International Webinar on Newer Markers of Breast Cancer and Associated Bone Metastasis in Women by PU

Chandigarh: University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Panjab University, Chandigarh organised an International Webinar on “The ZNF217 oncogene is a key mediator and early indicator of metastasis in breast cancer” under UIPS Expert Talk series, today.

Professor Indu Pal Kaur, Chairperson UIPS, extended a cordial welcome and introduced the renowned speaker Professor Pascale A. Cohen who is currently a Professor in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Faculty of Pharmacy University of Lyon, France. Professor Indu Pal Kaur and Professor Pascale A. Cohen were US Fulbright colleagues.

Chief Guest, Professor Amanjit Bal, Department of Histopathology, PGIMER, Chandigarh, sensitised the audience about the rising cases of breast cancer which has surpassed cervical cancer. She emphasised that the mechanism underlying metastasis is still unexplored and there is a dire need for more targets which can be utilised for the development of therapies. 

Professor Pascale A. Cohen shared the contribution of her group, one of the leader teams in the "Zinc-Finger Protein 217 (ZNF217)” field, in deciphering ZNF217’s driven deleterious functions and biomarker value in breast cancer. Her talk focussed mainly on recent research on ZNF217-driven molecular functions in human breast cancers, revisiting major hallmarks of cancer and highlighting the ZNF217’s downstream molecular targets and signaling pathways. She apprised the audience that ZNF217 is a new indicator for the emergence of bone metastasis, and future therapies targeting ZNF217 may be beneficial for patients by preventing the development of bone metastases.

The talk was followed by an extensive Q&A session and was concluded successfully with a vote of thanks by the Chairperson Professor Indu Pal Kaur and Professor Poonam Piplani. Almost 140 participants joined the webinar and included students, researchers, UIPS and PU faculty and distinguished guests.