Master class Diet and Cancer 29 - 30 November 2007 Wageningen, The Netherlands Organised by the Graduate School VLAG, in cooperation with the Dutch Dairy Association (NZO)

Introduction

Background
On November 1st 2007, the WCRF/IARC second expert report on Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective will be launched which reviews all literature relating to cancer prevention.

Wageningen University was one of the seven international centers which conducted the Standardized Literature Reviews and meta-analyses presented in this report. The launch of this report is the initial fuel to start with this first Master class on Diet and Cancer.

The Master class aims to discuss the current progress in Diet and Cancer prevention with PhD-students and postdocs interested in the field, and to provide tools for ongoing and future research. Professor John D. Potter, one of the world leading cancer epidemiologists from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is VLAG/NZO visiting professor 2007. He will provide lectures challenging us to think about the controversies in epidemiological research such as issues of exposure assessment, genetic susceptibility, and diet in relation to different stages of carcinogenesis. Professor Rudolf Kaaks, a well-known nutritionist and epidemiologist originally trained at Wageningen University and now at the German Cancer Institute in Heidelberg and one of the Principal Investigators of the European Investigation on Nutrition and Cancer (EPIC), will especially focus on the role of BMI, growth factors and estrogens in human cancer.

Target group
The course is at postgraduate level and aims at professionals from various fields (e.g. nutritionists, food scientists, physicians, health policy makers, nutrition educators, health promoters) interested in the subject. The course may be of specific use for PhD students working in this field.

Course contents

Course aim
The course will be mainly composed of lectures with ample opportunity for discussions. Research plans of the participants will be presented and discussed. At the end of the course there will be a round table discussion on the future of Diet and Cancer including scientists, representatives of the food industry, policy makers and a major funding agency.

Course design
This Master class combines lectures with expert panel discussions and poster presentations.
Participants are encouraged to bring results of their own work and present this in a poster.

Provisional programme

Thursday 29 November

• Welcome and overview of the Master class programme
• E. Kampman - Diet and cancer: an overview from the WCRF/AICR expert report
• R. Kaaks - Overweight, obesity and cancer risk: epidemiological evidence and proposed mechanisms
• D.W. Voskuil - Overweight and obesity after the cancer diagnosis; a new prevention target?
• P. van den Brandt - Vegetables and fruits in the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer
• B. Bueno de Mesquita - Vegetables and fruits in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)
• J.D. Potter - Vegetables and fruits: the controversy explored
• Presentations by PhD students:
  • A. Vrieling - Lycopene supplementation and circulating concentrations of Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) system components; a randomized cross-over trial
  • F. Büchner - Fruits and vegetables and the risk of histological subtypes of lung cancer in EPIC
  • S. de Vogel - Folate intake, gene mutations and promoter methylation in sporadic colorectal cancer
• J.D. Potter - Folate and colorectal cancer: timing is everything

Friday 30 November

• E. Kampman - Dairy foods in the prevention of colorectal cancer: epidemoilogical evidence
• Dr. R. van der Meer - Dairy foods and prevention of cancer of the gastro-intestinal tract: potential mechanisms
• R. Kaaks - Diet, dairy foods and prostate cancer: the strength of the evidence
• P. van 't Veer - Exposure measurement: what can methodologically be improved?
• Presentations by PhD students:
  • A. Botma - Diet and colorectal adenomas in high risk families
  • M. Heijnen - Glycemic load, glycemic index and pancreatic cancer: results from the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer
  • Speaker to be confirmed
• J.D. Potter - Diet and cancer: how to proceed
• Forum discussion - how to proceed?

Titles and sequence of various programme elements may be modified slightly.

Organisation

Course coordinators

• Prof. G.J. Hiddink, Dutch Dairy Association and Wageningen University
• Dr. E. Kampman, Human Nutrition, Wageningen University
• E.J.M. Oudshoorn-Gijsbertsen, Graduate School VLAG

Other faculty

• Prof. J.D. Potter, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Seattle, USA, NZO/VLAG Visiting Professor 2007
• Prof. R. Kaaks, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany
• Dr. H.B. Bueno-de-Mesquita, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
• Dr. D.W. Voskuil, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam
• Prof. P. van 't Veer, Wageningen University
• Prof. P. van den Brandt, Maastricht University

General information

Date & duration
The course will be held on 29th (starting at 09.30 h) and 30th November 2007.

Study load
The study load of this course is 0.6 ECTS credits.

Language
The course is conducted in English.

Location & accommodation
Lectures will be given at the Wageningen International Conference Centre (WICC). Wageningen is located 5 km from the railway station of Ede-Wageningen. The conference centre can be reached by train (to railway station Ede-Wageningen) and bus/taxi (to bus station in Wageningen) in less than two hours from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (for train schedules please visit www.ns.nl).
The organising committee has blocked a number of rooms in the Wageningen International Conference Centre (WICC). The price per night, including breakfast, is approximately € 76 for one person. Hotel reservation is handled by WICC-WIR, see www.wicc.nl. Please mention booking code VLAG-NZO-07.

Social programme
A course dinner will be held on Thursday November 29th

Contact information
For more information please contact
Mrs. Eva Oudshoorn-Gijsbertsen
Graduate School VLAG
P.O. Box 8129
6700 EV Wageningen
The Netherlands
Phone + 31.317.485310
Telefax: +31.317.483342
E-mail: Eva.Oudshoorn@wur.nl

Registration & course fee

Please register by completing the registration form. The final registration date is November 19, 2007. The course fee of € 450 includes course materials, coffee/tea during breaks, lunches and one course dinner. For PhD students a reduced course fee of € 150 will be applied. PhD students affiliated with VLAG are sponsored by the Dutch Dairy Organisation. The number of participants is limited to 35. Applicants will be notified on acceptance of their registration before November 22, 2007 and will receive instructions for payment and further information.
Cancellations may be made free of charge until November 19, 2007. After this date the charge will be 25% of the fee paid or due. Substitutions can be made at any time.

Photos

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