XXXI Porto Cancer Meeting - Breaking Boundaries: Adhesion regulation in Cancer

14-16 May 2025 | i3S, Porto, Portugal

It is our great honour to welcome you to the XXXI Edition of the Porto Cancer Meeting. Hosted by the i3S-Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, the largest health research institute in Portugal, the meeting is a historic discussion forum, bringing together leading researchers, scientists, and clinicians in the cancer field. The XXXI Porto Cancer Meeting will focus on the intricacies of cancer cell connections and its implications in cancer development and progression. By coupling basic discoveries with translational and clinical research, the event will foster interdisciplinary interactions addressing fundamental mechanical and biochemical processes, which orchestrate cellular functions and tissue organization. This knowledge will impact our capacity to tackle cancer diagnosis, management and treatment. Ultimately, this conference will witness ground-breaking discoveries, novel therapeutic approaches and collaborative efforts that will shape the future of oncology.

Poster >>

Sandra Tavares
Ana Sofia Ribeiro
Joana Figueiredo
Florence Janody
Joana Paredes
Eurico Morais de Sá

Day 1 | 14^th May 2025

14:30 - 15:00 Welcome Session

15:00 - 17:00 | Session 1: Cell-Cell Adhesion as a Tumour Suppressive Mechanism

15:00 - 15:40 Physical and biochemical signatures of an invasive cancer program triggered by E-cadherin dysfunction
Joana Figueiredo, i3S, Portugal

15:40 - 16:20 Carien Niessen (CECAC, University of Cologne, Germany)

16:20 - 16:40 Selected Talk

16:40 - 17:00 Selected Talk

17:00 - 17:30 Porto Honour and Snacks

17:30 - 19:00  Poster Session 1
Networking and poster presentations

Day 2 | 15^th May 2025

09:00 - 11:00 | Session 2: Mechanical Regulation of/by Adhesion

09:00 - 09:40 Martijn Gloerich (UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands)

09:40 - 10:20 Denise Montell (UCSB, USA)

10:20 - 10:40 Selected Talk

10:40 - 11:00 Selected Talk

11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 - 13:00  Poster Session 2
Networking and poster presentations

13:00 - 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 - 17:40 | Session 3: Molecular Mechanisms of Adhesion Signaling

14:30 - 15:10 Loss of cell adhesion and breast cancer progression
Patrick Derksen, UMC Utrecht, The Netherlands

15:10 - 15:30 Selected Talk

15:30 - 15:50 Selected Talk

15:50 - 16:20 Coffee Break

16:20 - 17:00 Andrew Ewald (Johns Hopkins University, USA)

17:00 - 17:20 Selected Talk

17:20 - 17:40 Selected Talk

20:00 Meeting dinner

Day 3 | 16^th May 2025

09:30 - 12:40 | Session 4: Therapeutic Targets & Clinical Insights

09:30 - 10:10 Advances in Early Detection and Risk Stratification in Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer: A Path Towards Personalized Treatment
Rachel S van der Post, Radboud Institute, The Netherlands

10:10 - 10:30 Selected Talk

10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:40 Chemputers and Fly Avatars: Targeting Cancer Networks
Ross Cagan, University of Glasgow, UK

11:40 - 12:00 Selected Talk

12:00 - 12:40 Carla Oliveira (i3S, Portugal) 

12:40 - 13:00 Awards and Closing Session

Joana Figueiredo, i3S, Portugal

Joana Figueiredo graduated in Applied Biology at University of Minho in 2005 and completed her PhD at the Medical Faculty of University of Porto in 2012, under the supervision of Professor Raquel Seruca. During her PhD, she became fascinated by cancer biology and identified trafficking-related partners altered by E-cadherin dysfunction associated with Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer.

Currently, Joana Figueiredo is an Assistant Researcher at the Intercellular Communication and Cancer Group from i3S and at the Medical Faculty of University of Porto, where she investigates the crosstalk between cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in pathological conditions. She has been challenging conventional perspectives on E-cadherin mutations by demonstrating that they cause a range of clinical phenotypes beyond hereditary gastric cancer, namely cleft lip/palate and hereditary lobular breast cancer.

Joana Figueiredo has been keen to address her scientific questions in an innovative and multidisciplinary way, involving in vitro, in vivo and in silico models in the context of an international collaborative network. Her ambition is to advance our understanding of E-cadherin as more than a cell-cell adhesion molecule, which ultimately can be targeted for the benefit of patients.

Carien Niessen, Cecac, Cologne, Germany

Martijn Gloerich, UMC, Utrecht, Netherlands

Denise Montell, UC Santa Barbara, USA

Patrick Derksen, UMC Utrecht, Netherlands

Patrick Derksen is Professor and Principal Investigator (PI) at the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht with an outstanding track record in discovery and preclinical oncology. Specialist in conditional knockout mouse models, with a focus on loss of cell adhesion and tumor progression in breast cancer. His work pivots on translation of basic scientific findings via preclinical model systems towards clinical implementation. International work experience and a strong international network builder in the academic field. He has generated high-impact publications in top scientific journals. Successful acquisition of sustained external funding (approx.1M€/year). Patrick is head of Research at the Pathology Department and Central Tissue Facility. He is a coordinator of the BSc Clinical Oncology course (Biomedical Sciences) at Utrecht University.

Finally, he is founder and chair of the European Lobular Breast Cancer Consortium (24 Institutes, 50+ PI’s, 5 patient advocates, 22 countries) in part sponsored by COST (CA19138).

Andrew Ewald, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA

Rachel S van der Post, Radboud UMC, Nijmegen, Netherlands

Rachel S. van der Post (nickname: Chella) is an experienced clinical pathologist and Associate Professor of Hereditary Cancer at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Since completing her pathology training and obtaining her PhD in 2017, with a focus on familial gastric cancer, she has established herself as a leading expert in hereditary cancers. Chella’s research, widely supported by grants, is centered on rare cancers, including gallbladder cancer and hereditary gastrointestinal tumors, with a particular focus on gastric cancer. Her research integrates histologic analysis, computational pathology, molecular cancer progression, and clinical approaches, providing a comprehensive view of hereditary cancer diagnostics and progression.

Chella is an active member of various national boards, such as the Dutch expert group of gastrointestinal pathologists and the Dutch pathology association; she contributes to clinical gallbladder/cholangiocarcinoma guidelines and hereditary colorectal cancer guidelines. Internationally, she collaborates on several working groups, including the IGCLC for hereditary gastric cancer guidelines, the ICCR for pathology reporting standards, and the WHO Blue book authorgroup. During her 2023–2024 research sabbatical in Dunedin-University of Otago, New Zealand, Chella deepened her expertise in hereditary gastric cancer research and preclinical cancer (organoid) models. With over 90 peer-reviewed publications and multiple PhD students under her guidance, she is a recognized authority in upper gastrointestinal pathology and hereditary cancer research.

Ross Cagan, University of Glasgow, UK

Dr. Cagan is currently the Regius Professor of Precision Medicine and holds several directorial and leadership roles at the University of Glasgow, co-founded Medros Inc., serves on the board of Vivan, and is a Wohl Fellow of the Royal Society. As Academic Lead of the UKRI Living Laboratory and Director of SHIRE, he is working with a team to improve Scotland's healthcare and biotechnology sectors.

Dr. Cagan is currently the Regius Professor of Precision Medicine and holds several directorial and leadership roles at the University of Glasgow, co-founded Medros Inc., serves on the board of Vivan, and is a Wohl Fellow of the Royal Society. As Academic Lead of the UKRI Living Laboratory and Director of SHIRE, he is working with a team to improve Scotland's healthcare and biotechnology sectors.

Carla Oliveira, i3S, Portugal

15^th May 2025 | 20:00 | Dinner at Casa da Música Restaurant

Address: Casa da Música - Avenida da Boavista, 604-610 - Piso 7 | 4149-071 Porto

Meeting dinner fee: 41€

The call for abstracts will be open until 4^th February 2025 (notification of acceptance until 18^th February). The abstract will be evaluated and selected either for oral communication or poster communication.

Abstracts should be structured according to the following template:

Abstract template >>

Abstract submission form >>

Anyone who has submitted an abstract must be registered until the early bird registration otherwise their communication will be withdrawn from the program.

Registration fee includes the lunch on 15^th May and coffee breaks.
The participation in the meeting dinner is suject to payment (41€).

Fees:

Early bird registration until 3rd March 2025 | Payment deadline: 12th March 2025
- i3S members, P.CCC Raquel Seruca members & Students*: 75€
- ASPIC members**: 75€
- External participants: 160€

Late registration until 1st April 2025 | Payment deadline: 10th April 2025
- i3S members, P.CCC Raquel Seruca members & Students*: 95€
- ASPIC members**: 95€
- External participants: 180€

* Students should enclose a letter confirming their status signed by their supervisors or other documents that prove their status.

** Limited to 10 participants.

Registration form >>

Institucional Sponsors

More information:
Events Management Unit | Rua Alfredo Allen 208 | 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Email: events@i3s.up.pt | Tel: +351 226 074 900