On September 12, 2026, the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) will host a “Multidisciplinary Expert Consultation Conference on Precision Biomarker Testing in Bladder and Prostate Cancer“, open to members and non-member clinicians and scientists in pathology, urology, oncology, and related fields. The conference will take place immediately preceding the 38th European Congress of Pathology (ECP 2026) in Stockholm, Sweden, and will be held in person without a hybrid format.
Meeting Objectives:
- Review the current landscape and clinical implementation of biomarker testing in bladder and prostate cancer.
- Establish standardized, evidence-based recommendations for biomarker testing, interpretation, and reporting.
- Define optimal specimen requirements, pre-analytical considerations, and specimen selection strategies for biomarker testing.
- Define the role, clinical indications, limitations, and validation requirements of liquid biopsy.
- Define the current and future roles of artificial intelligence and digital pathology in biomarker assessment, including workflow integration and quality assurance.
- Identify knowledge gaps and research priorities to guide future studies, clinical trials, and guideline development.
This Consensus will be Co-Chaired by ISUP members, Dr. Liang Cheng (Providence, RI, USA), and Dr. Geert van Leenders (Rotterdam, Netherlands).
Date and Time: September 12, 2026, 7:30 am – 1:30 pm (Stockholm, Sweden)
Meeting Venue: Grand Hôtel Stockholm (Website: https://grandhotel.se/)
Address: Södra Blasieholmshamnen 8, 103 27 Stockholm, Sweden
Complete our brief pre-meeting survey by July 31, 2026.
Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9Q3KFJ5
Agenda:
7:30 – 8:00am Arrival , Coffee, and Registration
8:00 – 8:05am Welcome & Opening Remarks
Liang Cheng and Geert van Leenders (Conference Chairpersons)
8:05 am – 9:50am Working Group 1: Biomarkers in Bladder Cancer
Introduction WG1 Chairs: Michelle Downes and Antonio Lopez-Beltran
WG1 Subgroup 1: FGFR
Chair: Hikmat Al-Ahmadie
WG1 Subgroup 2: HER2 and Other/Emerging Drug Antibody Conjugates
Chair: Charles Guo
WG1 Subgroup 3: Immune Related Biomarkers (PD-L1, MMR, TMB and Novel/Emerging Markers)
Chair: Markus Eckstein
WG1 Subgroup 4: Preanalytical Issues
Chair: Maria R. Raspollini
WG1 Subgroup 5: Liquid Biomarkers
Chair: Joshua I. Warrick
WG1 Subgroup 6: Digital/AI
Chair: Seema Kaushal
9:50 am – 10:20 am Group Photo and Coffee Break
10:20 am – 10:40am Industry Innovation Forum
10:20-10:30am From Bench to Bedside: Ensuring Adoption of Clinical Biomarkers
Hannah Li, Director of Global Commercial Precision Medicine Strategy, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
10:30 am – 10:40am FGFR3 Testing in Practice: Guidelines vs. Real-World Adherence in LA/mUC
Alba Mota, Diagnostics CRS, Global Medical Affairs Oncology, Eli Lilly and Company
10:40 am – 12: 20 pm Working Group 2: Biomarkers in Prostate Cancer
Introduction WG2 Chairs: Alessia Cimadamore and Gladell P. Paner
WG2 Subgroup 1: Preanalytical and Postanalytical Considerations
Chairs: Kenneth A. Iczkowski and Glen Kristiansen
WG2 Subgroup 2: BRCA1/2 and HRR
Chairs: Steven C. Smith and Jane Nguyen
WG2 Subgroup 3: MSI-H/dMMR/TMB>10
Chairs: Nancy Greenland and Rafael Jimenez
WG2 Subgroup 4: PI3KCA-AKT-mTOR pathway inhibitors (PTEN) and Other Chemotherapy-related Predictive Biomarkers
Chairs: Tamara Lotan and James G. Kench
WG2 Subgroup 5: Other Potential or Emerging Tumor-agnostic Biomarkers
Chairs: Aiman Haider and Angelo M. DeMarzo
WG2 Subgroup 6: Liquid Biopsy (e.g., ctDNA, CTCs) and Digital/Artificial Intelligence
Chairs: Fiona Maclean and Turki Al-Hussain
12:20 – 12:30 pm Closing Remarks
Liang Cheng and Geert van Leenders (Conference Chairpersons)
12:30 – 1:30 pm Luncheon (Room Uppsala)
Join us for the Grawitz Dinner in Stockholm, Sweden. This long-standing tradition brings together the urologic pathology community for an evening of great food, conversation, and camaraderie following the ISUP Consensus Conference, GUPS Specialty Session, and ECP meeting. Colleagues and guests are welcome. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot by September 2, 2026.
If you have any questions or difficulty reserving online, please contact Gladell Paner (gladell.paner@uchospitals.edu)
Restaurant: Restaurant Pelikan (https://pelikan.se/en), Blekingegatan 40, Stockholm 116 62 Sweden Telephone +46 8 556 090 90
Date and Time: Sunday, September 13, 2024, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm.
Getting There: Directions from Grand Hôtel Stockholm to Pelikan: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bxGjgHQzrBFYgHxS7
Sincerely,
Gladell Paner, Dilek Ertoy, Steven Smith, and Glen Kristiansen (Grawitz Dinner Stockholm Organizers)
John Srigley, Brett Delahunt and Mahul Amin (Founding Organizers)
Working Group 1: Biomarker Testing in Bladder Cancer
WG 1 Chairpersons: Michelle R. Downes, Antonio Lopez-Beltran
WG1 Subgroup 1: FGFR – MIBC and NMIBC
Hikmat Al-Ahmadie (Chair), Arndt Hartmann, Jeffrey S. Ross, David J. McConkey, Dilek Ertoy Baydar, Bas WG van Rhijn, Tianxin Lin
WG1 Subgroup 2: HER2 and other/emerging drug antibody conjugates
Charles Guo (Chair), Mahmut Akgul, Adeboye O. Osunkoya, Isabel Alvarado-Cabrero, Ankur Sangoi, Ashish M. Kamat, Joshua J. Meeks
WG1 Subgroup 3: Immune related biomarkers (PD-L1, MMR, TMB and novel/emerging markers)
Markus Eckstein (Chair), Donna E. Hansel, Toyonori Tsuzuki, Puay Hoon Tan, Eva M. Comperat, Michael C. Cookson, Wassim Kassouf
WG1 Subgroup 4: Preanalytical issues
Maria Raspollini (Chair), Maria S. Tretiakova, Sean R. Williamson, Theodorus van der Kwast, Santosh Menon, Büşra Yaprak Bayrak
WG1 Subgroup 5: Liquid biomarkers (blood and urine)
Joshua I. Warrick (Chair), Lars Dyrskjøt, Bishoy M. Faltas, Hui Ying He, Philippe Spiess, Roger Li
WG1 Subgroup 6: Digital/artificial intelligence
Seema Kaushal (Chair), Francesca Khani, George J. Netto, William Y. Kim, David M. Berman, Shahrokh F. Shariat
Working Group 2: Biomarker Testing in Prostate Cancer
WG2 Chairpersons: Gladell P. Paner, Alessia Cimadamore
WG2 Subgroup 1: Preanalytical and postanalytical considerations
WG2 Subgroup 2: BRCA1 and 2 and HRR
Steven C. Smith and Jane Nguyen (Chairs), Jiaoti Huang, Daniel W. Lin, Pasquale Rescigno (oncologist), Mark A. Rubin
WG2 Subgroup 3: MSI-H/dMMR/TMB>10
Nancy Greenland and Rafael Jimenez (Chairs), Daniel M. Berney, Holger Moch, Andrea Necchi ), Sara E. Wobker
WG2 Subgroup 4: PI3KCA-AKT-mTOR pathway inhibitors (PTEN) and other chemotherapy-related predictive biomarkers
Tamara Lotan and James G. Kench (Chairs), Thomas W. Flaig, Gianluca Giannarini, Rajal B. Shah, Jeffrey So
WG2 Subgroup 5: Other potential or emerging tumor-agnostic biomarkers (e.g., ADCs, DLL3, PD-L1)
Aiman Haider and Angelo M. DeMarzo (Chairs), Mahul B. Amin, Anders Bjartell, Arul M. Chinnaiyan, Herbert Lepor, Anandi Lobo, Daniel E. Spratt
WG2 Subgroup 6: Liquid biopsy (e.g., ctDNA, CTCs) and digital/artificial intelligence
Fiona Maclean and Turki Al-Hussain (Chairs), Ni Chen, Michael C. Haffner, Anil V. Parwani, Chin Lee Wu
General questions: Katrina Collins katrinacollinsmd@gmail.com and/or Nancy Greenland nancy.greenland@ucsf.edu
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