Yale Prostate Cancer Symposium Highlights Precision Oncology

Resistance is a fundamental problem in prostate cancer treatment. Yale organizers planned a recent gathering of problem solvers with its inaugural Yale Prostate Cancer Symposium: “Decoding Resistance, Advancing Precision, and Shaping the Future.” More than 150 faculty, clinicians, trainees, students, and science-curious attendees gathered in early June.

The symposium opened with welcome remarks from Yale Cancer Center (YCC) leadership, including Director Eric Winer, MD, and Deputy Director Katerina Politi, PhD. The event also received support from leaders of the Cancer Signaling Networks Program at YCC, and the Department of Urology, showing Yale’s commitment to advancing prostate cancer research, precision oncology, and collaborative cancer discovery.

"The symposium exceeded all our expectations," says Ping Mu, PhD, division chief of urologic sciences, and chair of the organizing committee for the symposium. "We had guests who traveled from across the country, including Ohio, Kansas, New York, and Washington, DC."

A collaborative conversation on what comes next

The symposium brought together experts to discuss key challenges in prostate cancer research and care, including therapy resistance, changes in cell type (lineage plasticity), precision oncology, discovery using artificial intelligence (AI), and the use of biomarkers in clinical practice. Organizers say the program was designed to highlight questions that remain unanswered in the field.

Keynote speakers bring national perspective

Two leaders in cancer biology and prostate cancer research set the scientific tone with keynote presentations. Charles L. Sawyers, MD, from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, spoke about “How Cancer Cells Escape Targeted Therapy by Changing Identity,” highlighting his landmark contributions to targeted therapy and resistance in prostate cancer and other malignancies. Cory Abate-Shen, PhD, of Columbia University, presented “Innovative Approaches for Modeling Metastasis in Genetically Engineered Mouse Models,” reflecting her important contributions to prostate cancer biology, cancer genetics, and disease modeling. Together, their lectures reinforced the symposium’s central focus on understanding and outmaneuvering treatment resistance. Both keynote speakers also shared highly positive feedback about the scientific quality, organization, and collaborative atmosphere of the meeting.

Yale faculty present across research spectrum

The program also featured Yale speakers presenting basic, translational, and clinical research. Many gave scientific talks, including Daniel Petrylak, MD; William Oh, MD; Isaac Yi Kim, MD, PhD, MBA; and Michael Leapman, MD, MHS. Other Yale speakers included Jiyeon Kim, PhD; Joseph Kim, MD; Samir Zaidi, MD, PhD; Gabriela Spilberg, MD; Sanjay Aneja, MD, PhD; Su Deng, PhD; William Kim, PhD; and Ping Mu, PhD.

Emerging researchers make their mark

An abstract poster session highlighted the work of early-career investigators, and five presenters were selected as winners:

• Bennett Allison, BS, University of Toledo, is testing whether blocking key nutrient “importers” can reverse drug resistance in prostate cancer.
• Siyuan Cheng, PhD, at the Mu Lab, Yale Urology, is combining AI, 3D mini-tumors, and spatial gene maps to detect worrisome prostate cancer early and guide treatment.
• Melanie Fraidenburg, BS, Mu Lab, Yale Urology, is studying how the loss of a protective protein may allow prostate cancer to bypass AR-targeting drugs by switching to an alternative hormonal signal.
• Lin Li, PhD, Feldman Lab, Yale Endocrinology, is using deep learning and multi-omics data to study changes in neuroendocrine tumors and identify a potentially targetable dormant epigenetic state.
• Anfeng Luo, PhD, Deng Lab, Yale Urology, is investigating how a broken “off switch” in cancer cells can make prostate cancer resistant to the drugs designed to treat it, by triggering an unexpected metabolic chain reaction.

Recognizing junior researchers alongside established leaders was intentional, say symposium organizers, who designed programming to be both inspiring and innovative.

"Many attendees told me it felt like a premier national meeting while maintaining the collegial and collaborative atmosphere that makes Yale special," says Mu.