Our vision for the future is to have a scientific and educational ecosystem that provides equal opportunities for all young researchers.

2022/11/11

HYA event at Festival of Hungarian Science (MTÜ2022): New directions in cancer research and treatment

The Hungarian Young Academy will join the traditional November scientific event of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Hungarian Science Festival, with its own programme This year, the HYA event will take place on 25 November at 10:30 a.m. at the Palace of the Academy, and will also be broadcast live on MTA’s YouTube channel.

Programme

10.30-10.45: Opening remarks
Prof. Dr. Anna Erdei, Deputy Secretary-General of MTA (ELTE Faculty of Natural Sciences); Dr. Katalin Solymosi, Co-Chair of the Hungarian Young Academy (ELTE Faculty of Natural Sciences)

10.45-11.00: Tumours of the past – Is cancer more than the disease of modern-day mankind?
Dr. Tamás Hajdu anthropologist, habil. associate professor (ELTE Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Human Biology)

11.00-11.15: The correlation between cancer and living standards – characteristics at global level and in high-income countries

Dr. Tibor Pintér economist, associate professor (Budapest Business University, Department of Economics and Business Sciences)

11.15-11.30: Who wins at the blood-brain barrier?

Dr. Imola Wilhelm, Senior Research Fellow (Biological Research Centre of Szeged, Institute of Biophysics)

11.30-11.45: Our targeted “nuclear weapon” against tumours – modern radiotherapy
Dr. Georgina Fröhlich, Physicist (National Institute of Oncology, Radiotherapy Centre; Department of Biophysics, ELTE Faculty of Natural Sciences)

11.45–12.25: Roundtable discussion with all the speakers

Moderator: Dr. Orsolya Dömötör, pharmacist, assistant lecturer (University of Szeged, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry)

12.25–12.30: Closing remarks

Dr. Katalin Solymosi, Co-chair of the Hungarian Young Academy (ELTE Faculty of Natural Sciences)

Abstracts

New directions in cancer research and treatment
Tumours of the past – Is cancer more than the disease of modern-day mankind? Is cancer a modern civilisation disease or a problem that has plagued mankind since ancient times? Only an analysis of written sources and the results of paleopathological research can answer this question. The aim of the presentation by Tamás Hajdu and his colleagues is to give a brief overview of the history of cancer based on historical sources, literature and their own research.

The relationship between cancer and living standards – characteristics at global level and only in high-income countries. Tibor Pintér presents differences in cancer indicators based on the Globocan database. A different picture of the relationship between welfare indicators and cancer can be obtained by looking at the global level or by considering only high-income countries. The relevant specific characteristics of the countries of the Central and Eastern European region are also presented.

Who wins at the blood-brain barrier? The development of metastatic tumours in the brain. Imola Wilhelm will talk about how metastatic tumours develop in the brain. This process is special because metastatic cells have to cross the blood-brain barrier to enter the brain. The main function of the blood-brain barrier is to protect the brain from harmful substances and cells that could damage it.

Our targeted “nuclear weapon” against tumours – modern radiotherapy
The last presentation will be on radiotherapy, a form of cancer treatment. Most of us know about radiotherapy from the head nets, or masks often presented in films , but it is a much more spectacular array of equipment, reminiscent of space technology. When irradiating a tumour from outside the body, it is crucial to achieve the most accurate targeting possible. This can be done with the irradiation device itself, the linear accelerator, the CT or MRI scanner mounted on it, the breathing gantry, but you can also put the accelerator tube on a robotic arm to move with the tumour, use artificial intelligence, or accelerate heavier particles. Georgina Fröhlich‘s presentation will also show how we can beam the tumour from inside the tumour.