Solving problems is smart, preventing them is wise: Lessons learned from the 2nd International DKFZ Conference on...

The 2nd International DKFZ Conference on Cancer Prevention (CCP2020) organized by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) was held as a virtual event on 17-18 September 2020. The event gathered experts on cancer prevention from around the world with the aim of generating a stimulating interchange of opinions between clinicians and basic researchers working in the field. The talks and posters of the conference fueled exciting discussions and debates about the state of the art of cancer prevention and provided a comprehensive outlook on the many aspects of the field. The program was divided into three main sessions, illustrating the most recent methodological approaches and interventions in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, enriched by introductory lectures depicting the most relevant aspects of each session. The key concepts covered in this meeting were risk factors, early detection, improving life after cancer, cancer prevention in Europe and personalized prevention. The importance of the latter was expressly highlighted, many presentations emphasizing that in the era of personalized medicine, prevention also needs to be based on the unique genetic, epigenetic, social and behavioral characteristics of the individual to achieve maximal efficacy. In this article, we summarize the key messages emerging from each section, with particular attention on the most important challenges yet to be met in the field of cancer prevention.