Dartmouth hosts international symposium on the cancer Ewing's sarcoma

Posted 04/19/02, by Susan Knapp

Dartmouth is hosting cancer specialists from around the world April 21-23 to discuss the second most common type of bone cancer, Ewing's sarcoma.

At this second international symposium dedicated to this topic, researchers will share the latest news about the disease itself, how it's detected, and the options for treatment.

Dartmouth Medical School's Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) and Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering are collaborating and lending their experts to this three-day event, which is presented by the National Cancer Institute and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Events take place at the Thayer School and NCCC. Dartmouth Medical School Dean John Baldwin and Thayer School Dean Lewis Duncan will both address the participants at a welcoming ceremony on April 21.

Lee Helman, Chief of the Pediatric Branch at the National Cancer Institute, will also speak. Helman is a longtime colleague of Mark Israel, a physician and Professor of Pediatrics and of Genetics, and Director of Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Many Dartmouth faculty members will moderate panel discussions throughout the symposium.

"I'm pleased that Dartmouth and Norris Cotton Cancer Center can help bring together this group of internationally recognized experts in diverse fields -- really the best minds now thinking about the disease," said Israel. "Precisely this kind of facilitative impetus is essential as we address important problems in cancer. We hope it will lead to new knowledge about the molecular basis for EwingÕs sarcoma and the clinical management of tumors of this type."

Support for the symposium comes from the Nearburg Foundation. Charles Nearburg '72, Th '74 and his wife, Dana, established the foundation in part to fund pediatric cancer research. Their son Rett, 18, has been fighting Ewing's sarcoma for more than eight years.

"My family has a personal connection to this horrible disease," said Charles Nearburg, "and weÕre dedicated to supporting research that addresses Ewing's."

The symposium will explore new findings on imaging techniques and the molecular markers of prognosis. Researchers will also report on the status of clinical studies and debate the issue of irradiation versus surgery for local treatment and control of the disease. For more details about the symposium and the schedule of presentations, call 650-6300.

- Susan Knapp