Research Draws More Than 20,000 Attendees to the 70th AACC

CHICAGO – AACC welcomed thousands of medical professionals and healthcare leaders at the 70th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo from July 29 – August 2. The meeting showcased advancements in clinical testing technology and research that improvethe ability of healthcare providers to diagnose patients quickly and accurately and ensure that patients get effective medical treatment.

As of Wednesday, August 1, more than 20,000laboratory medicine professionals had registered for the meeting, which is thehighest meeting attendance AACC has ever had in Chicago. It is also the highestnumber of attendees that have ever come to the meeting in a location outside ofCalifornia. More attendees are expected today, the last day of the meeting.

Highlights of the conference program included five plenary talks presented by scientific luminaries on subjects ranging from precision cancer therapeutics to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) new Essential Diagnostics List. Brian Druker, MD, winner of AACC’s 2018Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship Award, delivered the opening keynote on hisresearch that led to targeted treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia, whichenables patients to forego toxic chemotherapy. 

Monday’s plenary speaker, Kenneth Setchell, PhD, outlined how mass spectrometry can illuminate the underlying molecular cause of disease and pave the way for life-saving medications. Tuesday’splenary with Denise Galloway, PhD, described the journey of discovery thatresulted in the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, as well as the substantialwork still needed to increase HPV vaccination rates. On Wednesday, Rossa Chiu,PhD, explored the significant impact of cell-free fetal DNA analysis onprenatal testing and care. And in today’s closing keynote, Timothy Amukele, MD,PhD, and Lee Schroeder, MD, PhD, discussed how the WHO’s Essential DiagnosticsList promises to advance patient care in resource-limited countries byimproving the quality of and access to laboratory testing.

Additionally, in a competition to winAACC’s Disruptive Technology Award, three biotech innovators—Ativa Medical, GNABiosolutions, and Two Pore Guys—presented data on portable tests that couldhelp more patients get accurate diagnoses. GNA Biosolutions won with thecompany’s ultrafast molecular diagnostic system called pulse controlledamplification, which could make it easier to perform infectious diseases testsin regions without access to hospital laboratories.  

The 70th AACC Clinical Lab Expofeatured 819 exhibitors and covered 258,295 net square feet, which is thehighest number of exhibitors and largest show floor in AACC’s history. Thisdynamic exhibit featured groundbreaking tests from all laboratory medicinedisciplines, including mobile health, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry,point-of-care, and automation.

 “The research and technologypresented at the 70th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expoillustrates the integral role laboratory medicine plays in advancing patientcare and will make a significant impact on medicine worldwide,” said AACC CEOJanet B. Kreizman. “Every year, laboratory medicine experts develop innovativesolutions to pressing patient health problems, and I look forward to seeing thenew advances that will be presented at next year’s conference.”

The 71st AACC Annual Scientific Meeting& Clinical Lab Expo will be held in Anaheim, California from August 4-8,2019.