VIRCAN2024 Conference

Chronic viral infections and virus-induced cancers remain major contributors to the global burden of infectious diseases and cancers, morbidity, and mortality of millions of people, as well as huge pressure on the national health care systems. Over 4 % of the global population are living with chronic viral infections, such as HBV and HCV (304 million people) and HIV-1 (40.8 million). Nearly 10 % of cancer cases worldwide are attributed to viral infections, with HPV and HBV having the highest age-standardized global incidence rates–18.5 and 3.9 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Even though science and medicine have made substantial progress in treating and preventing many viral infections, multiple issues remain to be addressed and resolved. The lingering problems of viral persistence and oncogenicity were addressed by the international online conference 'Chronic viral infections and cancer, openings for Vaccines and Cure' (VIRCAN2024) hosted by Rīga Stradiņš University with the support from the Latvian Science Council grant “Human papillomavirus genome associated correlates of disease progression and treatment response for cervical neoplasms and cancer” and the scientific journal VACCINES (MDPI). Conference continues the tradition of the online and hybrid workshops and conferences organized by the University.

The VIRCAN2024 Conference gathered nearly 80 participants from 9 countries, including the Czech Republic, France, India, Italy, Latvia, Uganda, Ukraine, Sweden, and the USA. It covered the topics of viral infections which cause cancer, course and outcome of chronic viral infections, and innovations in the viral infection treatment, screening and prevention by vaccination.

Conference Co-Chairs

• Maria Isaguliants (Issagouliantis), Leading Researcher, Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Rīga Stradiņš University, Rīga, Latvia, and Research Support Office, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
• Franco Maria Buonaguro, Director Emeritus Mol Biol & Viral Oncol Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori – IRCCS Fond Pascale, Naples, Italy

Organizing Committee

• Maria Isaguliants (Issagouliantis), Leading Researcher
• Juris Jansons, Leading Researcher
• Lība Sokolovska, Researcher
• Aigars Červinskis, Senior Web Editor
• Jūle Mare Rozīte, Web Development Manager
• Andris Bruģis, IT specialist
• Nika Brik, Manager

Conference programme: sessions, abstracts

The Conference programme was formed according to accepted abstracts. All accepted abstracts can be viewed here.

The programme was divided into three focused sessions. The first session 'Common and Specific Mechanisms of Viral Oncogenicity', covered topics related to the mechanisms of viral oncogenicity. The second session 'Approaches to Chronic Viral Infection and Cancer Cure' focused on the vaccines and treatment for cancer and chronic viral infections. The third session was devoted to one of the most notorious oncogenic viruses, namely high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) 'Human Papillomavirus, Chronic Infection and Associated Cancers, on the Way to Protection.'

Detailed programme

DAY 1 – 21 November

SESSION 1. COMMON AND SPECIFIC MECHANISMS OF VIRAL ONCOGENICITY
10.00–10.30	Opening lecture: DNA Tumor Viruses and Their Role in the Development of Epithelial Tumors Elena Kashuba (RE Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)
Section 1.1	Molecular Drivers of Malignant Transformation Chair: Dr Elena Kashuba (RE Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)
10.30–11.00	Plenary lecture: Mechanisms of Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Reactivation in Cancer  Maria Lina Tornesello (Istituto Nazionale Tumori – IRCCS Fondazione Pascale, Naples, Italy)
11.00–11.15	Role of Voltage Dependent Anion Channels in the HBV Life Cycle and Associated Pathologies Pierre-Louis Schmit-Vergely (INSERM U1052, CNRS UMR-5286, Cancer Research Center of Lyon (CRCL), and University of Lyon, Université Claude-Bernard (UCBL), Lyon, France) Early Career Researcher
11.15–11.30	HTLV-1C Lung Disease Linked to P16 Protein Inhibition of Efferocytosis in Macaques Sarkis Sarkis (Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA)
11.30–11.50	EBV Infection in Treatment-Naïve Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Mobility of the Leukemic Cells Kholodnyuk (Holodnuka) Irina (Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia)
	Discussion
Section 1.2	Metabolic Signatures of Chronic Viral Infections & Cancer Chair: Dr Juris Jansons (Biomedical Research and Study Centers, and Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia)
13.00–13.30	Plenary lecture: Metabolic Changes in Viral Infections Ujjwal Neogi (Karolinska Institutet, Sweden)
13.30–13.50	Viral Replication Capacity Influences HIV-1-Induced Metabolic and Cytokine Reprogramming of T Cells Omolara Baiyegunhi (Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa) Early Career Researcher
13.50–14.10	Disrupted Alpha-Ketoglutarate Homeostasis Trained Monocyte-Derived Macrophages Towards M2-Like Phenotype Increase HIV Infectivity in Treated Infection  Alejandra Escós (Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden)
	Discussion & break
Section 1.3	Immune Response in Chronic Viral Infections and Cancer (Inflammation & Immune Evasion) Chair: Dr Irina Kholodnyuk (Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia)
14.30–15.00	Plenary lecture: Immune Response in SARS-Cov-2 Infection, Inflammation, and Cancer Immune Evasion and Tumour Progression Dace Pjanova (Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia)
15.00–15.10	Influence of the Covid19 Disease on the Course of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (poster) Ganna Monchakivska (RE Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine) Early Career Researcher
15.10–15.30	CCL5 Is Upregulated and Secreted by HDV Independently of the IFN Response Enkhtuul Batbold  (UMR5286, CNRS, INSERM U1052, Lyon Cancer Research Center, and University of Lyon, Université Claude-Bernard (UCBL), France) Early Career Researcher
15.30–15.40	Identification of the “Missing” Transcription Factors in Chronic Leukocytic Leukemia B-Cells (poster) Larysa Kovalevska (RE Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine)
	Discussion & break
SESSION 2. APPROACHES TO CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTION AND CANCER CURE
Chair: Franco Maria Buonaguro (Istituto Nazionale Tumori – IRCCS Fondazione Pascale, Naples, Italy)
16.00–16.30	Plenary lecture: HBV Vaccination – Success And Barriers to Achieve HBV Eradication Isabelle Chemin & Boun Kim Tan (Center for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France)
16.30–16.50	Bitter Melon’s Sweet Promise: Role in Oral Cancer Therapy Ratna Ray (Department of Pathology, Saint Louis University, USA)
17.00–17.20	Exploring the Role of Long Non-Coding RNA in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Development and Therapy Subhayan Sur (Cancerand Translational Research Centre, Dr. D.Y. Patil Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Institute, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth (DPU), Tathawade, India)
17.20–17.40	Viral Vectors and Photosensitive Drugs As Immunomodulators in Cancer Treatment Anna Zajakina (Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre)
17.40–18.00	Vaccine and SAMT-247 Continuous Released by Intravaginal Ring (IVR) Decreased Risk of SIV Acquisition in Macaque Mohammad Arif Rahman (Animal Models and Retroviral Vaccines Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, United States)
	Discussion & closing of the day

DAY 2 – 22 November

SESSION 3. HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS, CHRONIC INFECTION & ASSOCIATED CANCERS, ON THE WAY TO PROTECTION
Section 3.1	Epidemiology & Risk Factors Chair: Dr Edward Kumakech (Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Lira University Uganda, and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden)
10.00–10.30	Plenary lecture: Epidemiology of Infection with High Risk HPVS, Risk Factors in Different Population Groups Anda Ķīvīte-Urtāne (Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia)
10.30–10.50	Sociodemographic and General Health Factor Association with High-Risk Human Papilloma Virus Infection in a Prospective Study of Females Residing in Rīga, Latvia Viola Daniela Kiseļova (Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia) Early Career Researcher
10.50–11.10	Human Papilloma Virus Genotype Distribution among Young Women in Latvia with Pathological Findings in Cervical Cytology Justīne Grundmane (University of Latvia, and E. Gulbis Laboratory, Rīga, Latvia) Early Career Researcher
11.10–11.30	Shift in High Risk HPV Genotypes in Cervical Lesions And Cancer in Latvia Lība Sokolovska (Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Rīga Stradiņš University, and Pathology Institute, Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, Rīga, Latvia)  Early Career Researcher
	Discussion
Section 3.2	Mechanisms of HPV-Associated Carcinogenesis Chair: Dr Maria Isaguliants (Issagouliantis) (Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia)
13.00–13.30	Plenary lecture: HPV-Driven Mucosal Carcinogenesis Franco Maria Buonaguro (Istituto Nazionale Tumori – IRCCS Fondazione Pascale, Naples, Italy)
13.30–13.50	HPV16 Up-Regulates the Expression of RNA-Binding Protein SAM68 in Head and Neck Cancers Andrea Cerasuolo (Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori - IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale, Napoli, Italy) Early Career Researcher
13.50–14.10	Analysis of Full Genome Sequences of Human Papilloma Virus Type 16 Isolated from Cervical Carcinomas in Latvia in 2017–2023 Ņikita Zrelovs (Scientific Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Rīga Stradiņš University, and Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Rīga, Latvia) Early Career Researcher
14.10–14.30	Characteristics of the Oncoproteins E6 and E7 of HPV16 Isolates Circulating in Europe with Focus on the Baltic Region Juris Jansons (Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Rīga Stradiņš University, and Pathology Institute, and Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Rīga, Latvia)
	Discussion & break
Section 3.3	HPV Infection & Cancer Surveys Chair: Dr Vanja Berggren (Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden)
15.00–15.30	Plenary lecture: HPV Infection: Present and Future of Diagnostic and Prognostic Surveys Prof. Ruth Tachezy (Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic)
15.30–15.50	Detection of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Nucleic Acid in FFPE Samples with Ampiview® RNA Probes, Powered by Enzo’s Looprna™ ISH Technology Deborah Holzapfel (Enzo Life Sciences, Farmingdale, NY, USA)
15.50–16.10	High Risk HPV Positive Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinomas: Correlation of Tumor Grades with Virus Load and Expression Of P16, P53 and Ki-67 Karina Biserova (Pathology Institute, Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, Rīga, Latvia) Early Career Researcher
16.10–16.30	Design and Expression of HPV16 Oncoproteins E6 and E7 for the Dynamic Analysis of the Levels of Specific Serum Antibodies in Women with and without Cervical Lesions Maria Isaguliants (Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia)
	Photo session & discussion
Section 3.4	Prophylactic and Therapeutic HPV Vaccines & Their Implementation Chair: Dr Maria Isaguliants (Issagouliantis) (Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia)
17.00–17.20	Public and Patient Engagements to Improve Uptake of Cervical Cancer Screening and HPV Vaccination in Developing Countries – The Case of Uganda Edward Kumakech, Vanja Berggren (Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Lira University Uganda, and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden)
17.30–18.00	Plenary lecture: HPV Vaccination, HPV Screening and Perspectives of HPV Elimination  Joakim Dillner (Karolinska Institutet, Sweden)
	Awards Committee presents winners of the Early Career Researchers' Contest sponsored by VACCINES
	Closing of the Conference

Early-career researcher contest

 Conference participants with the status of early career researcher (younger than 36 years) had the opportunity to participate in the Early Career Researcher Contest. In the contest, presentations of early career researchers were assessed by an independent board of five reviewers consisting or one professor, one associated professor, two senior researchers, and one PhD student. The presentations were assessed using a number of criteria, including  (i) Originality of research goal/aims; (ii) Study design/Planning of the experiments; (iii) Quality of obtained data including graphical presentation; (iv) Novelty and significance of the results ; (v) Overall quality of presentation, presentation skills; (vi) Quality of abstract - reflection of study design, experimental part, results, discussion. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd best were selected based on the total ranks.

Winners of the contest were: Dr Nikita Zrelov (Rīga Stradiņš University and Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centers, Latvia) for his presentation 'Complete genome analysis of the human pap-illomavirus type 16 (HPV16) isolates from cervical carcinomas in Latvia.' The second with publication voucher was received by Enkhtuul Batbold (Lyon Cancer Research Center, and University of Lyon, Université Claude-Bernard, France) for presentation 'CCL5 is upregulated and secreted by HDV independently of the IFN response.' The third was received by Omolara Baiyegunhi (Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa) for presentation 'Viral replication capacity influences HIV-1-induced metabolic and cytokine reprogramming of T Cells.' Three winners received monetary awards and conference award certificates. Equal number of points was received by Dr Andrea Cerasuolo (Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori-IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale, Napoli, Italy) for his study “HPV16 up-regulates the expression of RNA-binding protein Sam68 in head and neck cancers”. Dr Andrea Cerasuolo received the certificate of the winner of the 3rd prize. Certificates can be viewed here. The competition was sponsored by the scientific journal VACCINES (MDPI).

Publication of conference materials

All presenting authors were invited to submit manuscripts describing their experimental studies, short communications, as well as reviews, opinions, comments to two journals:

Special issue of VACCINES 'Chronic Viral Infections and Cancer: Openings for Vaccines and Cure' 

Research Topic 'Squamous Cell Carcinomas – HPV, or No HPV, That Is The Question' in FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY

Report reviewing all studies presented on the conference has been published in the special issue of Vaccines (MDPI).

Photo gallery

The pictures from two days of the conference can be viewed here.

Support