Workshop on Enhancing Systemic Drug Delivery in Cancer (Overview)

Cancer treatments are continuously improving, however, delivering drugs effectively by controlling their pharmacokinetics and biodistribution still poses significant challenges. Several methods to enhance the delivery and accumulation of drugs at the tumor site have been developed and used with varying success. These methods usually rely on the use of delivery platforms, modification of the tumor microenvironment, or apply companion diagnostic tools to identify individuals who have the potential to respond well to a particular delivery mechanism.

This workshop will provide the opportunities for physicians and researchers working with different cancer treatment modalities and drug delivery strategies to take stock of the current techniques used for enhancement of systemic drug delivery to tumors and to discuss best strategies for the future. We will conduct discussions in two ‘orthogonal’ sessions covering 1) different cancer treatment modalities and their requirements on delivery approaches and 2) available delivery methodologies and their suitability to support current and emerging cancer therapies.

This workshop is organized under Cancer Moonshot initiative which aims to accelerate cancer research and to make more therapies available to more patients. We hope that you will enjoy this important discussion. Its outcomes are expected to aid cancer patients in obtaining better and more comfortable care in the future.

Invited speakers (in alphabetical order):
Daniel Anderson, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
William Dahut, MD, National Cancer Institute
Alberto Gabizon, MD, PhD, Hebrew University-School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel
Jordan Green, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
Darrell Irvine, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
John Lambert, PhD, John Lambert Consulting, formerly Immunogen Inc.
Laurent Levy, PhD, Nanobiotix, Paris, France
Philip Low, PhD, Purdue University
Marcela Maus, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
Samir Mitragotri, PhD, Harvard University
Zachary Morris, MD, PhD, University of Wisconsin
Andre Nel, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
Neeta Pandit-Taskar, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Anil Sood, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Workshop Organizing Committee:
Rose Aurigemma, PhD, Developmental Therapeutics Program/Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis/NCI
Piotr Grodzinski, PhD, Cancer Imaging Program/Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis/NCI
Lalitha Shankar, MD, PhD, Cancer Imaging Program/Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis/NCI
Stephan Stern, PhD, Nanotechnology Characterization Lab/Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research