In general terms, malfunctioning of epigenetic mechanisms regulating gene expression leads to diseases such as neoplastic transformation. Biomarker assays targeting disease related epigenetic changes can effectively be utilized as biomarkers at all stages of clinical disease management, from risk assessment, through early diagnosis and treatment personalization, to post treatment surveillance. Recently, large-scale clinical trials have shown that methylation biomarker-based cancer detection in liquid biopsies allows early detection of cancer in patients with remarkable specificity and sensitivity Specifically, detection of BRCA1 gene methylation in blood has been proposed as a biomarker of predisposition to breast and ovarian cancers. Additionally, methylation of the MGMT gene has long been used to guide treatment of glioblastoma multiforme patients. And recently, the genome wide profiling methylation has been suggested by the WHO as an alternative to standard histopathology for the classification of brain tumors. In my talk I will review recent developments in methylation biomarker research and applications of epigenetic biomarkers in clinical disease management.

Main Target Audience: Oncologists, Geneticists, Pathologists; Clinical Laboratories; Hospitals; - Researchers interested in the following topics: Cancer, Epigenetics, Biomarkers, Clinical Diagnostics, Cytogenetics, Pathology, DNA Regulation/Transcription, Genomics/Molecular Biology, Drug Discovery

Why should you attend?: Whether you are a scientist, a student, a lab technician, or a curious citizen, this webinar will provide fascinating insights into new tools to monitor epigenetic cancer biomarkers that will deepen our understanding of cancer emergence, pathology, diagnostics, and outcome.

Presented by: Prof. Dr. Tomasz K. Wojdacz
Associate Professor of personalized medicine
Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Denmark and CEO & Co-Founder Methyldetect ApS

Topic: Epigenetics, Clinical