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ACCC 42nd National Oncology Conference

ACCC 42nd National Oncology Conference

October 15–17, 2025
Denver, Colorado

Join cancer program administrators, operations leaders, clinicians, and other members of the multidisciplinary care team to learn, connect and be inspired by the innovation happening now to elevate the quality of cancer care.
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In its 15th year, the ACCC Innovator Awards recognize visionary and compelling ideas in oncology from ACCC Cancer Program Members nationwide who will present their work at the 42nd National Oncology Conference.

View the 2025 Winners

In case you couldn’t join us in Minneapolis, check out highlights from the 2024 NOC:

ACCC hosted its 41st National Oncology Conference (NOC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in October 2024, marking 50 years of innovative service and collaboration. Centered around the theme Realizing Innovation, the conference brought together oncology professionals, clinicians, researchers, nurses, advanced practice providers, navigators, and patient advocates to explore practical strategies for enhancing community engagement and equity in cancer care, share treatment models from around the world, and showcase strategies for implementing AI and innovative technologies into cancer care.

One highlight of the conference was the 2024 ACCC Innovator Awards, which recognized institutions and professionals pioneering innovative solutions in oncology care.

Awardees included:

St Luke’s University Health Network, St Luke’s Cancer Center
The University of Colorado Cancer Center
RWJ Barnabas Health Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center
Mercy Oncology Services
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute
Munson Healthcare, Cowell Family Cancer Center

This year’s conference also featured its first international panel, where cancer care providers from Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, and Sweden shared insights into overcoming cultural and systemic barriers in cancer care. One panelist, Modupe Elebute-Odunsi, MD, MBBS, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, founder and CEO of Marcelle Ruth Cancer Centre and Specialist Hospital in Nigeria, stressed the importance of culturally competent solutions to improve patient outcomes in diverse populations.

In addition to the international panel, the conference offered 2 session tracks focused on the 2024-2025 ACCC President’s Theme Reimagining Community Engagement and Equity in Cancer. Discussions centered on improving equitable access to cancer care, fostering patient engagement, and addressing disparities. Keynote speaker Kevin Fiori, MD, MPH, MSc, FAAP, underscored the need for integrating social drivers of health (SDOH) into medical care, as SDOH account for 40% of a person’s quality of health. His address highlighted the critical role that community health workers can play in breaking down barriers to care and improving patient outcomes. María Hernández, PhD, president and COO of Impact 4 Health, followed with a keynote on how health equity initiatives can transform health care coordination, urging health care organizations to integrate cultural competency, SDOH screenings, and patient-centered strategies into their care models to promote quality health care access for marginalized communities.

The ACCC Executive Board and the international delegation visited the Frauenshuh Cancer Center in St Louis Park, Minnesota, to observe an innovative care model designed for patients with limited or no mobility, which enhances patient comfort and improves care coordination.

Throughout the conference, participants engaged with exhibitors and explored poster sessions in the exhibit hall, which featured a wide variety of topics, including the creation of a centralized medication prior authorization team and the use of AI-leveraged approaches to improving cancer care access for minority populations. This interactive space allowed participants to connect with representatives and gain insights on the latest solutions for enhancing patient care.

Session Highlights

ACCC Celebrates 50 Years

Integration of Community Health Workers in Clinical Practice

Come Together: A Global Perspective on Cancer Care Delivery

2024 ACCC Innovator Award Winner: Leveraging AI to Identify and Monitor Pancreatic Abnormalities

Developing a Malignant Hematology APP Fellowship

Photo Slideshow

Read the 2024 #ACCCNOC Buzz Blogs

Why the Stories We Tell Matter

November 05, 2019

ACCC 36^th National Oncology Conference featured speaker author and journalist Mary Elizabeth Williams held the packed room rapt with the story of her patient experience. She was diagnosed and treated for stage II melanoma in 2010. One year later, the cancer returned. This time the melanoma was stage IV. At that time, patients with stage IV melanoma had about a five percent chance of surviving five years, Williams said.

And yet, nine years later (including two years on a clinical trial) Mary Elizabeth Williams told attendees she remains cancer-free. In a frank and down-to-earth talk titled, “Results Not Typical,” Williams shared her experiences of going through treatment as a mother with young children and one of the first patients recruited for an immuno-oncology combination drug therapy clinical trial. “I’m still considered an exceptional responder, which I love because I’m Type A,” said Williams. But she added, “I hope and pray that there will come a day very soon that what happened to me won’t be considered exceptional.”

“How did I win the cancer Powerball?” asked Williams. “I’m white. I’m college educated. I live in Manhattan, a subway ride away from one of the best cancer facilities in the world. I had no other pre-existing conditions. I’m in great health. I trained for and ran a marathon while I was in treatment. I’m a journalist trained for asking questions [as part of my profession] with a flexible job and a supportive husband. I was in a checkpoint inhibitor trial under the direction of a physician who is a Nobel Prize winner. I’m not the norm.”

Results that are not typical bring responsibility, Williams said. One responsibility that she and oncology care providers have to remember: “I don’t represent the patient population. I don’t represent the patient experience. Not even close. Not at all.”

Williams was reluctant, at first, to join a support group. But conversation with a friend led to the realization that she wasn’t the only family member who might need “not to be fine” all the time. As a member of Gilda’s Club, Williams listened to patients’ stories about how long it took to get to treatment and about spouses getting fired for taking too much time off work. “Stories about raising your kids, taking care of your parents, and trying to hang on to your job,” she said. “And if you’re interested in clinical trials, [the struggle to] just find out about them.”

While Williams is incredibly grateful for the care she received and the scientific advances and clinical trial opportunity that led to “results not typical,” she closed out her remarks with a heartfelt reminder that “the first line of defense [against cancer] is going to be communication.”

“We’re hyped up about data, genetic testing, AI, and I’m totally down for all that,” affirmed Williams. “But I also know at the base of everything we need to be looking at the patients, the real patients.” For clinical trials to become more inclusive, the barriers to access must come down: patient distrust or wariness of clinical trials, cumbersome and lengthy enrollment processes, and lack of sufficient support on both the patient and clinical level.

“I had a great team of the best physicians in the world, and I was completely overwhelmed by my 23-page consent form. I signed that document, and I barely knew what it meant. . . so talking to patients in their own language is so important.”

In the end, Williams says communication boils down to “making sure patients and providers are on the same page. Telling the same stories, because stories are how we make decisions. Communication is about empathy and being clear. It’s not optional.”
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Mary Elizabeth Williams is author of A Series of Catastrophes and Miracles: A True Story of Love, Science, and Cancer, part memoir and part a behind-the-scenes look at the new world of scientific research.

Cancer Buzz Podcast at the 2024 NOC

Live from NOC: The Hawaiʻi Cancer Consortium Oct 16, 2024

CANCERBUZZ speaks with Dr. Naoto Ueno about his NOC session titled The Hawaiʻi Cancer Consortium: An Equitable Clinical Trials Initiative.
Live from NOC: Navigating Access and Equity Oct 16, 2024

CANCERBUZZ speaks with Melanie Grant about her NOC session titled Navigating Access and Equity: Providing the Answers That Matter.
Live from the NOC Gala Oct 16, 2024

CANCERBUZZ speaks with guests at the 2024 NOC Gala event about what they are looking for at the conference.
Live from NOC: Enhancing Cancer Research Through Patient Advocacy Oct 16, 2024

CANCERBUZZ speaks with Terry Keys about his NOC session titled Empowering Partnerships: Enhancing Cancer Research Through Patient Advocacy.
Live from NOC: Realizing Innovation + What's New in 2024 Oct 16, 2024

CANCERBUZZ speaks with ACCC President Dr. Nadine Barrett about this year’s NOC theme: Realizing Innovation. Listen to what’s new in conversations and oncology education in 2024.
Live from NOC: Come Together: A Global Perspective on Cancer Care Delivery Oct 16, 2024

CANCERBUZZ speaks with ACCC’s Immediate Past President Dr. Olalekan Ajayi about the international panel held at NOC this year, where cancer care providers from around the world share and learn from common challenges and best practices.
Live from NOC: Culturally Tailored Survivorship Care Oct 16, 2024

CANCERBUZZ speaks with Magbis Nunez Love about her NOC session titled Renacer: Culturally Tailored, Patient-Centered Survivorship Care Improves Access and Outcomes.
NOC Preview: Developing a Health Equity Playbook Sep 30, 2024

Designing a health equity playbook starts with a deep understanding of the patients you serve. Successful playbooks have components that build on the patient experience, the protocols that are in place to ensure the cancer program is meeting the unique needs of all its patients, and staff education and and training on how to best serve those different patient populations.