Objective. Modern predictive and preventive medicine as well as personalized patient care depend on access to state-of-the-art diagnostics including molecular imaging, molecular pathology, laboratory medicine and deep phenotyping methods. While being in active pursuit by several groups, these fields cannot be regarded as independent anymore; instead a  convergent approach appears most promising in bringing together specialty expertise that previously has advanced autonomously.

Moreover, a number of novel and effective pharmaceuticals for therapeutic interventions are available today that can be used more effectively in specific patients if we improve our a priori understanding of tumour characteristics. Through a priori patient selection we are more likely to increase treatment response and survival rates.

This meeting will highlight important aspects of image based and other noninvasive biomarker derivation and quantification in the context of expanding our understanding of disease mechanisms and the definition of appropriate therapeutic strategies. The 2nd Danube Symposium takes place in close succession of the 2016 Danube Symposium on “Applied Diagnostics for effective cancer treatment”. This meeting will be co-organized for the first time in conjunction with the Innovation Track from the International Tübingen PET/MR workshops that took place on an annual base since 2012. Furthermore, the CBmed Biomarker Conference which is held for the 3rd time is also integrated within the programme. Highlights of the 2018 meeting include dedicated sessions on non-invasive biomarker development, standardization and quantification, data sharing and knowledge generation from big data as well as novel data processing and integration strategies. Roundtable discussions on hot topics, including the need to align on educating the next generation of molecular diagnostics experts will add to the portfolio of events. This meeting is open to free papers, which are presented as posters and rapid fire talks.

This 2nd “Danube Symposium” meeting, together with the 3rd CBmed Biomarker Conference, intends to provide a forum to open-minded experts both from academia and industry in the field of molecular pathology, laboratory medicine, nuclear medicine, clinical pharmacology and beyond who share this vision and like to engage in advancing effective and individualized treatments based on novel and validated diagnostic approaches.

The “2nd Donau Symposium” will be accredited with 14 DFP points. Final approval from the Austrian Medical Chamber is pending.

Further information, programme and registration