrill, cheryl.morrill@horizoncme.com

About Horizon CME

Founded in 2007, Horizon CME is a continuing medical education company dedicated to providing quality continuing education activities that further the knowledge, skills, and practice of healthcare providers in an effort to ultimately improve patient outcomes. Using research-proven adult learning principles, Horizon CME creates educational activities that are innovative, engaging, and relevant to clinical practice. For more information about Horizon CME, visit https://horizoncme.com/