GIF 2017 goal was to form an international network made up of hospitals as well as excellent research institutions that introduce new biotechnologies into the sphere of oncology. This will facilitate the transfer of technology to the industry through the development of innovative products for diagnosing and treating human glioma.

The incidence of cancer is increasing due to environmental pollution and unhealthy lifestyle. In recent years there has been an increase in the incidence of brain tumours including among other types the most malignant form, the glioblastoma. This is a very aggressive form of cancer (the average life expectancy after diagnosis is one year). Glioblastoma is resistant to conventional as well as modern forms of treatment, so there is an urgent need to direct research towards finding new molecular targets and biomarkers in order to improve diagnosing, predicting responses to treatment and prognoses. New ways of treatment, supported by new knowledge and technologies, will not only improve the efficiency of treatment and the patients’ quality of life, they will also contribute to general population health on both sides of the border.

The conference was focused on investigating the role of glioma tumour stem cells. Such research efforts lead towards the formation of important diagnostic (disease development and predicting response to treatment) and, expectedly, therapeutic tools. By introducing state-of-the-art strategies that provide the means for devising a particular treatment procedure for each patient, we are approaching the concept of individualised cancer treatment.