From 24 to 26 November, more than 300 leading figures from Czech and international scientific and biomedical communities gathered in Olomouc for the Czech Annual Cancer Research Meeting (CACR Meeting 2025). This year, the meeting proudly marked its 20th anniversary!
The program of this year’s Czech Annual Cancer Research Meeting (CACR Meeting), which brought nearly 300 leading scientists from the Czech Republic and abroad to Olomouc on 23–25 November, offered a comprehensive overview of the latest findings that may significantly shape the future of cancer prevention, diagnostics, and treatment. The National Institute for Cancer Research (NICR) also presented the results of its 3.5 years of existence.
This year’s CACR Meeting featured nearly 50 oral presentations and more than 90 posters. Conference President and NÚVR Medical Director Marián Hajdúch reminded attendees that scientific meetings dedicated to cancer research have a twenty-year tradition in Olomouc. Over the past four years, the gathering has been co-organized under the CACR Meeting brand together with MedChemBio and the national research infrastructure for translational medicine, EATRIS-CZ.
In his opening remarks, NICR Director Aleksi Šedo emphasized that the establishment of NÚVR as a distributed network—uniting 11 academic institutions and 71 of their top research teams across three hubs (Prague, Brno, and Olomouc) through the National Recovery Plan’s EXCELES program—has delivered significant scientific results and strengthened the standing of Czech cancer research in Europe and worldwide. “The most visible example is the growing number of high-impact publications from researchers affiliated with NÚVR in leading international journals. We see a similar trend in personnel development. Thanks to NÚVR, six entirely new research groups have been established, often led by successful returnees from abroad, and dozens of international researchers have joined our teams,” Šedo summarized.
To further support the development of academic oncology, two new doctoral study programs have been launched in the Czech Republic, and the number of defended dissertations, habilitations, and professorial appointments continues to rise. NICR has also organized numerous workshops and summer schools, giving hundreds of talented high-school students hands-on experience in a research environment—an opportunity that will undoubtedly influence their future education and scientific careers.
Significant investments have also been made in technologies and equipment, enabling research groups within NICR to share infrastructure and expertise. “The growing intensity of collaboration between clinical departments and research teams also creates space for accelerating the transfer of new discoveries into practice and ultimately to patients,” Šedo added.
Daniela Elena Costea of the University of Bergen in Norway, Chair of the ISAB—NICR’s international scientific advisory board—confirmed that the institute has succeeded in strategically connecting high-quality but previously fragmented oncology research in the Czech Republic, while also establishing new partnerships. “In my opinion, this has considerably strengthened cancer research overall, making the Czech Republic a far more attractive partner for European projects and institutions. That is where I see NÚVR’s greatest strength,” she noted.
According to Costea, the CACR Meeting offers a fantastic space for open discussion. “If I had to highlight one thing, it would be the openness and sense of belonging within the community. I personally knew only a few participants, yet after my talks, especially young scientists came to me with questions not only about our research but also about career development. And over breakfast and lunch we had many more conversations. It was truly wonderful to experience,” she added.
You can find more information about the event, including a photo gallery, on the CACR Meeting website.
This well-established conference was organized by the MedChemBio cluster, in cooperation with the National Institute for Cancer Research (NICR) and EATRIS-CZ.
Photo: Denisa Pavelková
Text: NICR
