Premier international meeting drives cancer research

Scientists from around the world gather to share advances in cancer

Washington, DC (July 11, 2003) – Scientists from around the world are assembling today for the 94th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the premier multidisciplinary event in cancer research. The meeting (July 11-14, 2003 at the Washington Convention Center, DC) will feature the latest and most significant information about laboratory, translational, and clinical cancer research.

"AACR is dedicated to moving the oncology community toward a future in which cancer is easier to prevent, detect, and treat," explains Susan Band Horwitz, Ph.D., president of AACR, and the Falkenstein Professor of Cancer Research and co-chair of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.

This year's Annual Meeting will celebrate the huge strides made in the fields of cancer and biomedical science during the past half-century and also will provide a glimpse into what's possible in the near future. "Thanks to major breakthroughs, such as the unveiling of the human genome and new genetic tools, we are beginning to unmask the mysteries that have made cancer such a formidable foe," says Horwitz.

Highlighting rapid advances in the field of genetics, cellular communications, and molecular biology, the plenary session (scheduled from 1:30 pm to 4:45 pm., Friday, July 11) will focus on new approaches that will have a profound effect on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. In addition, Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., director of the National Cancer Institute, will discuss his "Challenge Goal" of eliminating the suffering and death from cancer by 2015.

Blazing the path toward future cancer advancements, AACR's Annual Meeting attracts clinical oncologists, basic and translational researchers, and epidemiologists who are working together to enhance research programs and patient care. This year, more than 5,000 abstracts were submitted for presentation, complementing an outstanding program of scientific and educational events already scheduled.

"AACR is dedicated to identifying the latest developments for improving individualized cancer treatments through targeted approaches, chemoprevention, and emerging technologies for early detection," explains Sara Courtneidge, M.D., Deputy Director of the Van Andel Research Institute, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan and AACR meeting chairperson.

"The AACR meeting provides a venue for oncologists and scientists to share data, learn new techniques, and discuss ways to not only extend and save the lives of cancer patients, but also to potentially help prevent the disease from developing in healthy individuals," she added.

Other meeting highlights include:

Press Conferences – highlighting improved accuracy in prostate screening; new understandings of the role of telomeres and chromosomes in cancer development; public forum on the use of Proscar to prevent prostate cancer; analyzing the efficacy of novel cancer treatment options; environment and diet effect on cancer risk; public policy issues surrounding stem cells and cancer research; prognostic methods to predict treatment effects; new advances in anti-angiogenesis therapies.
Symposia and Forums – covering a diverse range of timely and controversial topics of critical interest to the broad cancer community, as well as state-of-the-art overviews of cancer research.

*Reporter's Note: Dr. von Eschenbach and panelists will be available for questions during their press conference, 10 a.m.-11 a.m., Friday, July 11, 2003.

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Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is a professional society of more than 20,000 laboratory and clinical scientists engaged in cancer research in the United States and more than 60 other countries. AACR's mission is to accelerate the prevention and cure of cancer through research, education, communication and advocacy. Its principal activities include the publication of five major peer-reviewed scientific journals (Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention). AACR's annual meeting attracts more than 12,000 participants who share new and significant discoveries in the cancer field, and the AACR's specialty meetings throughout the year focus on all the important areas of basic, translational and clinical cancer research.

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