MEETING HIGHLIGHTS: THE THIRD MARIE SKLODOWSKA-CURIE SYMPOSIUM ON CANCER RESEARCH AND CARE AT ROSWELL PARK COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER, BUFFALO, NY, SEPTEMBER 20-22, 2023.

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Symposia on Cancer Research and Care (MSCS-CRC) promote collaborations between cancer researchers and care providers in the United States, Canada and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC), to accelerate the development of new cancer therapies, advance early detection and prevention, increase cancer awareness, and improve cancer care and the quality of life of patients and their families. The third edition of MSCS-CRC, held at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, in September 2023, brought together 137 participants from 20 academic institutions in the US, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Croatia and Hungary, together with 16 biotech and pharma entities. The key areas of collaborative opportunity identified during the meeting are a) creating of a database of available collaborative projects in the areas of early-phase clinical trials, preclinical development, and identification of early biomarkers; b) promoting awareness of cancer risks and efforts at cancer prevention; c) laboratory and clinical training; and d) sharing experience in cost-effective delivery of cancer care and improving the quality of life of cancer patients and their families. Examples of ongoing international collaborations in the above areas were discussed. Participation of the representatives of the Warsaw-based Medical Research Agency, National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the United States, National Cancer Research Institutes of Poland and Lithuania, New York State Empire State Development, Ministry of Health of Ukraine and Translational Research Cancer Center Consortium of 13 cancer centers from the US and Canada, facilitated the discussion of available governmental and non-governmental funding initiatives in the above areas.

Whole blood propionylcarnitine in newborns with orofacial cleft.

Orofacial clefts are thought to be determined by the interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Experiments on animals demonstrated that vitamin B12 supplemented diets antagonize selected teratogens during palatogenesis. Increased propionylcarnitine in neonates is regarded as a marker of maternal vitamin B12 deficiency. The retrospective study was undertaken to determine whether increased propionylcarnitine in newborns is associated with orofacial clefts. Fifty-two newborns with isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CLP) and 107 control newborns without congenital anomalies were investigated. Whole blood propionylcarnitine concentrations were measured using tandem mass spectrometry. The mean concentrations of propionylcarnitine in newborns with clefts and controls were 2.82±1.06µmolL(-1) and 2.68±0.94µmolL(-1), respectively. T-test for equality of means did not confirm any significant differences between both groups (P=0.381). Deficiency of vitamin B12 with metabolic disturbances seems not to be a risk factor for CLP in the investigated group of patients.