Conference: 14th International Conference of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig 2018), May 2-5, 2018, Ottawa, Canada.
Conference Highlight: The International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig) is an independent international group to understand, cure and prevent mesothelioma. The iMig 2018 Conference featured the most up-to-date research, diverse topics of interest, and educational sessions.
Conference Summary: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare cancer that has been linked to asbestos exposure. This disease can occur in the outer lining of the lungs and the internal chest wall (the pleura). Although multimodality therapy including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy has demonstrated prolonged survival, the prognosis of MPM still remains extremely poor.
Over 440 delegates from 34 countries attended the iMig 2018 Conference with 6 Plenary Sessions, 7 Mini Symposia, an Industry-Supported Symposium, as well as 2 Poster Mixers. The iMig 2018 provided exciting developments, particularly in the area of genome/epigenetics and immunotherapy.
Many new findings to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying mesothelioma pathogenesis were released in various sessions. Especially, the BAP1 (BRCA1 associated protein 1) pathway and mesothelin could be promising therapeutic targets.
In addition to these molecular advances, more findings were reported on immunotherapy. Tremendous progress has been seen in immunotherapy for MPM as well as many types of cancers. Many clinical trials are primarily focused on immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4. These new drugs were extensively discussed in the plenary sessions. These presentations were very informative for clinical practice.
My attendance at iMig 2018 enabled me to increase my knowledge of the current state of basic research and clinical practice in mesothelioma. The meeting offered plenty of networking opportunities with leading scientists and researchers. After my presentation, I was invited as a guest speaker to the Annual International Symposium on Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in Los Angeles in September 2018.