Cancer research in focus: New ways to trigger cell death!

Cancer research in focus: New ways to trigger cell death!

The 31st Conference of the European Cell Death Organization (ECDO) took place from October 7th to 10th, 2025 in the Kaiserin-Friedrich-Haus in Berlin. The conference was organized by the Brandenburg Theodor Fontane Medical School (MHB) and the Campus Academy. Under the leadership of Prof. Hans-Uwe Simon, President of the MHB and former ECDO President, a scientific program was designed that dealt intensively with the guiding theme “Classic meets modern: functional specificity and crosstalk of new and old types of cell death”.

The focus was particularly on the functional specificity of classic and newly described forms of programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis, and their relevance to various diseases. Such disruptions in programmed cell death can have serious consequences and are often associated with the development of diseases such as cancer, chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases.

Current research on cell death mechanisms

As part of the scientific program, specialist lectures, poster presentations and discussion forums were held to promote the exchange of active research results. The ECDO was founded in 1994 from the “European Working Group on Apoptosis” and now brings together over 200 scientists who are dedicated to cell death research in Europe. The ECDO meetings provide a platform for exchange between basic research and clinical application and aim to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms of cell death and to develop new therapeutic approaches.

A central topic of research remains apoptosis, which is considered a crucial mechanism in cancer research. The immortality of cancer cells often results from the inability to induce apoptosis. Healthy cells, on the other hand, activate this process in the event of irreparable genetic damage, which helps prevent degeneration. In many cancer cells, the genes that trigger apoptosis are damaged, which increases the risk that precancerous lesions will develop into invasive tumors.

The German Cancer Aid has been supporting the “Apoptosis Deficiency” program since 1999, which deals with research into programmed cell death in cancer. The aim of the program is to specifically induce cell death processes in cancer and to overcome the resistance of cancer cells. The latest research results are regularly discussed at a symposium in Heidelberg.

Innovations in therapy

Researchers like Dr. Min Li-Weber is investigating herbal ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine that are able to sensitize apoptosis-resistant leukemia cells without damaging healthy immune cells. Dr. Heike Bantel has identified a biomarker that tracks the response to chemotherapy in colon cancer and indicates the death of tumor cells. This could help identify patients who do not respond to certain medications.

Furthermore, works by Professor Dr. Klaus Michael Debatin and his team show that the ability of cancer cells to trigger apoptosis is a crucial predictive factor for acute leukemia. Progress has already been made in the treatment of brain tumors and neuroblastomas by restoring the ability to undergo apoptosis, which significantly expands the therapeutic options.

These developments highlight the need to further explore the mechanisms of programmed cell death and develop innovative therapeutic approaches to address the challenges in the fight against cancer. The link between basic research and clinical application, as promoted at the ECDO conference, is of central importance.