Scientists have discovered that some childhood bone cancers start growing years before they are currently diagnosed. Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Canada discovered large-scale genetic rearrangements in Ewing Sarcomas and other children’s cancers, and showed these can take years to form in bone or soft tissue. This study will help unravel the causes of childhood cancers and raises the possibility of finding ways to diagnose and treat these cancers earlier in the future.
The research also showed that cancers with the complex genetic rearrangements were more aggressive and could benefit from more intense treatment than other cancers. This will help doctors decide on the best treatment for each patient.
Ewing sarcoma is a rare cancer found mainly in bone or soft tissue of young teenagers as they grow, and is the second most commonly diagnosed bone cancer in children and young people. Treatment involves chemotherapy, surgery to remove the affected part of the bone if possible and radiotherapy. However, this harsh regime has hardly changed for the last 40 years and fails about one third of patients.
Cancer is a genetic disease and in Ewing sarcoma, two specific genes, EWSR1 and ETS, are fused together. To understand the genetic events leading to this, researchers sequenced and analysed the genomes of 124 tumours. They discovered that in nearly half of the cases, the main gene fusion occurred when the DNA completely rearranged itself, forming complex loops of DNA.
“Many childhood sarcomas are driven by gene fusions, however until now we have not known how or when these key events occur, or whether these processes change at relapse. We found dramatic early chromosomal shattering in 42 per cent of Ewing sarcomas, not only fusing two critical genes together, but also disrupting a number of important areas.”
Dr Adam Shlien, one of the lead authors on the paper, Associate Director of Translational Genetics and Scientist in Genetics & Genome Biology, and co-Director of the SickKids Cancer Sequencing (KiCS) program at SickKids
The earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat, but until now it was thought that Ewing sarcoma was very fast growing. Surprisingly, the researchers found that the complex DNA rearrangements that cause Ewing sarcoma had occurred years before the tumour was diagnosed. This offers possibilities of finding ways to screen for these cancers to treat them earlier.
“In principle this study provides evidence that Ewing sarcoma could be detectable earlier, possibly even before it reveals itself as disease. If we could detect these childhood cancers sooner, when tumours are smaller, they would be much easier to treat. Further research is needed, but this possibility of finding a way to diagnose Ewing sarcomas earlier could help patients in the future.”

Wellcome Sanger Institute
www.sanger.ac.uk/news/view/children-s-bone-cancers-could-remain-hidden-years-diagnosis

Messe Düsseldorf will participate in the AACC Clinical Lab Expo 2019 in order to promote its “MEDICAlliance” program of regional and international medical trade fairs organized around the globe.  At AACC booth 2653, visitor and exhibitor information for MEDICA 2019, World Forum for Medicine, and COMPAMED 2019, High tech solutions for medical technology (held currently from November 18 – 21, 2019 in Düsseldorf, Germany), MEDICAL FAIR CHINA 2019 (September 5 – 7, 2019 in Suzou), MEDICAL FAIR THAILAND 2019 (September 11 – 13, 2019 in Bangkok) as well as MEDICAL FAIR ASIA 2020 and MEDICAL MANUFACTURING ASIA 2020 (held concurrently from September 9 – 11, 2020 in Singapore) and Meditech 2020 (July 14 – 17, 2020 in Bogota, Colombia) will be available.
As the No. 1 international medical trade fair worldwide, MEDICA reflects the status of the medical market. Every year, over 5,200 exhibitors from 66 nations present the complete range of new products, systems and services for high-quality in-patient and out-patient care to about 120,000 visitors from around the globe. Over 70% of the MEDICA exhibitors usually come from nations other than Germany, including more than 400 companies from the U.S. As in the past, Messe Düsseldorf North America will again organize two U.S. Pavilions at MEDICA 2019. Congresses, various theme parks, forums and numerous special events will complement the exhibits. www.medicalliance.global www.medica-tradefair.com

Beckman Coulter has announced that it is a gold sponsor of the 2nd World Sepsis Congress, a free-of-charge online conference, hosted by the Global Sepsis Alliance, that will be held Sept. 5 and 6, 2018. Over the course of 17 sessions, more than 100 speakers from approximately 30 countries will discuss the wide-ranging implications of sepsis and how to raise public awareness of this often-fatal condition.
Sepsis affects 26 million people worldwide each year, and is increasing at a rate of 1.5 percent annually. In the United States alone, about 1.6 million people are diagnosed with the disease. Additionally, it is the third leading cause of death, claiming more than 258,000 lives in the U.S. each year.
“Sepsis is one of the world’s deadliest diseases that often goes undiagnosed,” said Peter Soltani, Ph.D., senior vice president and general manager of Beckman Coulter’s hematology business. “As many as 80 percent of sepsis deaths could be prevented with rapid diagnosis and treatment.”
“We are proud to be a sponsor of the 2nd World Sepsis Congress,” said Soltani, “since its goals align perfectly with our commitment to empowering healthcare professionals with the tools and resources that enable them to detect sepsis as early as possible during patient care.”
Delayed treatment of sepsis can cause cardiovascular collapse, tissue damage, organ failure and ultimately death. Even patients with less severe sepsis can progress to the more severe condition, septic shock, within 72 hours, and up to half of those patients will die as a result. Timely and accurate detection solutions, in an acute-care setting where treatment can be initiated, are key components to stopping the progression of the disease. In fact, when antibiotics are administered early to patients with septic shock, the likelihood of death decreases by 7.6 percent per hour.
In answer to the urgent need for a fast and an accurate detection solution, in June 2018, Beckman Coulter filed a submission for 510(k) clearance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Early Sepsis Indicator, a hematology-based solution designed to alert emergency room clinicians to any patient who might possibly be at risk for developing sepsis. It recently achieved European CE Mark, and is commercially available in select countries for use with the company’s DxH 900 hematology analyzer, which was released in May 2018.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is divided into three subtypes, one of which is particularly aggressive. Researchers from the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) of MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital have now managed to discover a mechanism that contributes to this aggressive behaviour: the tumour cells of this subtype are able to assume special characteristics that promote migration and therefore spread of the cancer. This is possible because the cells receive the requisite signals for this spread from certain messenger substances, namely the two growth factors FGF2 and EGF. By blockading these signals, it might be possible to develop new approaches for treating this subtype of malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Many mechanisms that cause cancer were originally processes that a healthy body needs to function normally. However, the tumour cells "exploit" these processes to promote tumour growth.
For example, in some instances, such as embryonic development or wound healing, it is essential for cells that are anchored in one spot to be able to migrate. To allow this to happen, a complex modification process is initiated within the cell. This is known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). As a result of EMT, the cells change their properties and their appearance. Cells that were once epithelial cells with high cell-cell adhesion and therefore immovable, transform into mesenchymal cells. These are cells with no fixed cell junctions that are therefore able to migrate and spread.  
Michael Grusch, molecular biologist at the Institute of Cancer Research and member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) of MedUni Vienna/Vienna General Hospital and one of the two principal investigators explains: "EMT plays a key role in the development of metastases and in local spread. Especially in the aggressive forms of malignant pleural mesothelioma, we could see that the tumour cells are very similar in appearance to mesenchymal cells. In a petri dish, we have now investigated which biological signals cause the cancer cells to take on the characteristics of these mesenchymal cells."
The researchers found that, in aggressive malignant pleural mesothelioma, EMT is triggered by defined signals. These are, in fact, a group of so-called fibroblast growth factors (FGF2) and epidermal growth factors (EGF). These signaling substances bind to receptors on the surface of the tumour cells and forward the signal to modify into the cell interior.  
Says Karin Schelch, Institute of Cancer Research of MedUni Vienna, member of the CCC and lead author of the study: "If FGF2 and EGF are in play, the tumour subtype becomes more aggressive."  
In a further step, the researchers showed that tumour cells lost their aggressive characteristics again as soon as they encountered substances that blockade the effect of FGF2 and EGF. Says Mir Ali Reza Hoda, Department of Surgery of MedUni Vienna/Vienna General Hospital, member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) of the two institutions and second lead author: "Our results help to provide a better understanding of the disease. Blockading these signals could therefore offer new approaches for treating certain aggressive forms of mesothelioma.
With around 90 new cases per year in Austria, malignant pleural mesothelioma is one of the rarer forms of cancer. However, it is on the increase. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a very aggressive form of cancer that is associated with asbestos and is routinely treated with a combination of chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. Since this particular type of tumour often develops resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the prognosis is very poor. Around 15% of all cases involve the particularly aggressive form of pleural mesothelioma, which was the subject of the research project.  

The Messe Düsseldorf Group is re-focusing their activities on the health market in Brazil and will organize the first MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL from May 5 – 8, 2020 at  the Expo Center Norte in Sao Paulo. It will be an annual event. MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL is supported by and staged in cooperation with the Brazilian medical technology manufacturers association ABIMO. Messe Düsseldorf’s foreign representation in Brazil is responsible for organizing the event.
 “With Messe Düsseldorf and ABIMO, two strong partners are working on the mutual goal of establishing MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL as Brazil’s leading event platform. Using our global network of 75 foreign representations and 12 affiliated companies or subsidiaries, we promote the event in over 130 countries and contribute our valuable experience in organizing medical trade fairs,” explained Wolfram Diener, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf. 
The Messe Düsseldorf Group has been organizing successful healthcare events around the globe for many years. In 2017, these healthcare events were grouped under the new umbrella brand “MEDICAlliance” in order to be marketed as a unit worldwide. In addition to the world-leading trade fair MEDICA and the internationally leading supplier trade fair COMPAMED (held concurrently in Düsseldorf, Germany) , the alliance includes MEDICAL FAIR INDIA (Mumbai/New Delhi), MEDICAL FAIR ASIA (Singapore), MEDICAL FAIR THAILAND (Bangkok) and MEDICAL FAIR CHINA (Suzhou).  
For the South American market, MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL is now being added as a further member of MEDICAlliance. Meditech in Colombia (Bogota) already successfully represents MEDICAlliance in South America. 
 “We know the market and are already well connected in the industry in Brazil thanks to our previous commitments. For us, it is strategically important to have a strong presence on this market with MEDICAlliance. Positive growth prospects and Brazilian business partners, who in our experience are reliable and sincere, are the ideal foundation on which to build a top business,” said Horst Giesen, Global Portfolio Director Health & Medical Technologies at Messe Düsseldorf. The Brazilian market’s volume for medical technology is approximately $ 5.7 billion (source: gtai) and the healthcare industry is among the industries with the highest growth rates in the country.
Paulo Fraccaro, Superintendent at ABIMO, is also looking forward to the cooperation for MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL: “The cooperation between ABIMO and Messe Düsseldorf will bring forth a strong alliance. Together, we are creating the ideal platform for companies to present their innovations and meet relevant decision-makers – both those active in health care as well as manufacturers and distributors in other countries.”
Key exhibit categories at MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL are: Medical technology / medical products, laboratory technology and diagnostics, health IT, physiotherapy and orthopedic technology as well as medical services. The trade fair primarily addresses physicians, medical professionals and managers of health institutions as well as health industry service suppliers and experts in the fields of science, politics, trade and industry.
http://www.medicalfair-brasil.com
www.mdna.com