One of the key scientific challenges of the 21st century is the fight against cancer. Cancer research has, with the revolutionary development of biochemistry and molecular biology, focused over the last decades on the molecular and genetic origins of cancer.

Today, we know countless oncogenes and an immense number of molecular factors that determine tumor development in various forms and in different organs. However, a basic understanding, let alone the possibility to cure or control this complex disease, is still far beyond our reach. Despite enormous international efforts and an immense increase in knowledge, cancer-related deaths are still among the top 3 causes of death worldwide.

In the light of our increasingly complex and diverse knowledge of molecular details, the search for basic principles and mechanistic paradigms of cancer is becoming more and more important. Here, medical research is strongly benefitting from the neighboring disciplines, such as bioinformatics or systems biology. In particular, the physics of soft condensed matter plays a central role in this context. Today, it becomes increasingly clear that the reductionist agenda of the physical approach is contributing essential insight into the physical foundations of cancer.

The International Symposium "Physics of Cancer" is fostering the interdisciplinary exchange between the outstanding experts of this field. It is a well-established yearly conference that has developed into a major networking platform for young scientists.

Some of the main topics covered in this symposium will be