In This Section

Program

Beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 5, and continuing all day Saturday, April 6, 2024, a program of Educational Sessions and Methods Workshops will be presented. The program on Saturday will conclude with the Plenary Session titled, Discovery Science in Early Cancer Biology and Interception (4:15 p.m.-6:15 p.m.) The Opening Ceremony and the Opening Plenary Session will take place on Sunday morning, April 7. The meeting will conclude at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10. The 2024 Program in Progress follows:

Educational Program: Educational Sessions and Methods Workshops

The Educational Program is an integral part of the meeting and provides attendees with an opportunity to expand their knowledge base in new and exciting fields. Add the Educational Program Pass to your registration to access this important program. The Educational Program consists of more than 65 unique sessions covering all areas of cancer research and features updates on critical topics and new technologies. As part of these sessions, the following popular sessions and topics will be included. More information will be posted as it becomes available.

• Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy for Nonimmunologists. This exciting session is part of the yearly programming presented at the AACR Annual Meeting and organized in conjunction with the AACR Cancer Immunology Working Group. This popular session provides a comprehensive review of hot topics in the field and allows ample time for questions from the audience.

• Chemistry to the Clinic. This multi-part series, organized in conjunction with the AACR Chemistry in Cancer Research Working Group, provides meeting attendees with foundational knowledge of critical elements of the cancer drug design and development process, such as lead optimization and identification of molecular targets and novel drug modalities.

• Clinical Trial Design. Over the course of three consecutive sessions, these Methods Workshops will provide attendees with a historical and methodologic understanding of clinical trials and demonstrate how to design an appropriate trial to answer the scientific questions presented by emerging treatments.

• Data Science. Several sessions will focus on exciting advances and emerging opportunities in cancer research. Sessions will also explore the integration of data science in advancing cancer science and medicine.

Plenary sessions

Saturday, April 6, 2024
Discovery Science in Early Cancer Biology and Interception
Chair: Daniel D. De Carvalho, UHN Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  • Don W. Cleveland, UC San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, California
  • Margaret A. Goodell, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
  • Michael B. Kastan, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina
  • Kornelia Polyak, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

Sunday, April 7, 2024
Opening Plenary Session: Inspiring Science, Fueling Progress, Revolutionizing Care
Chairs: Keith T. Flaherty, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Christina Curtis, Stanford University, Stanford, California

  • Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Stanford University, Stanford, California
  • Benjamin F. Cravatt, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California
  • Jakob N. Kather, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
  • Aviv Regev, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, California

Monday, April 8, 2024
Profiling Tumor Ecosystems in Native Tissue Context
Chair: Christine A. Iacobuzio-Donahue, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

  • Michael Angelo, Stanford University, Stanford, California
  • Susan Bullman, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington
  • Joakim Lundeberg, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
  • Peter K. Sorger, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Evolution of the Genome, Microenvironment, and Host through Metastasis
Chair: Cyrus M. Ghajar, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington

  • Sarah-Maria Fendt, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, Leuven, Belgium
  • Christoph A. Klein, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
  • David C. Lyden, Weill Cornell, New York, New York
  • Dana Pe’er, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

Wednesday, April 10, 2024
AI at the Interface: Accelerating Evidence Generation, Advancing Disparities Research, and Improving Trial Design
Chair: Vivek Subbiah, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, Tennessee

  • Thomas Clozel, Owkin, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Maryellen J. Giger, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  • Mia A. Levy, Foundation Medicine Inc, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Anant Madabhushi, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

Wednesday, April 10, 2024
AACR Annual Meeting 2024 Highlights: Vision for the Future
Chairs: Keith T. Flaherty, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Christina Curtis, Stanford University, Stanford, California

  • Speakers to be announced

Presidential Select Symposium

Monday, April 8, 2024
Presidential Select Symposium: Cancer Immunotherapy – Where Do We Go from Here?
Chair: Philip D. Greenberg, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington

  • James P. Allison, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
  • Nir Hacohen, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Alexander Marson, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
  • Andrea Schietinger, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

Major Symposia

  • AACR-Bayard D. Clarkson Symposium: Cellular Plasticity in Malignancy – Co-option of Developmental Processes
  • Antigen Discovery and Validation for Cancer Vaccines
  • Approaches to Improve Quality of Life and Long-term Outcomes for AYA and Adult Cancer Survivors
  • Biomarkers in the Post-TCGA Era: Where Are We Now?
  • Cancer Metabolism Across Scales: From Organelles to Organisms
  • CAR Cells 3.0
  • CDK4/6 Inhibitors: Not Just for Breast Cancer Anymore
  • Cellular Competition in Premalignancy and Cancer
  • Cellular Therapies in Pediatric Solid Tumors
  • Chromatin and Cancer: From Mechanisms to Therapy
  • Crosstalk within the Tumor Ecosystem
  • Current Challenges in the Use of Chemical Probes in Cancer Research and Target Validation
  • DNA Repair and Host Immune Response
  • Eavesdropping on the Immunosuppressive Crosstalk between the Myeloid and T Cell Compartments
  • Emerging Therapeutic Modalities in Induced Proximity beyond Protein Degradation
  • Engineered Cells: Including NK Cells, Macrophage, and Nonspecific T Cells
  • Epigenetics and Chromatin Regulation in Cancer
  • Evidence, Gaps, and Solutions to Advance Health Behavior Practices to Improve Cancer Survivorship
  • From Genome Structure to Function
  • Genomic Instability and Metastasis: Dangerous Liaisons or Two Sides of the Same Coin?
  • Genomics-based Predictive Biomarkers for Radiotherapy and Radioimmunotherapy
  • How Does Obesity Influence the Anticancer Effects of Immunotherapy?
  • IDH: Bench to Bedside Translation
  • Immunometabolism
  • Interventional Studies during Cancer Treatment to Improve Symptoms and Outcomes
  • Metabolic Drivers of Radioresistance
  • Metabolic Regulation of the Cancer Cell State
  • Microbiome and Treatment Response
  • Minorities in Cancer Research Scientific Symposium
  • Molecular Glues, Protacs, and Beyond: Discovery and Early Preclinical Advances
  • Neoadjuvant Therapies
  • Novel Immune Checkpoints: Beyond PD1 and CTLA4
  • Pediatric Cancer: Mechanisms and Translation
  • RNA Modifications in Malignancy
  • Role of the Neuronal Microenvironment in Cancer
  • Shared Risk Factors and Mitigation Strategies for Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, and Metabolic Diseases: What Can We Learn?
  • Socioeconomic Disparities Contributing to Cancer Outcomes Disparities
  • Somatic Evolution in Normal Tissues: Causes and Consequences
  • Surgical Innovations in Cancer
  • T Cell-based Therapies for Solid Tumors
  • Targeting Aberrant Transcription in Pediatric Cancer
  • Targeting CDK Activity in Cancer: The Wide World beyond Cyclin D-CDK4/6
  • Targeting Mitosis in Cancer: Emerging Strategies
  • Tumor Dormancy: From an Illusory Phenomenon to Clinical Reality
  • Tumor Microbiome
  • Understanding and Predicting Tumor Evolution
  • Unexpected Mechanisms for Success with Checkpoint Inhibitors

Advances in Diagnostics and Therapeutics

  • Advances in ADCs, Novel Payloads, and New Targets
  • Chemical Biology Approaches to Tackle Undruggable Targets
  • Drugging Transcription Factors
  • Ex Vivo Functional Diagnostics
  • Novel Targeting T-cell Bispecific Approaches for the Treatment of Cancer
  • Oligometastasis: Curable Metastatic State?
  • Radiotheranostics: The NEW Nuclear Medicine
  • Targeting KRAS beyond G12C
  • Understanding Cancer Cachexia

Advances in Hematologic Malignancies

  • Advances in Lymphoma
  • Basic, Translational, and Clinical Advances in ALL and AML
  • Immune Microenvironment in Hematologic Malignancies
  • Precursors to Hematologic Malignancies
  • Relapse after Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant
  • Resistance to Immunotherapy in Myeloma

Advances in Organ Site Research

  • Androgen Receptor as a Pro-Differentiation and Oncogenic Transcription Factor
  • Colorectal Cancer Screening: New Tests, Sensitivities, and Specificities
  • Impact of Tumor Heterogeneity on the Evolution of Pancreatic Cancer
  • Inflammatory Breast Cancer
  • Lung Cancer in Nonsmokers
  • Novel Strategies for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer
  • Overcoming the Barriers: Therapeutic Options for Glioblastoma (GBM)
  • Translational and Clinical Advances in Pancreatic Cancer
  • Uveal Melanoma

Advances in Population Sciences

  • Early-onset Cancers: Challenges and Opportunities for Prevention
  • Progress since COVID-19 on Cancer Prevention Rates

Advances in Prevention Research

  • Application of Precision Medicine to Cancer Prevention
  • Current Tools and Approaches for Studying the Role of the Microbiome in Cancer Prevention
  • Understanding Precursor Lesions to Optimize Prevention

Advances in the Science of Cancer Disparities

  • Genomic Research in Ancestrally Diverse and Admixed Populations
  • Molecular Profiling in Breast Cancer and Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Advances in Technologies

  • Accelerating Precision Diagnostics through AI: Radiomics and Digital Pathology
  • Frontiers in Computational Oncology: Harnessing Multimodal Data for Biological Insight
  • Mutational Processes in Cancer: From Replication Stress to Complex Genomic Rearrangements
  • New Liquid Biopsy Technologies for Detection and Characterization of Cancer
  • Next Generation Functional Genomics for Target Discovery
  • Novel Experimental Models for Functional Precision Genomics
  • Unlocking Spatial Complexity: Harnessing Machine Learning for Spatial Biology Insights

Forums and Special Sessions

  • AACR-ASCO Joint Session
  • AACR-JCA Joint Session
  • Bridging the Gaps between Discovery and Lifestyle Changes for Cancer Prevention Translation
  • Breaking the Obesity-Cancer Link: The Role of New Weight Loss Drugs
  • Cancer Research Capacity Building and Outcomes for Low- and Middle-income Countries
  • Criteria and Best Practices for the Development, Selection, and Use of Chemical Probes
  • The Impact of Financial Toxicity on Cancer Occurrence and Outcomes and Possible Solutions
  • Lessons Learned from Pediatric Cancers
  • Mechanisms of Resistance: Why Have We Failed to Turn Cold Tumors Hot?
  • Opportunities and Challenges in Leveraging Real-World Data to Accelerate Evidence Generation
  • Optimizing Cancer Vaccines through Advances in Immunogenomics and Immunopeptidomics
  • Will an Increased Trust in Science Help Us Address Pressing Cancer Research Issues Such As Cancer Health Care Disparities and Clinical Trials Participation?

New Drugs on the Horizon Sessions

Held in collaboration with the AACR Chemistry in Cancer Research Working Group each year, this special three-part session series features first disclosures of the chemistry and biology of small- and large-molecule agents that are currently being or will soon be actively investigated in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. The abstract submission and review process is distinct from the regular and late-breaking abstract submission processes. The deadline to submit an abstract for consideration is November 1. For more information, visit the New Drugs on the Horizon page.

Science and Public Policy Program

Decisions made by policymakers in Washington, DC, have a direct impact on cancer research and the progress being made against cancer in the United States and throughout the world. The AACR sponsors sessions with policymakers, academic researchers, patient advocates, cancer survivors, and industry representatives to foster dialogue about emerging topics in science and health policy, and regulatory science and policy.

The Science and Health Policy Track includes sessions that will provide attendees with an opportunity to learn about how policy impacts science and vice versa. Science policy sessions will examine the current political environment affecting federal funding for the NIH and NCI, including highlighting ways for scientists to get involved in advocating for robust, sustained, and predictable budget increases.

Health policy sessions will explore how scientific evidence can inform policy on cancer prevention and control and what impact policies are having on patients and communities. Past health policy sessions have covered topics such as e-cigarettes and tobacco control measures, the Affordable Care Act, and ways to prevent and control pathogen-related cancers, such as increasing the use of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

The Regulatory Science and Policy Track includes informative sessions designed to highlight recent regulatory developments and provide an open forum for the consideration of issues that the FDA faces as the agency seeks to accelerate the pace of approval of safe and effective treatments for patients with cancer. These sessions offer an opportunity for attendees to discuss cutting-edge issues in cancer drug, biologic, and diagnostic regulation with stakeholders from academia, industry, advocacy, and government. Past regulatory science and policy topics have included strategies for increasing participation of underrepresented populations in clinical trials, guidance for using real-world evidence to support clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory considerations for developing liquid biopsy tests, implications of site-agnostic therapy approval for drug development, and applications for artificial intelligence/machine learning in regulatory decision-making.

The Science of Survivorship Track includes sessions highlighting new and high-value areas of research to address the array of challenges facing long-term cancer survivors. Sessions invite trans-sector discussion among the survivor and advocacy communities, basic and clinical researchers, industry representatives, health care providers, and government officials. Past science of survivorship topics have included aging and cancer, long-term survivorship in vulnerable populations, development of new survivorship models, patient-reported outcomes, data sharing, and patient engagement.