AACR 2027 Annual Meeting Guide: Orlando Dates & Attendees
By Ilyas Kerbal,
The AACR 2027 Annual Meeting runs from 2 to 7 April at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. The American Association for Cancer Research’s meeting brings together around 22,000 scientists, clinicians, biotech and pharma teams, survivors and advocates, with about 450 exhibitors.
Where ASCO focuses on clinical results, AACR is about discovery: tumour biology, immunotherapy, early detection and drug development. This guide covers what to know and how vendors can reach research and R&D teams.
AACR 2027 Annual Meeting at a glance
| Next edition | 2-7 April 2027, Orlando |
| Venue | Orange County Convention Center (2027) |
| City | Orlando, Florida (2027); rotates |
| Typical month | April |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Attendance | ~22,000 |
| Exhibitors | ~450 exhibitors |
| Industry | Cancer research, biotech & pharma |
| Organizer | American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) |
| Official website | aacr.org |
What is AACR?
AACR’s annual meeting is the largest cancer-research gathering. Scientists, clinicians, biotech and pharma R&D teams, lab-tools companies and investors attend to see new findings in tumor biology, immunotherapy, early detection and drug discovery.
Compared to ASCO (clinical), AACR is more research and discovery focused, which makes it valuable for lab tools, CROs and early-stage biotech.
Location and venue
2027: Orange County Convention Center, Orlando. Previous hosts include San Diego, Chicago and others.
Does it change location? Yes, it rotates between US convention cities.
Palm trees near the water at sunset in Florida. Photo by Denys Kostyuchenko on Unsplash.
AACR attendee profile
- Cancer researchers and lab heads
- Clinician-scientists
- Biotech and pharma R&D
- Lab tools and CRO vendors
- Investors
- Patient advocates
The scientific audience is huge, and only part of it buys anything. For vendors, the real targets are industry delegations and institutional leaders, which is why filtering the attendee list by organisation and role matters so much.
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Industries and niches covered
- Cancer biology and drug discovery
- Immuno-oncology
- Liquid biopsy and early detection
- Lab tools, sequencing and spatial biology
- CRO and preclinical services
- AI in cancer research
The sales opportunity at AACR
AACR’s audience is full of people who choose tools and partners for research: lab heads, R&D leaders at biotech and pharma, and translational scientists. For lab-tools companies, CROs and data providers, that is a very targeted crowd.
Academic attendees are numerous, so filtering matters. Separating industry R&D teams from academic labs, and senior decision-makers from trainees, lets you focus outreach on the accounts most likely to buy.
Is AACR right for your team?
Go if you sell to pharma, biotech, diagnostics companies or health systems and want to meet the commercial, medical and research teams that gather at AACR. Company delegations are often large.
Think twice if your plan relies on pitching clinicians on the floor. Scientific meetings have strict rules on promotion, so the value is in meetings with company and institutional teams, booked in advance.
How much does AACR cost?
| Option | Price / details |
|---|---|
| Early registration deadline (lowest rates) | 7 December 2026 |
| Also good to know | Member, non-member and industry rates on aacr.org (non-member industry typically above $1,000) |
| Typical cost | Roughly $600-1,500 depending on category (confirm on aacr.org). |
Prices change between editions and by registration date, so treat these as a guide and check aacr.org before you buy.
Does AACR have an app?
AACR provides an official annual meeting app (program, abstracts, exhibitors).
From a sales point of view, the app’s main limitation is access. You see the people who chose to be visible, you can’t pull them into your CRM, and once the event ends the data usually disappears with it.
AACR: strengths and weaknesses
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Discovery-stage audience, great for lab tools and biotech BD | Academic audience with limited budgets for some vendors |
| Global scientific reach | Rotating cities |
| Strong early-data announcements | Scientific rules on promotion |
How to prospect at AACR
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Early planning | Pull the attendee, exhibitor and speaker lists and score them against your ideal customer profile. |
| Pre-show outreach | Contact your top tier personally and your second tier with a short sequence. Aim to book meetings, not booth visits. |
| On site | Work from a printed or mobile list of priority accounts and use breaks and evening events for warm introductions. |
| Post-show | Follow up fast, share what you promised, and keep the list for next year’s edition. |
The lowest registration rates end on 7 December 2026. Many teams register around that deadline, which makes January a good time to finalise your target list.
Want this done for you? Send me the event and your ideal buyer profile. I’ll return an enriched AACR list, ready for your outreach sequence. Contact me on Prospector
Frequently asked questions
When is AACR 2027 Annual Meeting?
2-7 April 2027, Orlando. Dates can shift, so confirm on the official website (aacr.org) before booking travel.
Where is AACR held?
2027: Orange County Convention Center, Orlando. Previous hosts include San Diego, Chicago and others.
Does it move? Yes, it rotates between US convention cities.
How much does a AACR ticket cost?
Roughly $600-1,500 depending on category (confirm on aacr.org). See the pricing table above for pass types.
Who attends AACR?
Mainly cancer researchers and lab heads; clinician-scientists; biotech and pharma R&D; lab tools and CRO vendors.
Can I get the AACR attendee list?
Event organisers rarely sell attendee lists. Prospector builds one for you from the event app and website: attendees, exhibitors and speakers, enriched with job title, company, company size, industry, LinkedIn profile and work email where available, delivered as a CRM-ready file before the event. Ask about AACR here.
Get the AACR attendee list
Planning for AACR? Send me a message on Prospector. Tell me who you sell to, and I’ll come back with what the attendee and exhibitor data looks like for this event.
Related event guides
- ASCO 2027 Annual Meeting Guide: Dates, Venue & Attendees
- ASH 2026 Annual Meeting Guide: New Orleans Dates & Attendees
- BIO 2027 Philadelphia Guide: Dates, Partnering & Attendees
Photo credits
- Cover image: Photo by ThisisEngineering on Unsplash
- In-article image: Photo by Denys Kostyuchenko on Unsplash
Sources
Event details were last checked in October 2026. Dates, venues and prices can change, so confirm them on the official event website.