title: Proceedings of the second international molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE) meeting.
abstract: Disease classification system increasingly incorporates information on pathogenic mechanisms to predict clinical outcomes and response to therapy and intervention. Technological advancements to interrogate omics (genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, metagenomics, interactomics, etc.) provide widely open opportunities in population-based research. Molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE) represents integrative science of molecular pathology and epidemiology. This unified paradigm requires multidisciplinary collaboration between pathology, epidemiology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, and computational biology. Integration of these fields enables better understanding of etiologic heterogeneity, disease continuum, causal inference, and the impact of environment, diet, lifestyle, host factors (including genetics and immunity), and their interactions on disease evolution. Hence, the Second International MPE Meeting was held in Boston in December 2014, with aims to: (1) develop conceptual and practical frameworks; (2) cultivate and expand opportunities; (3) address challenges; and (4) initiate the effort of specifying guidelines for MPE. The meeting mainly consisted of presentations of method developments and recent data in various malignant neoplasms and tumors (breast, prostate, ovarian and colorectal cancers, renal cell carcinoma, lymphoma, and leukemia), followed by open discussion sessions on challenges and future plans. In particular, we recognized need for efforts to further develop statistical methodologies. This meeting provided an unprecedented opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration, consistent with the purposes of the Big Data to Knowledge, Genetic Associations and Mechanisms in Oncology, and Precision Medicine Initiative of the US National Institute of Health. The MPE meeting series can help advance transdisciplinary population science and optimize training and education systems for twenty-first century medicine and public health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 450 Brookline Ave., Room M422, Boston, MA, 02215, USA, shuji_ogino@dfci.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ogino
authors.forename: Peter T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nishihara
authors.forename: Amanda I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Phipps
authors.forename: Andrew H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Sherman
authors.forename: Andrew T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Troester
authors.forename: Adam J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bass
authors.forename: Kathryn C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.forename: Rafael A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Irizarry
authors.forename: Karl T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Kelsey
authors.forename: Hongmei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nan
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Poole
authors.forename: Zhi Rong
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Rulla M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Tamimi
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Tchetgen Tchetgen
authors.forename: Shelley S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Tworoger
authors.forename: Xuehong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Edward L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Giovannucci
authors.forename: Piet A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: van den Brandt
authors.forename: Bernard A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Rosner
authors.forename: Molin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Nilanjan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: Colin B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Begg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics