The Cancer Research Community to Meet in New Orleans for AACR Annual Meeting 2016

The annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) represents the intersection of research and treatment. With more than 6,000 papers to be presented, the AACR annual meeting 2016 is a first look at the latest research applications to patient care – and is an important opportunity for life science marketers.

This year’s meeting will be held April 16-20, 2016, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The theme of the AACR annual meeting 2016 is “Delivering Cures Through Cancer Science.” According to the meeting website:

“The theme will be evident throughout the meeting as the latest, most exciting discoveries are presented in every area of cancer research. There will be a number of presentations that include exciting new data from cutting-edge clinical trials as well as companion presentations that spotlight the science behind the trials and implications for delivering improved care to patients.”

With over 19,000 attendees in 2015, the AACR annual meeting offers the chance to interface with a huge crowd laser-focused on cancer research. But the meeting is more than just numbers – the prestige of the meeting, established in 1907, is unparalleled in the cancer research community. In fact, scientists view the meeting as the most important place to present cancer research.

In addition to the number of attendees, the AACR annual meeting 2015 featured 166 registered reporters and record coverage in major news outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Forbes, and U.S. News & World Report.

The meeting also garnered widespread attention on social media. More than 4,000 people sent a whopping 19,000 tweets related to the meeting in 2015. The Twitter tornado generated a record-breaking 78,079,120 impressions. 2015 also featured a live-streamed conversation between ABC News and Richard Besser, MD, which was broadcast on Periscope.

The massive attendance and media spotlight that the meeting attracts makes it a fantastic opportunity for life science marketers targeting this audience. Especially exciting is the possibility of further live streams. Periscope and Meerkat are more established technologies than they were in 2015, opening the door to an unprecedented level of connectivity. Use #AACR16 on Twitter to join the conversation.

Are you going to AACR 2016? So are we! Need to some last second pointers on the meeting? Reach out to Todd Kuna and Andrea Vuturo to schedule a time or just to get together at the show…or one of the late night events.

Fast Facts about AACR

Location/date of meeting: New Orleans, LA, April 16-20
Meeting Theme: “Delivering Cures Through Cancer Science”
Number of attendees: Nearly 20,000
Number of scientific papers presented: 6,000
Industries represented: Products and services in laboratory and clinical research
Fun fact about host city: New Orleans’ City Park––the largest municipal park in the country––was also home to the famous Dueling Oaks, where Creole gentlemen frequently met to settle scores with swords, pistols, and sometimes even Bowie knives.
Fun fact about conference history: This year marks the 100th anniversary of the AACR journal’s publication program, as well as the 75th anniversary of publishing the AACR journal, Cancer Research, “which has a long tradition of being the most frequently cited journal in the field.”
Most anticipated talk: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to deliver remarks about the “Cancer Moonshot” initiative.
Average high temperature in April: 78° F
Official hashtag: #AACR16