Keynote speakers announced for the Early Detection of Cancer Conference 2025

CRUK-Funded: interim results from the BRAID trial

A large-scale trial has indicated that extra scans used in breast cancer screening could treble cancer detection for a subset of women with very dense breasts, potentially saving up to 700 lives a year in the UK.
BRAID is the first trial to directly compare supplemental imaging methods and demonstrate their value for early cancer detection as part of widespread screening.
The team, led by Fiona Gilbert at the University of Cambridge, hope their results will be used to enhance screening programmes in the UK and globally to diagnose more cancers early.

CRUK-Funded: study identifies “cell of origin” in LUSC

A team from University College London (UCL), the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge have identified the “cell of origin” in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) and how it becomes dominant in the lung.
Observing how a population of basal cells in the trachea outcompeted other cell types, invading and occupying large areas of the lung, the team identified these cells, which express the Krt5 gene that helps build cell structure, as the origin point for LUSC to develop.
Sam Janes, a senior author of the study, said in UCL’s report, “By understanding the ‘cell of origin’ where these changes begin and how they develop, the ambition is that we will be able to design strategies to prevent lung cancer occurring in the first place or at least detect it much earlier.”

Do you have questions about applying your early detection research to cancer prevention?

Join our City of London Centre for a one-day, in-person “Primer on Cancer Prevention” to learn the fundamentals of cancer prevention from experts in the field.
Peter Sasieni, of the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, is one of the event co-hosts, and gave us an insight into what attendees can expect:
“We’ll give a taster of four perspectives – the lab, the clinic, epidemiology and behavioural science. This will allow us to bring together what we understand about cancer prevention at the molecular level with societal questions about how to change behaviours.”
So, if you have questions about how your early detection research could be applied in the context of cancer prevention, this is the event for you.
Register today to join Peter Sasieni and co-hosts at the Primer in London on 24 June.
Please note that registration for the Primer event does not include attendance to the Cancer Prevention Research Conference 2025.

The pitfalls and potential of generative AI

As universities wrestle with how to address the impact of generative AI on many levels, what does it mean on an individual level for a postdoc or PhD student in a lab interested in using generative AI to support their work?
A few years on in the generative AI revolution, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute’s Andrew Porter looks at where we are now with AI tools and what researchers need to think about before diving in.
Read Andrew’s latest column in our “Research with Integrity” column on Cancer News for a balanced take on the opportunities, risks and considerations of using generative AI in your research.

The Pre-Cancer State and interception opportunities at #PrevConf25

Are you interested in hearing what’s new in pre-cancer biology? Join us for a series of engaging scientific sessions at the Cancer Prevention Research Conference 2025!
On Day 1, Simon Leedham (University of Oxford) and Irene Ghobrial (Havard Medical School) will co-chair a session on “Pre-cancer biology and interception opportunities,” joined by Margaret Fabre (AstraZeneca), Jen Morton (Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute) and Doug Winton (Cambridge Stem Cell Institute).
This is followed on Day 2 by a panel discussion on “Defining the Pre-Cancer State to enable innovations in preventive intervention.” The session will be chaired by Laura Wood (John Hopkins University School of Medicine), with speakers Sam Janes (UCL), Marnix Jansen (UCL Cancer Institute) and Phil Jones (University of Cambridge).
Join us to discuss the latest studies and thinking in pre-cancer biology research with experts in the field at #PrevConf25 from 25-27 June in London, UK.