Newswise — FORT WASHINGTON, PA — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) is now accepting original abstracts for consideration to be presented during the NCCN 20th Annual Conference: Advancing the Standard of Cancer Care™ General Poster Session, March 12 – 13, 2015, at The Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida.

NCCN welcomes original abstracts from investigators in the general oncology community, and submissions will be accepted from NCCN Member Institutions, academic institutions, teaching and community hospitals, or industry.

Topics may fall into the general areas below: • Clinical Oncology Research (all phases)• Pre-Clinical Oncology Research• Epidemiology/Risks Research• Correlative/Genomic Research• Best Practices in Implementation and Use of Clinical Practice Guidelines• Quality Improvement• Outcomes and Health Services Research• BIOinformatics/Information Technology The NCCN General Poster Session, including submission review, is overseen by the NCCN Oncology Research Program (ORP). The submission deadline for the NCCN General Poster Session Call for Abstracts is Friday, October 31, 2014, at 11:59 PM EDT. First authors can expect to receive notification via e-mail in mid-December 2014.

Abstracts will be evaluated using a peer-review process. Oncology research faculty from NCCN Member Institutions will serve as peer reviewers to approve research to display at the General Poster Session. All approved original abstracts will be published on JNCCN.org. Select abstracts will also be published in print in JNCCN — Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

The NCCN Annual Conference: Advancing the Standard of Cancer Care™ attracts more than 1,500 registrants from across the United States and the globe, including oncologists (in both community and academic settings), oncology fellows, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care professionals involved in the care of patients with cancer. Respected opinion leaders present the latest cancer therapies and provide updates on selected NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), the data upon which the NCCN Guidelines® are based, and quality initiatives in oncology.

In recognition of NCCN’s 20th Anniversary, NCCN is planning to hold a special live roundtable during the NCCN Annual Conference comprised of NCCN leadership—past and present—as well as other stakeholders who have had a significant impact on the development, progression, and success of NCCN over the years; noteworthy historical NCCN accomplishments and events will be discussed, as well as the impact NCCN has had and continues to have on the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer care so that patients can live better lives.

To learn more about the NCCN General Poster Session, visit NCCN.org.

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About the National Comprehensive Cancer NetworkThe National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), a not-for-profit alliance of 25 of the world’s leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education, is dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer care so that patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ, Jacksonville, FL, and Rochester, MN; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN; Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN; and Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, CT.

Clinicians, visit NCCN.org. Patients and caregivers, visit NCCN.org/patients.