30th International Conference on Chelation (ICOC) -
A Landmark on Chelation Science and Medicine

9th International Conference on Oncology and Anticancer Research (ICOAR)

12th International Conference on Recent Advances in Health and Medical Sciences (RAHMS)

Paphos, Cyprus: 4th October – 8th October, 2024

WELCOME MESSAGES

THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL ORGANISING AND SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE OF THE CONFERENCES

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Paphos, Cyprus, EU, host town of the 30th ICOC Landmark, 12th RAHMS and 9th ICOAR conferences in 2024.

The 30th anniversary of the ICOC conference makes this gathering of great significance to many physicians, academics and patients, especially those monitoring developments in iron metabolism and thalassaemia treatment. In fact, due to the findings and proceedings of the 1st ICOC in London, UK, where the multicentre clinical trials with deferiprone (L1) were first announced in 1989, oral iron chelation was established and is now the mainstay therapy of thalassaemia patients worldwide. Furthermore, the introduction of deferiprone has played a major role in the change of thalassaemia from a fatal to a chronic disease in many countries including Cyprus.    

The participants of the multidisciplinary 30th ICOC Landmark, 12th RAHMS and 9th ICOAR conference in Paphos will have the opportunity to visit the ancient sites, museums and other areas, which are of cultural and natural sightseeing interest, as well as enjoy the blue Mediterranean sea and its beaches.

Papho’s history spans through thousands of years and has many natural, cultural and ancient attractions. In particular, Paphos has been known in ancient times as the birthplace of Aphrodite or Venous, the goddess of love, who was born from the foam of the sea waves. Paphos was also the capital of Cyprus when the apostles Paul and Barnabas visited the island in 45 AD. It is noteworthy that the venue of the conference is situated on a beach area on the seafront, not very far from the centre of Paphos. As in previous conferences the tranquillity of the venue and the excellent Cypriot cuisine and hospitality will be contributory factors for a successful conference in relaxing surroundings. 

The local organising and scientific committee hopes that all the participants will have stimulating scientific sessions, memorable experience and an enjoyable and relaxing time in Cyprus. 

Theodora Karafyllidou MD

General Practitioner, Blue Cross Hospital and Postgraduate Research Institute, Paphos, Cyprus.

 


THE PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF CHELATORS AND METALS (ISOCAM)

 As the inaugural and continuing President of the International Society of Chelators and Metals (ISOCAM), I would like to warmly welcome you to the 30th International Conference on Chelation (ICOC) for the treatment of thalassaemia, cancer, and other diseases.

This year’s ICOC is a Landmark – a 30-year history is a true achievement! Of course, the chairman G. J. Kontoghiorghes should be congratulated for his tenacity and long-term commitment to the field of iron chelation, as well as his work to fight for honesty in research and medicine.

Apart from the chairman’s scientific achievements in developing iron chelators for clinical use, over the years, he has brought to light the issues that arise during the commercial development of drugs that can affect patient lives. These aspects are important to consider and are beneficial to understand for younger scientists who may not be aware of the financial aspects and other sensitive considerations that do arise.

The 30th ICOC will again be held together with the 12th International Conference on Recent Advances in Health and Medical Sciences (12th RAHMS), and the 9th International Conference on Oncology and Anticancer Research (ICOAR).

The conference will again be held in the vibrant and sunny city of Paphos at the Athena Beach Hotel.

Apart from the excellent and broad scientific program, we can all look forward to the wonderful seaside climate, Mediterranean culture, and cuisine!

I very much look forward to greeting you and enjoying the science and hospitality!

With best wishes,

Des. R. Richardson

Professor and Director, Cancer Cell Biology and Drug Discovery, Griffith Institute of Drug Discovery, Griffith University, School Environment and Science, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

 


THE PRESIDENT OF THE 12th RAHMS, SECTION OF FREE RADICALS AND OXIDATIVE STRESS

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to Cyprus, the attractive country with a rich history, where ancient castles, churches and museums are visited by millions tourists every year. Cyprus has a warm climate all year round, a friendly population, and beautiful scenery with the sandy beaches, and the forests in the mountains.

I am grateful to the chairman G. J. Kontoghiorghes and his colleagues for their efforts to organize these conferences. This year, the meeting will combine three traditional conferences, the 30-th International Conference on Chelation (30th ICOC), the 12-th International Conference on Recent Advances in Health and Medical Sciences (12th RAHMS), and the 9-th International Conference on Oncology and Anticancer Research (9th ICOAR). The topics of these conferences cover a wide range of issues related among other to the role of metal ions and free radicals in living systems.

I am sure that the chairman and his colleagues will organize a highly successful and pleasant meeting in Paphos this year.

Nikolay Polyakov

Professor, Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion, Novosibirsk, Russia.

 


THE PRESIDENT OF THE 12th RAHMS, SECTION OF PLANT PRODUCTS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The study of natural products and their synthetic derivatives is still essential in drug discovery. This should not be a surprise. Since ancient times, humanity has used medicinal plants to heal itself, and, even today, traditional medicine is the dominant health care system in many parts of the world and for billions of people. Plant products represent an almost unlimited source of active ingredients, complex mixtures of hundreds of different compounds that can be synergistically active once administered. Therefore, the rationale for using phytotherapeutics is based on their multitarget mechanisms of action, which are of particular interest in the treatment of diseases with multifactorial etiology and multistage pathogenesis. From this perspective, natural products can respond to the urgent need for new medicines to reduce the global burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Furthermore, plant products can be used to develop innovative therapeutic approaches, including their use as adjuvant agents to increase the efficacy and/or reduce the adverse effects of conventional drugs, particularly in combination with anticancer therapies and antibiotics. This approach can reduce the risk of selecting resistant cancer and microbial cells or even reverse multidrug resistance.

In this complex scenario, it is our great pleasure to invite you to join us at the 12th RAHMS, much more than a congress. This Conference represents a unique opportunity for the scientific community of natural products to come together to present their innovative and valuable findings, learn, share ideas, and build relationships and friendships with colleagues from all over the world. We will examine and discuss recent trends in the pharmacological activities of plant natural products and their applications in many different biomedical fields, confident that many new and exciting collaborations will emerge from this meeting.

We look forward to warmly welcoming you to Paphos.

Marcello Iriti,

Professor, Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, University of Milan, Italy.

 


THE PRESIDENT OF THE 12th RAHMS, SECTION OF IRON METABOLISM IN HEALTH AND DISEASE

Dear Colleagues,

Iron is a vital micronutrient for almost all living cells and organisms. Iron’s flexible coordination chemistry and ability to acquire and donate electrons make this metal essential for oxygen transport, and several electron transfer and catalytic reactions. However, the redox reactivity renders iron potentially toxic, as it promotes oxidative stress. Therefore, iron metabolism needs to be tightly controlled to satisfy metabolic needs and prevent toxicity.

The biomedical significance of iron is illustrated in prevalent iron-related disorders. Iron deficiency with or without anemia affect almost one quarter of the world’s population, while hereditary hemochromatosis, a disease of iron overload is the most common genetic disorder in populations of Northern European ancestry. For many years, the only known proteins of iron metabolism were ferritin, which stores excess iron, and transferrin, the plasma iron carrier. Later on transferrin receptor was identified, and this led to unraveling the mechanism of cellular iron uptake from circulating transferrin.

A milestone in understanding cellular iron metabolism was the discovery of the IRE/IRP regulatory system in the 1980’s, and the subsequent characterization of iron regulatory proteins IRP1 and IRP2, the cellular iron sensors. The identification of the iron transporters DMT1 and ferroportin gradually shifted the focus from cells to organisms. A major breakthrough in understanding systemic iron metabolism was the discovery of the hepcidin, the iron regulatory hormone and its target ferroportin in early 2000’s. The immense biomedical implications of this discovery became immediately evident. Hepcidin is critical in maintaining iron balance and its deficiency causes hemochromatosis, while excess hepcidin contributes to anemia of inflammation. Besides being a biomarker, hepcidin is also a potential pharmacological target. The characterization of the pathophysiological role of hepcidin has sparked the development of hepcidin agonists and antagonists for the management of iron-related disorders, which are currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Thanks to these discoveries the iron field has literally exploded within the last few years.

It is our great pleasure to invite you to join us at the 30th ICOC/12th RAHMS/9th ICOAR, and discuss advances in this exciting area of research. The 30th ICOC/12th RAHMS/9th ICOAR offers a stimulating environment and provides an excellent forum to get together and exchange ideas with colleagues from all over the world. We are looking forward to seeing you in Paphos. 

Kostas Pantopoulos,

Professor, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, and Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

 


WELCOME MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ICOC, RAHMS AND ICOAR CONFERENCES

On behalf of the Local and International Organising and Scientific Committees, I would like to welcome you to the 30th International Conference on Chelation (ICOC), the 12th International Conference on Recent Advances in Health and Medical Sciences (RAHMS) and the 9th International Conference on Oncology and Anticancer Research (ICOAR), which will take place in Paphos, Cyprus, from the 4th - 8th  October, 2024.

The joint conferences are organised by volunteer academics and physicians and are open and free to the public. Hundreds of professors and esteemed academics from all over the world have participated in the ICOC conferences since the first ICOC in 1989 in London, UK, which among other facilitated the development of Deferiprone (L1) and the general introduction of oral iron chelation therapy globally, which led to the transformation of thalassemia from a fatal to a chronic disease.

For more than 30 years the ICOC and also more recently the RAHMS and ICOAR conferences are monitoring and reporting recent advances in many specialised but also general areas of basic sciences and also medical sciences. Most importantly, hundreds of related articles have been selected from the ICOC conference proceedings and published in many peer review international journals over the years. The selection of articles is also the focus of this year’s publication proceedings.

The challenges in science and medicine never end and this includes recently discovered hot topics related to ICOC, RAHMS and ICOAR, where modulation or intervention may lead to the treatment of diseases involving millions of patients. In particular, the recent discovery of ferroptosis and its association to almost all diseases including all types of cancer, highlights the importance of iron metabolism and its potential modulation using chelating drugs for the control and treatment of diseases.

The ICOC/ RAHMS/ ICOAR joint multidisciplinary conferences is an open platform event used for stimulating research and open discussions in many scientific and academic areas from chemistry to medicine. Participants of the conference are distinguished colleagues, scientists, medical practitioners, health professionals, students and also patients from all over the world, who will gather in Paphos to present and discuss their recent scientific findings and theories.

This year is also the 50th anniversary of the invasion and illegal occupation of the northern part of Cyprus by Turkey. Like myself, more than a third of the Cypriot population have been expelled from their homes and are refugees living in many foreign countries and also the southern part of Cyprus. Despite the UN resolutions the illegal occupation of Cyprus and many other conflicts nearby but also worldwide continue. It is our duty as academics to stress the need for peace and to keep in mind the global perspective of health, disease impact and adverse environmental issues for the survival of mankind. In this context, we need to find solutions for stopping all wars, as well as the treatment of life threatening diseases affecting millions of patients including patients in the developing countries with scarce resources.

We anticipate, as always, to organise many social and other events and also a constructive, high standard scientific and medical conference in Cyprus.

George J Kontoghiorghes

Professor, Director, Postgraduate Research Institute of Science, Technology, Environment and Medicine, Limassol and Paphos, Cyprus.