European Congress of Pathology

Dr. Nicola Normanno was born in Ottaviano (Italy) in 1964 and graduated cum laude in Medicine and Surgery in 1988. He worked as postdoctoral fellow in the National Cancer Institute of Bethesda (USA), then he specialised in Medical Oncology and later in Hematology. In 2004 he won the “Annals of Oncology Prize for Translational Research” and in 2005 he became Adjunct Associate Professor at the Temple University of Philadelphia. From 2005 he has been appointed as Director of the Cell Biology and Biotherapy Unit of INT Fondazione “G. Pascale” and from 2006 he is the Chairman of the Research Department of the same institute.

Dr. Normanno leads a research group involved in both pre-clinical and clinical studies, with particular regard to the identification of biomarkers associated with sensitivity/resistance to target-based agents in clinical development. Dr. Normanno’s group has been one of the first to use next generation sequencing (NGS)-based techniques in clinical trials. His group has a relevant expertise in liquid biopsy. Dr. Normanno is also involved in clinical diagnostics and in the organisation of national and international external quality assessment (EQA) schemes in molecular pathology.

Dr. Normanno is a member of many national and international cancer research associations (AACR, GOIM, AIOT, ESMO, AIOM, SIC, FONICAP). He is President Elect of the Italian Society of Cancerology (SIC). Dr. Normanno is author of more than 200 publications in international journals and he is a reviewer for many peer reviewed journals.

Wolfram Jochum is Head of the Institute of Pathology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen and Adjunct Professor of Pathology at University of Zürich. He obtained a degree in Medicine from Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and completed postgraduate training at the University Medical Centres in Mainz, Zürich and Basel. He is board-certified in Pathology, Neuropathology and Molecular Pathology, and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (I.M.P.), Vienna. His current research interests focus on clinical applications of molecular pathology.

Abstract

Tumor mutational load and its transition towards the clinic

Tumor mutational load (TML) is an emerging biomarker for immuno-oncology. The presentation will cover the clinical background and rationale for the use of TML as a biomarker to guide cancer immunotherapies with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Issues related to the implementation of local TML testing will be discussed.

Beatriz Bellosillo is the Head of the Molecular Biology laboratory at the Pathology Department of Hospital del Mar, in Barcelona, Spain, and is associate professor at the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona. She is an experienced molecular biologist with expertise in translational research in Haematology and Oncology areas.

She studied Pharmacy from 1988–1993 and developed her PhD studies from 1993–1999 in University of Barcelona. Since her incorporation in Hospital del Mar (Barcelona) in 2001, she has developed the molecular diagnostic area in the Pathology Department and actively participated in the implementation of the Tissue Bank.

Her scientific interest has focused in the last years in the assessment of molecular alterations and other biomarkers involved in haematological malignancies and solid tumours, and their role in establishing the diagnosis and prognosis of patients, but also in their predictive value. Dr. Bellosillo has participated in more than 50 research projects related to these issues, in 9 of them as principal investigator. As a result of the activity in this field, she has published more than 160 articles in peer-review international journals, including New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Medicine, Cancer Cell, Blood, Leukaemia, Clinical Cancer Research, British Journal de Haematology, among others.

José Luis Rodríguez-Peralto is Head of the Pathology department, Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain and Professor of Pathology at Complutense University of Madrid. He obtained a degree in Medicine from University of Granada and completed postgraduate training at the La Paz Hospital and Autonoma University at Madrid. He is board-certified in Pathology, Dermatopathology and Molecular Pathology, and was a postdoctoral research fellow at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. His current research interests focus on clinical applications of molecular pathology.

Abstract

Application of NGS in a department of pathology

The determination of molecular biomarkers is a common event in the practical work of pathology department. However, most determinations are usually performed by sequentially methods. Nowadays, we have the opportunity to incorporate new technology (NGS) to obtain more accurate and actionable biomarkers with more rapid results. Dr. Rodríguez-Peralto will cover the difficulties and advantages to implant a NGS method in a department of pathology.