MD Anderson and Nature to co-host conference on the tumor ecosystem

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Springer Nature will co-host a free, in-person conference to explore the latest research on the tumor ecosystem, highlighting how its various components influence cancer development, progression, diagnosis and treatment. “The Tumor Ecosystem – From Bench to Clinic and Back” is scheduled for Nov. 19-21, 2025, on the MD Anderson campus.

The meeting, organized by MD Anderson clinicians and scientists together with colleagues from Nature, Nature Cancer and Nature Reviews Cancer, will feature presentations and poster sessions on compelling topics, including cancer immunology, the cancer microbiome, disease evolution and metastasis, and cancer neuroscience. Researchers are encouraged to register for the conference and submit their abstracts by Sept. 19, 2025. Prizes of $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded to the top three abstracts at the conference.

“We are delighted to join our colleagues in co-hosting this meeting dedicated to the tumor ecosystem — a finely tuned set of interactions between cancer cells, their surrounding microenvironment, and the integrated tissue and organ systems in which they reside,” said Giulio Draetta, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer at MD Anderson.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to bring together the global research community to explore recent breakthroughs, foster meaningful discussions, and stimulate innovative collaborations, all aimed at advancing our research and, ultimately, ending cancer.”

Five sessions

The five sessions, occuring over three days, will cover the following topics:

• Local and systemic immune effects
• Local and systemic metabolic influences
• The metastatic tumor ecosystem
• Systemic and organ-tumor crosstalk
• The patient as the focus

The conference features keynote presentations from Miriam Chalabi, M.D., of the Netherlands Cancer Institute; and Mikala Egeblad, Ph.D., of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center. Highlighted MD Anderson speakers include Jennifer McQuade, M.D.; Humam Kadara, Ph.D., and Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D.

“We are delighted to be co-hosting this conference on the tumor ecosystem with our colleagues at MD Anderson,” said Alexia-Ileana Zaromytidou, Ph.D., chief editor of Nature Cancer. “Understanding the intricacies of the tumor macro- and micro-environments and their influence on cancer development, progression and therapy is paramount in making progress against cancer. We look forward to welcoming researchers from around the world to share their findings, discuss the latest advances in the field and foster new fruitful collaborations.” 

More information on the conference, including a full agenda and links to register or submit abstracts, can be found on the Nature conferences website.