The 2008 American Federation For Aging Annual Research Conference: aging and cancer: two sides of the same coin?

The 2008 Research Conference of the American Federation for Aging Research took place in New York City on October 6-7 and had, as its theme, the interface between the biology of cancer and the biology of aging. The first day was devoted to a series of 5-year progress reports by grantees of an innovative program jointly sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Aging aimed at fostering both basic and clinical interactions and integrations among investigators with primary research interests in either the biology of aging or the biology of cancer. This was followed by a series of presentations on cell biology (Judith Campisi), evolutionary biology (Steven N. Austad), mitochondrial damage (Lawrence A. Loeb), stem cell functionality (Thomas A. Rando), oxidative stress and cancer resistance (Rochelle Buffenstein), signal transduction and replicative senescence in cancer and aging (Norman E. Sharpless), and telomere biology (Jack D. Griffith). Overview presentations were given by John W. Rowe and Harvey Jay Cohen. The conference closed with a roundtable discussion with representatives of industry in an effort to enhance communications with academicians.