Meeting report: The role of telomeres and telomerase in cancer

The role of telomeres and telomerase in cancer is an area of much recent interest. This conference sponsored by the American Association of Cancer Research provided a timely opportunity to bring together basic and clinical scientists interested in the field of telomeres and telomerase cancer biology. The meeting included over 250 attendees with 150 oral and poster presentations focused on understanding telomere and telomerase biology for the development of cancer therapeutics. The meeting chairpersons were Dr. Jerry W. Shay, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; Dr. Elizabeth H. Blackburn, University of California San Francisco, CA; and Dr. Maria A. Blasco, Spanish National Cancer Center, Madrid, Spain. The meeting provided an update on the field, pointing to areas in which our knowledge is deficient, and explored how the most promising areas may be advanced into translational research. This conference brought together cell and molecular biologists with clinicians interested in fundamental cancer mechanisms as they relate to telomeres and telomerase. The symposium consisted of formal presentations by prominent scientists working in these areas and by participants selected from submitted abstracts. In addition, there were two poster sessions. Whereas there were many basic research advances presented, the focus of this overview will be the areas of clinical advances.