It is our great honour to welcome you to Porto for the XXV Edition of the Porto Cancer Meeting. This international meeting is organized annually by Ipatimup since 1990, and, beginning in 2016, it is held under the aegis of i3S – Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, the largest health research institute in Portugal. This year, the scientific program of the XXV Porto Cancer Meeting will focus on Immuno-Oncology, being entitled “Cancer Wars: The Immune Force Awakens”.

Immuno-Oncology is a burning and innovative field in cancer research and therapy, aiming to understand the process and to harness the body’s own immune system to fight tumour cells. The boost in Immuno-Oncology was primarily triggered by the promising results of anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD1 antibodies in melanoma patients, and also by the approval of the autologous cellular immunotherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer. Since then, a massive number of Immuno-Oncology clinical trials have provided encouraging results and there is an increasing effort to develop anti-cancer immunotherapeutic agents that act on different levels of the immune system. With the advent of Immuno-Oncology, came also novel challenges for researchers and clinicians who have to further understand the complexities of the cancer cell: immune cell interaction, determine the best immune-related response criteria and develop adequate biomarkers that best suit patient care.

Once more, the Porto Cancer Meeting is bringing together the perspectives from several key players in the field ranging from researchers to clinicians. Through its characteristic multidisciplinary and informal atmosphere, the meeting will create a superb environment for discussing the latest developments in Immuno-Oncology as a crucial means for developing the best possible therapies for cancer patients.

The Meeting will include, besides keynote lectures, oral sessions and two poster sessions with flash presentations of selected research works, which will be held in an informal environment, allowing close and detailed discussions between participants.

We wish you all a pleasant and stimulating conference and we hope you will enjoy this beautiful and vibrant city of Porto.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
André Albergaria | Jorge Lima | José Carlos Machado | Júlio Oliveira