Meeting Report Developmental Origins of Cancer

Laboratory and epidemiological studies on childhood and adult malignancy support a role for the developmental origins of cancer. The Developmental Origins of Cancer Symposium hosted by the University of Minnesota (February 28, 2009 to March 1, 2009) brought together individuals from diverse disciplines to discuss and prioritize steps needed to advance the research area. Information on key speakers and their recommended reading list is provided in the Appendix. The symposium format allowed for considerable audience discussion and brainstorming; speakers presented five or fewer slides in 15 minutes. From the discussions it became clear that (a) developmental origins of childhood and adult malignancies exist, (b) establishment of many critical epigenetic patterns occurs in utero and is sensitive to environmental perturbations, (c) failure to establish proper epigenetic patterns may increase the risk of developing cancer, and (d) improved methods to evaluate environmental exposures and proper establishment of epigenetic patterns could provide important tools to better understand the risks of specific in utero environmental exposures. Highlights are provided below along with recommendations for the future.