Asia-Pacific International Conference on Cancer Biology and Medicine, also the National Conference on Tumor Markers, also the Sixth China Forum for Young Oncologists, was held in Shanghai from October 13 to 16, 2011. This conference was co-hosted by the Tumor Markers Special Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association and the Medicine and Health Academic Division of CAE, organized by the Shanghai Changzheng Hospital attached to the Second Military Medical University, which also gained support from the Clinical Immunology Branch of the Chinese Society for Immunology, as well as the Shanghai Society for Immunology.

CAE Member Chen Zhinan served as the chair of the conference, which was attended by a total of 400 basic researchers specialized in cancer biology, molecular oncology, tumor immunology, among others, and physicians specialized in clinical oncology and blood oncology, as well as personnel specialized in cancer test, who come from 20 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong Province, Fujian Province and so on. Twenty-two renowned experts specialized in the field of cancer biology, both home and abroad, were invited to give lectures in the conference, including Prof. Barbara Alving, Director of National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) of the National Institutes of Health, US, Prof. Cao Zhicheng, Member of Academy of Biomedical Sciences, UK, Prof. Zhu Yong, Director of Cancer Center of the School of Public Health of Yale University, US, Prof. Huang Ziwei, Chairman of the Central Cancer Research Institute of the New York State University, US. These reports were very well received by the audience because many of them discussed and interpreted major issues regarding tumor diagnosis and treatment, and shed light on them. The conference received a total of 305 papers, among which 29 were outstanding papers written by young or middle-aged scientists.

In order to enhance in-depth exchanges between experts and increase the actual guiding function of the conference on cancer-related basic and clinical studies, two sub-conferences focused respectively on blood oncology and tumor markers were organized, at which 11 excellent young scholars made presentations on the latest achievements in their respective fields, thus achieved a more specialized and more specific discussion concerning newest achievements as well as problems in the fields of blood oncology and tumor markers. Apart from all of these, two satellite meetings were held on new progress in tumor immune markers, and one roundtable meeting was organized on the construction and planning of tumor biological sample banks. (By Zhang Lili, November 2011; translated by Liu Chang)