Early detection of cancer from blood
In oncological diagnostics, Prof. Holdenrieder addresses the ‘hot topic’ of ‘multi-cancer early detection’ (MCED). This involves highly sensitive and highly parallelized techniques that enable the early detection of cancer from blood. The basis for this are DNA molecules that are released from cancer cells into the circulation – known as cell-free or cfDNA – and which, due to certain biochemical characteristics such as methylation and fragment length patterns, can provide information about which tumors they originate from, even before these become clinically or radiologically detectable. Advanced bioinformatic techniques are required to evaluate the flood of data generated in this process.
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Day 3: Young Scientists Day
The ‘Young Scientists Day’ has also become a tradition, with PD Dr Verena Haselmann inviting young scientists to present their research results and represent the interests of the next generation of laboratory medicine professionals. This year's main topics are artificial intelligence in laboratory medicine in the morning and ‘Tele-Lab Care’ in the afternoon. Both sessions will focus on the increasing digitalization of laboratory medical patient care and collaboration with other diagnostic areas, such as imaging in the context of integrated diagnostics or continuous self-monitoring with wearables. The spectrum of presentations ranges from the support of integrated diagnostics through large language models to special AI applications in hematological oncology and pediatrics to regulatory aspects of telemedical patient care via digital platforms.
Day 4: Healthy ageing and longevity
To conclude this year's MEDICA LABMED FORUM, Dr Kai Prager (DiaSys Diagnostic Systems GmbH) and Dr Peter Quick from the Association of the Diagnostics Industry (VDGH) will continue the exciting discussion on healthy ageing and new approaches to prolonging human life, which they successfully launched in 2024. Anti-ageing is a controversial topic in medicine because the boundaries between serious science and dubious commercial promises are blurred.
The two chairmen have set themselves the task of strengthening confidence in this research sector with scientifically sound contributions. Dr Kai Prager comments: “‘This year, we are focusing specifically on the question of how cellular processes and epigenetic changes influence our ageing and what role stem cells play in this”. Another focus is the prevention of dementia and the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases through personalized diagnostics and therapy.
