AACR Resources and Experts Available for June Cancer Awareness Months

June is National Cancer Survivor Month and Cancer Immunotherapy Month, spearheaded by the Cancer Research Institute. To support and facilitate reporting on these important topics, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has compiled the following resources from the AACR’s Progress Reports, Annual Meeting, blog, magazine, and scientific journals.

NATIONAL CANCER SURVIVOR MONTH

AACR Cancer Progress Reports

The AACR’s annual Cancer Progress Report and biennial Cancer Disparities Progress Report have numerous resources on survivorship, including:

• Survivor Stories
  • Each of the AACR’s Progress Reports features compelling personal stories from cancer survivors of various backgrounds. Read their stories and watch video interviews in the AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2024 and AACR Cancer Progress Report 2023. If you’re interested in speaking with any of the survivors, please contact Kathleen Venango at [email protected] with requests.

• Disparities in Cancer Survivorship and Supporting Cancer Patients and Survivors
  • These pages outline challenges encountered by cancer survivors and strategies to support and improve quality of life for these individuals.

Please cite the American Association for Cancer Research Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2024 or the American Association for Cancer Research Cancer Progress Report 2023.

AACR Annual Meeting 2024

The AACR Annual Meeting 2024 included numerous sessions on survivorship. Journalists can request access to recordings of these sessions by filling out this form.

Please reference the AACR Annual Meeting 2024 in any reporting that includes research presented at the meeting.

Cancer Today

The AACR’s magazine for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers spotlighted the Scientist↔Survivor Program at the AACR Annual Meeting 2024, an initiative that builds partnerships between the advocacy and research communities:

• Taking Answers Home

Other Cancer Today articles that highlight resources for cancer patients and survivors include:

• A Gentler Treatment Course
• The Reality of Chemo Brain
• Have You Checked Your Blood Pressure Lately?

We invite you to use these articles in your reporting. Please cite Cancer Today and provide a link to the article.

CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY MONTH

AACR Cancer Progress Report

The AACR’s latest Cancer Progress Report includes a special section on cancer immunotherapy and how it works, the persistent challenges in the field, and what is on the horizon:

• Immunotherapy: Pushing the Frontier of Cancer Medicine

AACR Annual Meeting 2024

The AACR Annual Meeting 2024 offers sessions on immunology, and the following studies were highlighted in official press program news releases:

• A Biologic Drug-Device Combination Immunotherapy Shows Promise for Patients with Metastatic Prostate Cancer

• Investigational Personalized Vaccine Provides Clinical Benefit for Some Patients with Resected Head and Neck Cancers

• Immune Response to Investigational RNA Vaccine for Pancreatic Cancer Continues to Correlate with Clinical Benefit

The AACR’s blog highlighted the studies on investigational vaccines in a post.

Cancer Research Catalyst

The AACR’s blog published a post on new strategies in immunotherapy that are driving progress, according to AACR Immediate Past President Philip D. Greenberg, MD, FAACR:

• The Long, Winding Road of Immunotherapy Research

Further, another post highlights the first approved tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy, a personalized immunotherapy that amplifies the cancer-fighting immune cells already present in a patient’s melanoma:

• TIL Therapy: A New Melanoma Treatment 30 Years in the Making

Cancer Today

An article written by the magazine’s editor-in-chief William G. Nelson, MD, PhD, discusses therapeutic vaccines that can stimulate an immune response to cancer:

• Immunotherapy Gets Personal

Another article explores whether immunotherapy before surgery could improve outcomes for people with cancer:

• Immunotherapy: When Is Sooner Better Than Later?

AACR Scientific Journals

The AACR publishes 10 peer-reviewed scientific journals, including Cancer Immunology Research, featuring leading-edge research in the field. Recent articles on cancer immunotherapy include:

• News Release: Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer May Continue Benefitting From Immunotherapy After Treatment Discontinuation

• AACR Journal Collection: Immunotherapy

The AACR public relations team can provide journalists with access to any articles published in AACR journals. Please contact Kathleen Venango at kathleen.vena[email protected] with article requests.

Reporters should credit the appropriate AACR journal as the source of the information in any reports.

AACR EXPERTS

The AACR has experts on survivorship and immunotherapy available for comment. Please contact Kathleen Venango at [email protected] to connect with an expert.