A new start in Madrid

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Abstract
This symposium, held on February 6–9, 2002, marked the scientific opening of the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicals(Spanish National Cancer Centre). The first national institute in Spain to focus on basis and applied cancer research will organize four conferences each year, covering different aspects of cancer research. These meetings, limited to a total of 20–25 speakers and an equal number of participants, should provide an ideas and scientific information surrounding topics of current interest. This first symposium brought together 160 participants including basic researches and clinicians, who all thoroughly enjoyed the scientific and social opportunities. ![][1] Without doubt, the sequencing of the human and other important genomes has paved the way for the revolution in biology and medicine that we are experiencing today. Decoding this information in terms of regulation and function (functional genomics) is high on the agendas of governments and funding agencies and is expected to dominate research in the life sciences in the early part of this century. We are moving rapidly from the study of single molecules to the analysis of complex biological processes, and the current explosion of new and powerful technologies promises to accelerate the application of basic discoveries into daily clinical practice. Cancer affects a significant proportion of the population and has become a prime focus for these new technologies. Indeed, tools for the high‐throughput analysis of genes, proteins and their complex networks are being used to identify potential targets for drug discovery and to uncover markers for early detection, recurrence, progression and response to treatment, as well as to develop novel therapies. Molecules being currently investigated include cell‐cycle regulators, growth factors, angiogenesis factors and signal transducing proteins, as well as components of apoptosis and DNA repair pathways. The purpose of the first symposium of the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO) was to … [1]: pending:yes