Introduction

Why you should attend

Why are cancers rising in those under 50? Early-onset cancers are increasing worldwide - and we don’t yet understand why. This is a critical and underexplored frontier in cancer biology, with major implications for risk prediction, prevention, and treatment.

This groundbreaking conference will help to shape the future of this emerging field, and we're inviting you to be part of it.

• Interdisciplinary by design - from exposomics and microbiome science to molecular pathology and immunology.
• A rare opportunity to connect epidemiology with experimental biology and clinical insights.
• The chance to be a pioneer - if you’re curious, collaborative, and ready to explore key unanswered questions, this meeting is for you.

Conference topic

Organised by the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, this conference will foster a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms, risk factors, and clinical implications of early-onset cancers.  

Cancers typically associated with those over the age of 50 are increasingly being diagnosed in young adults. How to prevent and treat these tumours is still unknown. By bringing together leading experts from diverse fields in cancer research, the meeting will provide a unique platform to discuss the latest discoveries about early-onset cancers, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and identifying strategies for early detection, prevention, and treatment. Special attention will be given to knowledge gaps, translational studies and healthcare disparities, and towards improving the clinical management of early-onset cancer patients.  

Join us in shaping the future of early-onset cancer research and improving the management of young patients with cancers.

Register now

Submissions based on basic, translational, and clinical research, as well as clinical case studies, will be considered for both oral and poster presentations. Abstracts should, at a minimum, include standard molecular correlates to support the scientific rigour and relevance of the findings.

Target audience

This meeting will bring together researchers and physicians who are interested in the epidemiology and aetiology of sporadic cancers among younger adults to discuss key questions in the field and lay the foundations for generating a community dedicated to the study of early-onset cancers. 

Topics to be covered

• Systems and translational cancer epidemiology
• Molecular pathological epidemiology
• Risk factors in early life and young adulthood
• Precision-based cancer prevention/control strategies
• Screening, early symptoms and early detection
• Biological basis for cancer disparity
• Aetiology of sporadic cancers among younger adults
• Molecular features of early-onset cancers
• Exposome changes from millennials to contemporary young generations (including diet, lifestyle, obesity, environment and the microbiome)
• Interactive roles of environment (i.e. the exposome), microbiome, immunity, and tumour in carcinogenesis
• Interaction between carcinogens and genetic, polygenic, or epigenetic predispositions
• Preclinical experimental models of early-onset cancers
• Microsimulation modelling
• Treatment, including impact on quality of life and survivorship

Scientific Programme Committee:  

• Alberto Bardelli (Chair), IFOM, Turin, Italy 
• Yin Cao, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, USA 
• Shuji Ogino, Harvard University, Boston, USA 
• Salvatore Siena, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy 

Lay summary of the topic of the conference

Solid tumours were once most commonly diagnosed in adults around the age of 60, but they are now increasingly affecting people under 50. The reasons for this rise in early-onset cancers, as well as the unique biological characteristics of these tumours and the best ways to treat them, are not yet fully understood. This conference will bring together experts from epidemiology, clinical research, computational science, and translational research to share insights and advance our understanding of early-onset cancers. By fostering collaboration across disciplines, the meeting aims to guide future prevention, screening, and treatment strategies.

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This conference is organised in partnership with, and supported by a grant from, the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research

Above: the beautiful city of Bergamo

Contact

If you have any queries that are not answered on this webpage, please contact us using the details below.

Hannah Barrs
Conference Officer
Hannah.barrs@eacr.org