National Cancer Research Month

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• Follow #NationalCancerResearchMonth and #UnitedByCancerResearch on Bluesky, X, and other social media networks.

About National Cancer Research Month

May is National Cancer Research Month, and each year, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) partners with cancer centers, institutions, researchers, and physician-scientists as well as patients and their families, survivors, advocates, and others to encourage awareness of and action in support of the prevention, treatment, and cure of all types of cancer.

Now more than ever, we must remember that cancer affects everyone. It knows no party lines, and neither should support for the progress we are making on behalf of patients. Thanks to spectacular research-driven advances in cancer science and medicine, more than 18 million people in the United States and millions more worldwide are living with, through, and beyond their disease.

AACR invites you to partner with our organization and cancer centers, institutions, researchers, physicians, patients, survivors, and advocates to bring awareness and highlight the importance and impact of cancer research. This year’s theme is United by Cancer Research.

This global initiative highlights the importance of collaboration and information exchange in cancer and all areas of biomedical research. The vital work of cancer researchers around the world and all those who support them is essential to defeating these devastating diseases.

How You Can Participate

• Share your stories about researchers, physicians, patients, survivors, advocates, and community members and how they have participated in and/or benefited from cancer research, showcasing how we are all United by Cancer Research.
• Create web stories, blog posts, news releases, or videos about research at your institution and mention that May is National Cancer Research Month as well as this year’s theme.​​​​​​​ Examples of past videos from researchers are available online. AACR would be happy to provide title screens and other assets for these videos.
• Engage on social media by sharing these stories, using the official National Cancer Research Month 2026 social media graphics and hashtags #NationalCancerResearchMonth and #UnitedByCancerResearch. In addition, download National Cancer Research Month-branded social media graphic templates that you can use with your own images.
• AACR will engage with posts on our Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X feeds. On Facebook, engage, tag, and share content on the National Cancer Research Month Facebook page. 
• Call on Congress to make cancer research a national priority, because sustained federal funding is crucial for researchers to plan and continue cutting-edge projects that will lead to new, better treatments and cures for various diseases, including the collection of devastating diseases we call cancer. This issue is particularly urgent because of the administration’s actions threatening the NIH and its lifesaving mission.
• ​​Use AACR’s resources, including AACR’s patient magazine, Cancer Today; blog, Cancer Research Catalyst; monthly policy newsletter, Cancer Policy Monitor; the AACR Legislative Action Center; and more. 

Social Media Toolkit

The National Cancer Research Month Social Media Toolkit contains four types of graphics:

• Social Media Graphics. NCRM-branded graphics sized for posting. Download
• NCRM Template files. Blank graphics with the “National Cancer Research Month” brand that you can apply to your own images to create custom social media graphics (available at 1200×628 px and 1024×512 px). Download

Learn More

• AACR Cancer Progress Report: Read about recent advances in the prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, and learn about the personal experiences of cancer survivors who have benefited from these advances.
• AACR Pediatric Cancer Progress Report: The report highlights how research is transforming outcomes for children and adolescents, from molecularly targeted therapies and immunotherapies to genomic profiling that informs surveillance and treatment decisions. 
• AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report: This groundbreaking report highlights areas of progress in addressing the challenges of cancer disparities and emphasizes the need for continued research and collaboration to achieve cancer health equity.
• Read the following articles from Cancer Today, the authoritative resource for patients with cancer, survivors, and their family members and friends:
  • The Gut Microbiome: Researchers explore how the secret inhabitants of the digestive tract influence response to cancer treatment.
  • Using Heat to Eliminate Cancer Cells: In certain liver cancers, ablation may be as effective as surgery with fewer side effects.
  • Treating Dormant Cancer Cells: Treatments that eliminate inactive cancer cells may prevent recurrence years later.
  • A New Treatment Option for Pediatric Brain Cancer: The FDA approves the first targeted therapy for diffuse midline glioma, a type of cancer that mostly affects children and adolescents.
  • Treatments Offer Nonsurgical Path to Bladder Preservation: Therapies that deliver chemotherapy to the bladder offer patients an alternative to surgery.
• Read these blog posts from Cancer Research Catalyst, the official blog of AACR:
  • Experts Forecast Cancer Research and Treatment Advances in 2026: Five leaders in various fields of cancer research discuss advances in treatment, prevention, and early detection possible in 2026.
  • What’s Behind the Increase in Cancer Cases Among Younger Adults: Researchers at the AACR Special Conference on Early-onset Cancer discussed some of the potential causes behind this rise, including environmental exposures, the number of years spent obese before turning 35, and more.
  • From the Bench: Innovations in Cancer Vaccines: A look at some of the creative approaches researchers are exploring to develop therapeutic cancer vaccines that help the immune system attack tumors more effectively.
  • Experts Explore How to Treat Each Stage of Triple-negative Breast Cancer: Experts at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025 reviewed the current and emerging options for treating each stage of triple-negative breast cancer. 

• AACR Annual Impact Report: Read about AACR’s progress over the past year in support of our mission: to prevent and cure cancer through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy and advocacy, and funding for cancer research.
• About Cancer: Learn about different types of cancer, cancer research, clinical trials, and more.

AACR thanks the following cancer centers, research institutions, scientific societies, hospitals, advocacy groups, and other organizations that have supported National Cancer Research Month:

A-C  |  D-L  |  M-T  |  U-Z

A

Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC²)
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Childhood Cancer Organization
American College of Radiology
American Institute for Cancer Research
American Society of Clinical Oncology
American Society for Radiation Oncology
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Preventive Oncology
Arizona Cancer Center
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
Association of American Cancer Institutes
Australian Cancer Research Foundation
B
Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
C
C-Change
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Cancer Prevention Institute of California
Cancer Research Institute
Cancer Therapy & Research Center, UT Health Science Center San Antonio
Caring for Carcinoid Foundation
The Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center
Case Comprehensive Cancer Center
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
City of Hope
Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center
Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups
ColdSpring Harbor Laboratory

D

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center
The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT
Duke Cancer Institute
E
ENACCT – Education Network to Advance Clinical Cancer Trials
European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)
F
Fight Colorectal Cancer
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Friends of Cancer Research
G
Genetic Research Institute of the Desert
Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
H
Hall-Perrine Cancer Center, Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids
Hollings Cancer Center
Huntsman Cancer Institute
I
Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center
International Cancer Advocacy Network
International Myeloma Foundation
J
The Jackson Laboratory
L
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Association
Ludwig Cancer Research Foundation of America
Lustgarten Foundation
LymphomaResearch Foundation

M

Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky
Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
Melanoma Research Alliance
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation
Moffitt Cancer Center
N
National Brain Tumor Society
National Cancer Institute
National Coalition for Cancer Research
Nebraska Hematology-Oncology
Norris Cotton Cancer Center
North Carolina Central University
NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center
O
OHSU Knight Cancer Institute
Oncology Nursing Society
OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute
P
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Pelotonia
Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute
Prostate Cancer Foundation
R
Radiation Oncology Institute
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Rush University Medical Center
S
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine
Society of Gynecologic Oncology
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Stand Up To Cancer
Stanford Cancer Institute
Susan G. Komen Advocacy Alliance
T
Texas Advanced Computing Center (University of Texas at Austin)

U

UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center
UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
UC Cancer Institute and the Barrett Cancer Center
UC Davis Cancer Center
UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
UK Markey Cancer Center
University of Arizona Cancer Center
The University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Colorado Cancer Center
University of Florida Shands Cancer Center
University of Hawai’i Cancer Center
University of Illinois Cancer Center
University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center
University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of New Mexico Cancer Center
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
The University of Texas Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center
University of Virginia Cancer Center
University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center
The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
V
The V Foundation for Cancer Research
Van Andel Institute 
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Vermont Cancer Center
W
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
The Wistar Institute
Y
Yale Cancer Center

If you would like to support National Cancer Research Month, please email [email protected].