The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s oldest and largest professional organisation dedicated to advancing cancer research. Every year it hosts one of the biggest cancer conferences in the world and it is a must-attend event for cancer researchers.
More than 18,500 cancer scientists and doctors will converge on the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia for five days of workshops, poster sessions, and forums to learn about the latest, most exciting discoveries in cancer research.
The AACR Annual Meeting provides a unique opportunity for cancer experts from across the globe, including scientists here at The Institute of Cancer Research in London, to interact, share their insights and hear about the next big things in their fields.
The theme this year is “Bringing Cancer Discoveries to Patients”, and it underlines the vital but complex link between discovery and treatment – one that is exemplified by the relationship between the ICR and its hospital partner, The Royal Marsden.
Only the highest-quality research is selected for presentation at the conference, so it’s a matter of some pride that scientists from the ICR have had more than 30 proposals accepted this year. Over the five days, they will be discussing a wide range of important issues – such as cancer imaging, molecular profiling, new experimental techniques, and the latest findings from clinical trials.
Dr Simon Robinson will be presenting his team’s latest research testing an exciting new technology called magnetic resonance elastography, which measures the stiffness or stretchiness of tissues to help diagnose different types of cancer. His presentation will build on previous work from his team, showing how the technique could provide doctors with valuable new information about the internal structure of tumours in children with brain cancer.
Professor Sue Eccles is presenting exciting new research that is modelling tumour biology in 3D. ‘Two dimensional’ cell cultures can tell researchers a lot about cancer, but they only replicate the disease up to a point. Advanced tumours form complex three-dimensional structures made up of different cell types and with their own blood supply. Using 3D models could improve our understanding of cancer and ultimately replace ‘flat biology’ in the search for potent new cancer drugs. It could even reduce the number of animals used in research.
And three of our researchers will be presenting the latest findings from clinical trials for exciting new drug treatments. Professor Johann de Bono’s research has tested a drug called olaparib in patients with malignant prostate cancer, Dr Udai Banerji and his team have been investigating a combination drug treatment in patients with ovarian and lung cancer, and Dr Timothy Yap is presenting data from first-in-human trials of a combination treatment for patients with advanced cancer.
These are just a few highlights of the major studies being presented by ICR scientists at the conference. Other global leaders in cancer research will be announcing exciting discoveries in a huge range of fields. To stay informed, follow
@ICR_London on Twitter for the latest news from ICR researchers at AACR 2015.
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