DOWNLOAD: Congress Programme – SDIR-7 (PDF)
Scientific Programme
Wednesday, October 08, 2025
12.00 – 13.00 Registration and Networking over light lunch
13.00 – 13.30 Opening Ceremony
Prof. Sonja Levanat, HDIR President
Prof. Engin Ulukaya, MOKAD President
Dr Milena Čavić, SDIR President
Minister of Health of the Republic of Serbia
Minister of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia
Ass. Prof. Milan Žegarac, Acting Director of the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia
Dr Mirjana Mihailović, Director of the Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, Serbia
Danijela Vučićević, Acting Director of the Center for the Promotion of Science, Republic of Serbia
Dr Milica Pešić, Dr Neda Slade, Dr Sergi Castellvi-Bel, SHM1RC Scientific Committee Chairs
Dr Ana Damjanović Veličković, Dr Petar Ozretić, SHM1RC Organizing Committee Chairs
13.20 – 14.30 Session 1: Benefits of the Combination Therapies in Cancer Treatment
Chairs: Ivana Matić and Vesna Vučić
Invited Lecture 1
Orcun Can (Turkey), Department of Medical Oncology, Acıbadem Maslak Hospital, Istanbul
Title: Benefits of Combination Therapies in Cancer Treatment (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Katalin Hideghéty (HU), Department of Oncotherapy at the University of Szeged
Title: Novel Approaches in Radiation Oncology with a Special Focus on Combination Therapies (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 3
Zorica Cvetković (Serbia), Clinical Hospital Center Zemun, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade
Title: Benefits of combination therapies in the treatment of haematological malignancies (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Beyza Öztürk Sever (Turkey), Investigation of the effect of exportin-1 gene inhibition with selinexor on glioma (5`)
Alexey Bogdanov (Russia), Overcoming oxygen heterogeneity in cancer photodynamic therapy to boost cytotoxicity (5`)
Discussion 5’
14.30 – 15.40 Session 2: Personalized Anticancer Treatment through Targeting Signaling Pathways
Chairs: Neda Slade and Ana Đurićić
Invited Lecture 1
Omer Faruk Bayrak (Turkey), Yeditepe University. Istanbul
Title: The Critical Role of Tumor Typing in Cancer Treatment and the Expanding Horizons of Molecular Oncology (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Anamaria Brozović (Croatia), Ruder Boskovic Institute, Zagreb
Title: Manipulation of genes involved in both drug resistance and drug-induced EMT reveals unpredictable ovarian cancer cell morphology and stress (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 3
Nevena Gajović (Serbia), Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kragujevac
Title: The role of antidiabetics on growth and progression of breast cancer by modulating antitumor immunity (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Ena Šimunić (Croatia), Foxo3a mediates Sirt3-dependent regulation of ERα signaling in MCF-7 breast cancer cells (5`)
Mumin Alper Erdogan (Turkey), Silencing of NaV1.7 voltage-gated sodium channel by siRNA modulates oncogenic pathways in pancreatic cancer (5`)
Discussion 5’
15.40 – 16.00 Vivogen Sponsored Symposium
Jelena Grujović (Serbia)
GeneXus™ Integrated Next Generation Sequencer in Oncology Research and Diagnostics
16.00 – 17.00 Coffee break & poster viewing 1 (20 abstracts) & Projects Hub
17.00 – 17.50 Session 3: Tumor Microenvironment – Friend or Foe
Chairs: Jelena Grahovac and Andrei Turtoi
Invited Lecture 1
Andrei Turtoi (France), French Institute of Health and Medical Research, Paris (Inserm)
Title: Cancer-associated fibroblast spatial heterogeneity (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Lazar Vujanović (USA), University of Pittsburgh, PA
Title: Immune cell dynamics associate with response to neoadjuvant cancer immunotherapies (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Tommy Chastel (France), Role of Eicosanoid Receptor in Stroma – Cancer Communication (5`)
Discussion 5’
*Second presentation rescheduled to Session 13
17.50 – 18.10 Labena Sponsored Symposium
Uršula Prosenc Zmrzljak (Slovenia)
Prospect for the future: better diagnostics of liver cancer with the use of Xenium spatial transcriptomics
18.10 – 19.00 Session 4: Immunooncology
Chairs: Ana Vuletić and Milica Perišić Nanut
Invited Lecture 1
Ivan Jovanović (Serbia), Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kragujevac
Title: Dual blockage of PD-L/PD-1 and IL33/ST2 axes as a potential antitumor therapy (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Milica Perisic Nanut (Slovenia), Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana
Title: Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Alters Cystatin F Expression in CTLs of Melanoma Patients (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Nikita Volkov (Russia), Integrated Clinical, Molecular, Microbiome, and Radiomic Profiling to Improve
Immunotherapy Response Prediction in Inoperable NSCLC (5`)
Discussion 5’
19.00 – 19.30 Day One Conclusion & Networking
Thursday, October 09, 2025
09.00 – 10.15 Session 5: Exploring the Role of MDR Mechanisms and Stem Cell Biology in Cancer and Cancer Treatment Strategies
Chairs: Jelena Milašin and Gergely Szakacs
Invited Lecture 1
Katalin Goda (Hungary), University of Debrecen, Debrecen
Title: Multidrug resistance – poly-specific drug recognition by ABC transporters (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Miloš Lazarević (Serbia), School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade
Title: Eliminating Oral Cancer Stem Cells by Targeting Oncogenic miR-21 and BET-Mediated Transcription (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 3
Tanja Matijević Glavan (Croatia), Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Zagreb
Title: The role of ufmylation in head and neck cancer stem cells (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Janja Josić (Croatia), Expression profiling of p53 family isoforms in targeted therapy-resistant primary melanoma cell lines (5`)
Muhlis Akman (Turkey), TFEB Controls Chemoresistance in NSCLC (5`)
Discussion 5’
10.15 – 11.10 Session 6: Cancer Epidemiology: Strategies for Prevention and Early Detection
Chairs: Ana Krivokuća and Sergi Castellvi-Bel
Invited Lecture 1
Sergi Castellvi-Bel (Spain), August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), Barcelona
Title: Genetic predisposition to gastrointestinal cancer (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Ivana Božović Spasojević (Serbia), Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade
Title: Adjuvant therapy options for patients with germline BRCA1/2 mutations (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Jasmina Obradović (Serbia), Distribution of EGFR -216G/T (rs712829) polymorphism: Implications for cancer risk and pharmacogenomics (5`)
Katarina Zeljić (Serbia), Identification and characterization of microRNAs involved in the progression from normal oral mucosa to oral cancer (5`)
Discussion 5’
11.10 – 12.00 Coffee break & poster viewing 2 (25 abstracts) & Projects Hub
12.00 – 12.20 AlfaGenetics Sponsored Symposium
Bojana Cikota Aleksić (Serbia) & Ana Damjanović Veličković (Serbia)
Advancing Precision Oncology: Integrating Easy2 – Automated Nucleic Acid Extraction and QIAcuity Digital PCR Solutions by QIAGEN”
12.20 – 13.10 Session 7: Advancements in Molecular Diagnostics and Cancer Biomarkers in Oncology
Chairs: Radmila Janković, Vesna Ćorić, and Petar Ozretić
Invited Lecture 1
Vesna Musani (Croatia), Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Zagreb
Title: The (first) 20 years of BRCA testing in Croatia (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Marijana Milovic Kovacevic (Serbia), Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade
Title: Homologous recombination deficiency-based therapeutic strategies in ovarian cancer (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Katarina Živić (Serbia), HRD testing doubled the number of ovarian cancer patients eligible for PARP inhibitor therapy (5`)
Discussion 5’’
13.10 – 13.30 ELTA MS90 Sponsored Symposium
Jadranka Antić (Serbia), Genetic basis of adrenocortical tumors – Can it be detected without Next-Generation Sequencing?
Ivana Milićević (Serbia), Genetic basis of pancreatic, pituitary and parathyroid glands tumors – Can it be detected without Next-Generation Sequencing?
13.30 – 14.30 Lunch
14.30 – 15.35 Session 8: Liquid Biopsy (EACR Plenary Session)
Chairs: Evi Lianidou , Milena Čavić and Mladen Marinković
Plenary Lecture 1
Evi Lianidou (EACR), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Title: Comprehensive liquid biopsy tumor analysis using circulating tumor cells (30`)
Discussion 10’
Invited Lecture
Berkcan Dogan (Turkey), Bursa Uludag University, Bursa
Title: Novel miRNA Signatures as Potential Biomarkers for Circulating Tumor Cell Status in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Miodrag Vuković (Serbia), The use of pleural effusion from patients with lung cancer as a source of extracellular vesicles – first report from the EXPAND-EV project (5`)
Discussion 5’
15.35 – 15.55 Altium Sponsored Symposium
Milorad Ivetić & Luka Bačkonja (Serbia)
If you only had 24 hours, what would you discover?
15.55 – 17.10 Session 9: Clinical Oncology – Bridging Patients and Researchers
Chairs: Jelena Spasić and Bojana Cikota-Aleksić
Plenary Lecture 2
Karen-Lise Germ-Spindler (Denmark), Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus University
Title: ctDNA-Response evaluation criteria in solid tumors – significance for monitoring of patient outcomes (25`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Valentina Karadžić (Serbia), Germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 Testing in the Context of Personalized Therapy:
National Experience from Serbia in Breast Cancer Management (5`)
Discussion 5’
Patient-clinician-scientist educational interactive panel (30`)
Prof. Siniša Varga (Croatian Health Insurance Fund), Bridging Cancer Care and Research Gaps in Croatia: The CORN-CCI4EU Deep Dive (10`)
Prof. Siniša Varga (Croatian Health Insurance Fund), Prof. Engin Ulukaya (Turkey), Dr Mirjana Branković-Magić (Europa Donna), Vesna Bondžić (Women Center Milica),
Prof. Karen-Lise Germ-Spindler (Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus University, Denmark), Savo Pilipović (Serbian Patients Association), Dr Zorana Maravić (Digestive Cancers Europe)
17.10 – 18.10 Coffee break & poster viewing 3 (20 abstracts) & Projects Hub
18.10 – 19.30 Meet the Experts
Chairs: Katarina Zeljić and Aleksandra Nikolić
19.30 Day Two Conclusion
20.30 Congress Dinner
Friday, October 10, 2025
09.00 – 10.15 Session 10: Bioinformatics and Cancer Genomics
Chairs: Thomas Mohr, Nina Petrović and Ömer Faruk Bayrak
Invited Lecture 1
Sema Misir (Turkey), Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas
Title: CircRNA-miRNA interactions and bioinformatics analysis in cancer (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Verena Paulitschke (Austria), Medical University of Vienna
Title: Proteomic and metabolomics profiling of advanced melanoma patients to predict and monitor the therapeutic response to immune therapy (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 3
Miodrag Dragoj (Serbia), Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković” – National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade
Title: Personalized Genomic Analysis for Clinical Insights in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Aleksandra Bibić (Serbia), Comparative analysis of machine learning algorithm results in predicting the probability of rectal tumor presence (5`)
Işıl Özdemir (Turkey), Comprehensive analysis of lysyl oxidase family gene expression and prognostic significance in colorectal cancer (5`)
Discussion 5’
10.15 – 11.30 Session 11: Novel Cancer Therapies and Drug Development Strategies
Chairs: Konstantinos Dimas, Ellora Sen, and Aleksandra Nikolić
Invited Lecture 1
Árpád Szöőr (Hungary), University of Debrecen
Title: CART cell therapy: a global perspective with a focus on Hungary’s journey (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Marijeta Kralj (Croatia), Rudjer Boskovic Institite, Zagreb
Title: Targeting Multidrug Resistance and Cancer Stem Cells with Ionophores (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 3
Dijana Bovan (Serbia), Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković” – National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade
Title: Dual targeting concept: hybrid molecules of cisplatin and antiinflammatory drugs (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Ema Lupšić (Serbia), Adamantane–sclareol hybrids selectively target multidrug resistant glioblastoma cells by inducing oxidative stress (5`)
Vuk Gordić (Serbia), The effects of novel diclofenac-based carborane-substituted prodrug on colon cancer cell lines and mouse-derived organoids (5`)
Discussion 5’
11.30 – 12.30 Coffee break & poster viewing 4 (25 abstracts) & Projects Hub
12.30 – 13.20 Session 12: Toxic Triggers: Environmental Chemicals and Cancer Risk
Chairs: Aleksandra Buha Djordjevic and Serap Celikler
Invited Lecture 1
Ayşegül Çebi (Turkey), Faculty of Health Sciences, Giresun University
Title: Acrylamide in food and its carcinogenic potential: What do we really know? (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Janoš Terzić (Croatia), University of Split, School of Medicine
Title: Role of microbiota in bladder carcinogenesis (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentation selected from abstracts of Session 3
Milica Jakšić Karišik (Serbia), Exosomes as Key Mediators of Fibroblast Reprogramming into CAFs via Oncogenic miRNA Transfer and Activation of Cancer-Related Pathways (5`)
Discussion 5’
13.30 – 14.30 Lunch
14.30 – 15.45 Session 13: Tumor Metabolism
Chairs: Sandra Sobočanec, Busra Kose Demirtas and Alexey Bogdanov
Invited Lecture 1
Büşra Kose Demirtas (Turkey), Medical Faculty, Istinye University, Istanbul
Title: Tumor metabolism in the picture: tracing and visualizing the metabolic alterations in cancer (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Alexey Bogdanov (Russia), Oncocentre GBUZ “SPb KNTsSVMP(o) named after N.P.. Napalkova”
Title: Changes in tumor metabolism, consequences, and therapeutic opportunities (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 3
Ana Čipak Gašparović (Croatia), Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb
Title: Interplay between redox regulation and cancer metabolism (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Milica Kosić (Serbia), Mechanistic insights into synergistic antimelanoma activity of glycolysis inhibition and lysosomal destabilization (5`)
Drenka Trivanović (Serbia), Targeting metabolic vulnerabilities in multiple myeloma: The role of NAD+ depletion and bone marrow adipose tissue (5`)
Discussion 5’
15.45 – 17.00 Session 14: Innovative Models and Approaches in Cancer Research
Chairs: Maja Sabol, Sedef Ziyanok, and Danijela Maksimović-Ivanić
Invited Lecture 1
Inga Urlić (Croatia), University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science
Title: Tracking Osteosarcoma Progression: A Longitudinal Single-Patient Study Integrating Functional Analyses and Single-Cell Transcriptom (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Ivan Ranđelović (Hungary), National Institute of Oncology, Budapest
Title: Bridging the Gap: The Role of PDTX Models in Cancer Therapy Development (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 3
Melita Vidaković (Serbia), Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković” – National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade
Title: Targeted rewriting of epigenetic markers as a new therapuetic approach in triple negative breast cancer (15`)
Discussion 5’
Short presentations selected from abstracts
Jasmina Stojkovska (Serbia), Bridging the in vitro–in vivo gap: Tumor engineering for relevant and reliable cancer research (5`)
Isidora Petrović (Serbia), Modelling pancreatic carcinoma in vitro- critical morphological and functional differences between 2D and 3D mono- and co-cultures (5`)
Discussion 5’
16.45 – 17.10 Coffee break & Projects Hub
17.10 – 17.30 Roche Sponsored Symposium
Branka Zukić (Serbia)
Comprehensive Approaches in Molecular Oncology: Avenio In-house Testing and FMI Liquid Biopsy Services
17.30 – 19.00 Session 16: Strengthening Regional Collaboration
Chairs: Milica Pešić, Sonja Levanat and Makis Zoidakis
Invited Lecture 1
Engin Ulukaya (Turkey), Medical Faculty, Istinye University, Istanbul
Title: Palladium-based anticancer compounds in cancer treatment: A new hope or not? (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 2
Sandra Sobočanec (Croatia), Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb
Title: From Tumor Suppression to Stress Response: The Diverse Roles of Sirtuin 3 in Cancer and Sex-Dependent DNA Damage Adaptation (15`)
Discussion 5’
Invited Lecture 3
Ivana Matić (Serbia), Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia
Title: Investigation of individual radiosensitivity of prostate cancer patients under radiation treatment (15`)
Discussion 5’
Interactive panel on regional collaboration (30`)
Prof. Sonja Levanat (HDIR President), Prof. Engin Ulukaya (MOKAD President), Dr Milena Čavić (SDIR President),
Prof. Evi Lianidou (Greece), Ivan Ranđelović (Hungary), Katalin Goda (Hungary), Katalin Hideghéty (Hungary),
Gergely Szakacs (Austria), Dr Alexey Bogdanov (Russia), Prof. Konstantinos Dimas (Greece), Dr Árpád Szöőr (Hungary),
Dr Muhlis Akman (Turkey), Dr Sema Misir (Turkey), Dr Petar Ozretić (Croatia), Dr Neda Slade (Croatia),
Dr Anamaria Brozović (Croatia), Dr Ana Čipak-Gašparović (Croatia)
19.00 Award Ceremony
EACR-sponsored Best Abstract Awards
FEBSOpenBio Award for Best Abstract Award
Molecular Oncology Journal-sponsored Best Short Presentation Award
ELBS-sponsored Best Abstract Award
19.30 Congress conclusions & networking
Saturday, October 11, 2025
11.00 – 14.00 Guided Tour
DOWNLOAD: Congress Programme – SDIR-7 (PDF)