Towards individualized cancer therapy: Challenges and prospects

At the 17th International Symposium in the annual series of prestigious meetings organized by the Fritz Bender Foundation, 07-09 November 2013, researchers, clinicians and students gathered to discuss and exchange knowledge on individualized cancer therapies. Co-organized and hosted by the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Barcelona, Spain, the sessions covered genetic profiling of patients, tumor characterization, tumor-host relationships and therapeutic targets, with talks from many international experts in the field. The presentations summarized in this report illustrate the current status of our knowledge and the future directions for cancer research in these broad topic areas.