PHILADELPHIA—Ten days after the the board of directors of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) made the decision to terminate the AACR Annual Meeting 2020 — originally scheduled for April 24-29 in San Diego, California — due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the organization has now made plans to hold a virtual meeting on the original dates.

 

The AACR originally planned to reschedule the meeting for later this year, and still intends to do so. As AACR notes in a press release, “We continue to closely monitor the developments surrounding COVID-19, and we wish to inform all of our colleagues around the world that we are planning to reschedule the meeting for August. An official announcement of the dates and location will be made in the near future.” 

 

The AACR says that the organization looks forward to holding an in-person meeting that will give the members of the cancer community an opportunity to present and discuss the implications of their important work, make valued connections and build collaborations with colleagues around the world. But the AACR believes that “for both the benefit of the research community and cancer patients that some of the latest developments in the field need to be shared in advance of the rescheduled meeting.”

 

Beginning on April 27, the AACR will host a slate of online sessions featuring innovative presentations of proffered papers and invited content. The virtual meeting program will include exciting clinical trial data from submitted abstracts, as well as basic and translational science selected by the Annual Meeting Scientific Program Committee. Detailed information about the virtual program will soon be forthcoming.

 

“We look forward to your active and expert participation in both the virtual and the in-person Annual Meeting events,” says the AACR. “We extend our profound thanks to the cancer community and our loyal supporters for their understanding and dedication to the AACR during this challenging time. 

 

The AACR is also holding its NIH-AACR Cancer, Autoimmunity, and Immunology Conference in Bethesda, Maryland, as an entirely virtual conference. That meeting is scheduled for March 23-24. Individuals who previously registered to attend the meeting in-person will be automatically registered for the webcast.