Unravelling the ‘known unknowns’: lessons and reflections from the New Directions in Leukemia

Patients diagnosed with leukemia approach their treatment with the hope of cure despite the effect on their quality of life. Some patients will be cured, others will die from treatment and some will die of their disease. A common theme at The New Directions in Leukemia Research (NDLR 2012) meeting was that cure will come if the drivers of the disease are better understood. Key messages were the power of combination platforms to understand the genetic and epigenetic modifications in leukemia to enable development of rational therapies, which can be tested via new clinical trial designs ensuring rapid clinical implementation. Statement of purpose NDLR is the only biennial international conference focused on leukemia. The aims of the meetings are to bring together scientists and clinicians to discuss and debate current concepts in our understanding of the molecular basis of leukemia, emerging paradigms and breakthroughs at the forefronts of leukemia research, and new therapies emerging in the clinic. There were 8 international speakers, 10 national speakers, 17 selected oral presentations and 53 posters. The meeting also hosted an early career forum, sponsored by the Leukemia Foundation of Australia, where some of the international and national speakers shared the trials and tribulations of their journey in science with 60 early career researchers. Success in CML and why current targeted therapies don’t suit everybody Tim Hughes (Centre for Cancer Biology, Adelaide, Australia) gave the NDLR 2012 Special Oration reflecting on what imatinib has taught us about chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and targeted Research. on September 23, 2017. © 2012 American Association for Cancer cancerres.aacrjournals.org Downloaded from Author manuscripts have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication but have not yet been edited. Author Manuscript Published OnlineFirst on June 26, 2012; DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-1832