On July 14 and 15, Vall d'Hebron hosted the first international meeting on ERK5 signaling, a protein whose role in tumor development has been under special investigation in recent years. This congress has been promoted by Dr. José M. Lizcano, head of the Protein Kinases and Cancer group, and Dr. Miquel Segura, principal investigator of the Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders group, both from Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in order to bring together most of the experts working on this protein worldwide.

ERK5 protein is a kinase that plays an important role in the control of tumor cell survival and proliferation. Therefore, ERK5 has recently been proposed as a possible therapeutic target for the treatment of different types of adult tumors, such as endometrial, lung, colon, breast, liver and prostate tumors, and also in pediatric solid tumors such as neuroblastoma. Recent studies also indicate that ERK5 may be involved in resistance to targeted cancer therapies.

The congress held this week presented the latest developments in ERK5 and included discussions on the future of research in this field. "This first meeting allows us to establish the basis for collaboration to promote studies of this factor with the aim of being able to take the advances to clinical practice", says Dr. Miquel Segura. "The research we are carrying out will allow us to promote ERK5 as a prognostic marker of the disease and also as a therapeutic target", adds Dr. José M. Lizcano.

Nearly 40 specialists in this field of research attended the conference, both from Spanish centers and from the United States, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and France.