Main Topic at Medica Education Conference to be Personalized Medicine

As a new core element of MEDICA 2013, International Trade Fair with Congress – World Forum for Medicine, the MEDICA EDUCATION CONFERENCE’s main topic will be what personalized medicine can already currently achieve with respect to early detection, diagnosis and treatment of certain cancers.

“It is about solid findings that might (and should) lead to improved and personalized patient medical care but have not yet been implemented in such a way for one reason or another,” explained Professor Dr. med. Gabriela Möslein, spokesperson for the “Hereditary Gastrointestinal Tumors” group of the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV). With its extensive offering for certified training, this conference is primarily geared towards physicians.

To be held from November 20 – 23, 2013 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany, MEDICA 2013 will feature more than 4,500 exhibitors from over 60 nations, complemented by a comprehensive conference program. “As a leading international market and information platform, MEDICA is able of facilitate knowledge transfer in daily clinical practice by interlinking conference programs and trade fair offerings. Here, the manufacturers’ development experts come together with the scientists to drive projects and to implement the use of new findings to the benefit of their patients,” added Joachim Schäfer, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf.

The first day of the conference (November 20) will deal with molecular markers for tumors. Microsatellite instability serves to assess a tumor with respect to inherited predisposition by means of a defect in the so-called “DNA mismatch repair system” and varied responsiveness to forms of chemotherapy. Detection of the first patient within a family (the so-called index patient) should lead to the examination of further family members for the possibility of a likewise high risk of cancer and provide them with consultation. This examination of blood at a molecular-genetic level is an established practice but is used too seldom for the possibility of preventive measures - or in the well-known case of Angelina Jolie - in advising the implementation of appropriate risk assessment activities and the option of preventive surgery.

German reference pathologists Professor Josef Rüschhoff and Professor Rainer Büttner will speak on the topic of microsatellite instability. In the following days, along with other renowned national and international speakers, human geneticist Professor Sir John Burn will present the latest in science and technology and draw attention to current and future procedures.

The conference program on November 21 will highlight the newly founded international association of top-ranking scientists who are committed to this topic as a global alliance. The objective of the association is to find ways for a responsible exchange of genetic and clinical data on an international level. On the third day (November 22), specific technologies will be on the agenda including stem-cell research, “exon skipping” and inoculations as prevention against different forms of cancer.

The MEDICA EDUCATION CONFERENCE addresses national and international experts as well as - especially on the first day - clinically active physicians of all disciplines, particularly gynecologists, gastroenterologists, surgeons, pathologists and human geneticists.

Detailed information about the MEDICA EDUCATION CONFERENCE program is available at: http://www.medica-tradefair.com