This also applies to quality assurance methods which have been established for many years, but the requirements of which have so far been formulated more from a perspective of technical feasibility than from a perspective of medical necessity. This is to change in the future, and Prof. Dr. Matthias Nauck, Greifswald University Department of Medicine, will present the first steps that have been established. For example, the analytical requirements for the parameters for diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus were already substantially increased for the benefit of patients. This approach will also be the foundation for further development of the guidelines issued by the German Medical Association . Other than that, information about the quality of the examinations carried out by medical laboratories must become more transparent and concrete for the attending doctors. This aspect will be discussed in the part of the event titled "Quality assurance in patient-oriented laboratory medicine". The session leader is certain that her referents will present and discuss a number of important innovations in the auditorium.

Day 2: Trends in laboratory medicine


Referred to as liquid biopsy or liquid profiling, diagnosis through nucleic acids circulating in the blood (CNAPS) has been talked about now for years. According to Prof. Dr. Stefan Holdenrieder, who will lead the session on "New insights in circulating nucleic acid diagnostics" on 15 November, this diagnostic technique is quickly taking the leap from a scientific research method to clinical practice – from "bench to bedside". While already standard in non-invasive pre-natal tests, there are now large studies available on its use in tumor patients, including the selection and monitoring of targeted therapies, detection of minimal residual disease and early diagnosis of multiple types of tumors. CNAPS diagnostics are also coming into focus for the detection and classification of sepsis, as well as in monitoring after a transplantation. One important reason for this progress in development, other than the availability of sensitive high-throughput technologies, is a deeper understanding of the biology, structure and function of nucleic acids in the blood. For example, epigenetic and fragmentation patterns of DNA are being increasingly used not only to detect disease, but to trace the origin of the tissue. Dr. Abel Bronkhorst from the Technical University of Munich will offer an introduction to the newest discoveries within the basic science of circulating nucleic acids, the varied uses of which for clinical diagnostics will be then presented and discussed by proven experts.

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