Formation | May 7, 1907 |
---|---|
Headquarters | 615 Chestnut St., 17th Floor Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106-4404 |
Membership | More than 58,000 |
Official language | English |
Staff | More than 230 |
Website | www |
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical, and translational research into the etiology, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. Founded in 1907 by 11 physicians and scientists, the organization now has more than 58,000 members in 142 countries and territories. The mission of the AACR is to prevent and cure cancer through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy and advocacy, and funding for cancer research.
The AACR was founded on May 7, 1907, in Washington, D.C., as the "Association for Cancer Research" by a group of scientists consisting of four surgeons, five pathologists, and two biochemists. The founding members were Silas P. Beebe, George H. A. Clowes, William Coley, James Ewing, Harvey R. Gaylord, Robert B. Greenough, J. Collins Warren, George W. Crile, Leo Loeb, Frank Burr Mallory, and Ernest E. Tyzzer. They organized annual meetings to coincide with the meetings for the much larger meetings of the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists. At the first meeting in New York City in November 1907, nine papers were presented. For the first 30 years, the group functioned as a select group of scientists, but with the expansion of cancer research in the 1930s, membership and interest grew. The society was officially incorporated in 1940. [1]
AACR's annual meeting attracts more than 23,000 participants from around the world and has been described as the "main forum to present and discuss cancer-related research." [2] Attendees gather to discuss over 7,000 abstracts and to hear more than 500 invited presentations on significant discoveries in basic, clinical, and translational cancer research. Scientific award lectures, grant writing workshops, networking events, and educational sessions round out this comprehensive program.
In addition to the annual meeting, the AACR organizes approximately 30 other conferences and workshops each year, [3] including:
The AACR publishes ten peer-reviewed scientific journals: Blood Cancer Discovery, Cancer Discovery , Cancer Research , Clinical Cancer Research , Cancer Immunology Research , Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, Molecular Cancer Research, Cancer Prevention Research, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention and Cancer Research Communications. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today , a magazine for cancer patients, survivors, and their families and friends, as well as an Annual Report Archived 2019-04-06 at the Wayback Machine , and CR Archived 2019-05-10 at the Wayback Machine which aims to foster collaboration between cancer survivors, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.
Cancer Research is the second most-frequently cited cancer journal in the world. [4] Papers are peer-reviewed, and only those that meet high standards of scientific merit are accepted for publication. The journal publishes significant, original studies, reviews, and perspectives on all areas of basic, clinical, translational, epidemiological, and prevention research in cancer and the cancer-related biomedical sciences. Some of the topics include biochemistry; chemical, physical, and viral carcinogenesis and mutagenesis; clinical research including clinical trials; endocrinology; epidemiology and prevention; experimental therapeutics, molecular targets, and chemical biology; immunology and immunotherapy including biological therapy; molecular biology, pathobiology, and genetics; radiobiology and radiation oncology; cell and tumor biology; tumor microenvironment; systems biology and other emerging technologies.
The AACR launched Cancer Discovery in 2011 as a selective journal for basic, translational, and clinical cancer research. [5] Cancer Discovery has become a premier journal in the field of cancer research, with a 2020 impact factor of 39.397 that is the highest among the AACR journals. [6] [7] Research published in the journal includes identification of actionable genomic alterations in cancer, mechanisms of therapy resistance, clinical trials on targeted therapy, and cancer immunotherapy research including immune checkpoint blockade and Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. [8]
The AACR Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer is a 501(c)(3) public charity that provides financial support for scientific research, education, and communication. The foundation funds programs deemed by the AACR to be of the highest priority and impact in promoting research, supporting scientists, and raising awareness. Eighty-eight cents of every dollar raised by the AACR Foundation directly supports cancer research.
Following the Cancer & Evolution Symposium in October 2020, organized by Frank H. Laukien, James A. Shapiro, Denis Noble, Henry Heng and Perry Marshall, this Working Group was integrated into the AACR to facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to the study of cancer. The group now presents the monthly Cancer Evolution Seminar Series. [9] [10]
The names of the presidents from 1907 to 1960 were reported by Triolo in 1961. [1] [11]
Since establishing its grant program in 1993, the AACR has awarded more than $425 million in funding to more than 800 scientists for cancer research projects that aim to advance the understanding and treatment of cancer. [12] AACR grants support researchers, both domestically and abroad, at every career stage, from fellowships to career development awards to major grants for independent investigators.
The AACR is the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a groundbreaking movement to accelerate innovative cancer research, get new therapies to patients quickly, and save lives.
The AACR honors scientists and clinicians who have made significant contributions to the understanding of the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer through the presentation of 17 Scientific Achievement Awards and Lectureships. [13]
The AACR Academy was established in 2013 to recognize and honor distinguished scientists whose major scientific contributions have propelled significant innovation and progress against cancer and advanced the mission of the AACR to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, and collaboration. A new class of Fellows of the AACR Academy is inducted each year at the AACR Annual Meeting.
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is one of the institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI conducts and supports research, training, health information dissemination, and other activities related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer; the supportive care of cancer patients and their families; and cancer survivorship.
Translational medicine develops the clinical practice applications of the basic science aspects of the biomedical sciences; that is, it translates basic science to applied science in medical practice. It is defined by the European Society for Translational Medicine as "an interdisciplinary branch of the biomedical field supported by three main pillars: benchside, bedside, and community". The goal of translational medicine is to combine disciplines, resources, expertise, and techniques within these pillars to promote enhancements in prevention, diagnosis, and therapies. Accordingly, translational medicine is a highly interdisciplinary field, the primary goal of which is to coalesce assets of various natures within the individual pillars in order to improve the global healthcare system significantly.
The British Journal of Cancer (BJC) is a twice-monthly professional medical journal published by Springer Nature's Nature Research.
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is a unique pan-European non-profit clinical cancer research organisation established in 1962 operating as an international association under Belgium law. It develops, conducts, coordinates and stimulates high-quality translational and clinical trial research to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients. This is achieved through the development of new drugs and other innovative approaches, and the testing of more effective therapeutic strategies, using currently approved drugs, surgery and/or radiotherapy in clinical trials conducted under the auspices of a vast network of clinical cancer researchers supported by 220 staff members based in Brussels. The EORTC has the expertise to conduct large and complex trials especially specific populations such as the older patient and rare tumours.
Virgil Craig Jordan,, was an American and British scientist specializing in drugs for breast cancer treatment and prevention. He was Professor of Breast Medical Oncology, and Professor of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. Previously, he was Scientific Director and Vice Chairman of Oncology at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center of Georgetown University. Jordan was the first to discover the breast cancer prevention properties of tamoxifen and the scientific principles for adjuvant therapy with antihormones. His later work branched out into the prevention of multiple diseases in women with the discovery of the drug group, selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERMs). He later worked on developing a new Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for post-menopausal women that prevents breast cancer and does not increase the risk of breast cancer.
The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) is a professional, scientific and medical society established in 1977 to promote excellence in bone and mineral research and to facilitate the translation of that research into clinical practice. The ASBMR has a membership of nearly 4,000 physicians, basic research scientists, and clinical investigators from around the world.
The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), previously known as the International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc), is a professional society of scientists, academicians, researchers, clinicians, government representatives, and industry leaders from around the world dedicated to improving outcomes in patients with cancer by advancing the science and application of cancer immunotherapy. Currently, SITC has more than 2,400 members, representing 22 medical specialties from 42 countries around the world, who are engaged in the research and treatment of cancer.
Translational research is research aimed at translating (converting) results in basic research into results that directly benefit humans. The term is used in science and technology, especially in biology and medical science. As such, translational research forms a subset of applied research.
Polysaccharide-K is a protein-bound polysaccharide isolated from the mycelium of Trametes versicolor.
The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) is an Arlington, Virginia-based non-profit organization of scientists, clinicians, students and program professionals whose longstanding mission is to promote global health through the prevention and control of infectious and other diseases that disproportionately afflict the global poor. ASTMH members work in areas of research, health care and education that encompass laboratory science, international field studies, clinical care and country-wide programs of disease control. The current organization was formed in 1951 with the amalgamation of the American Society of Tropical Medicine, founded in 1903, and the National Malaria Society, founded in 1941.
Paolo Boffetta is an Italian epidemiologist. He is doing research on cancer and other chronic diseases, where he contributed to the understanding of the role of occupation, environment, alcohol, smoking and nutrition in disease development.
Charles L. Sawyers is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator who holds the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Chair of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP) at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). HOPP is a program created in 2006 that comprises researchers from many disciplines to bridge clinical and laboratory discoveries.
Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbiology, clinical virology, clinical epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, and biomedical engineering are medical sciences. In explaining physiological mechanisms operating in pathological processes, however, pathophysiology can be regarded as basic science.
Waun Ki Hong was Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he served as chairman of the Department of Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology from 1993 to 2005 and as head of the Division of Cancer Medicine from 2001 to 2014. He was also an American Cancer Society Professor and the Samsung Distinguished University Chair in Cancer Medicine emeritus.
Curtis. C. Harris is the head of the Molecular Genetics and Carcinogenesis Section and chief of the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis at the Center for Cancer Research of the National Cancer Institute, NIH.
Roy S. Herbst is an American oncologist who is the Ensign Professor of Medicine, Professor of Pharmacology, Chief of Medical Oncology, and Associate Director for Translational Research at Yale Cancer Center and Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
Sherene Loi is an Australian oncologist. She is the 2021 winner of the Australian Prime Ministers Prize for Science, in the category of Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year. Loi is Head of Translational Breast Cancer Research, within the Peter Macallum Cancer Centre. Loi's research has advanced understanding into breast cancer, developing and implementing an immune system biomarker. This biomarker will enable improved management for people with advanced cancer. This biomarker is now part of routine pathology reporting across many countries and also is included in the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours.
Lisa M. Coussens is an American cancer scientist who is Professor and Chair of the Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology and Deputy Director for Basic and Translational Research in the Knight Cancer Institute at the Oregon Health & Science University. She served as 2022-2023 President of the American Association for Cancer Research.
The "Annual Meeting for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)" is widely viewed by scientists as the main forum to present and discuss cancer-related research.
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