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Researchers to Present Clinical Trial and Study Data at AACR Annual Meeting 2026

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Cancer Research to Take Center Stage at AACR Annual Meeting 2026

Researchers from multiple cancer centers will present findings from clinical trials and other studies at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, scheduled for April 17-22 in San Diego, California.

Meeting and Recognition Details

The AACR Annual Meeting is described as a focal point for the cancer research community.

During the meeting, several researchers will receive awards. Dr. Eliezer Van Allen will receive the AACR-Waun Ki Hong Award, and Dr. Kimberly Stegmaier will receive the AACR-St. Baldrick's Foundation Award. Dr. Stegmaier, Dr. Alice Shaw, and Dr. Matthew Vander Heiden were recognized as Fellows of the AACR Academy Class of 2026. Dr. Alice Shaw will chair the Opening Plenary session on April 19.

Presentations from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Researchers from MD Anderson will present initial data from six clinical trials in minisymposia from April 18-21.

  • April 18: Dr. Funda Meric-Bernstam will present Phase II trial data for zanidatamab, a HER2-targeted antibody, as a potential option for some early-stage HER2+ breast cancer patients.
  • April 18: Dr. Tina Cascone will present biomarker analysis from the CheckMate 77T trial of perioperative nivolumab for resectable non-small cell lung cancer.
  • April 18: Dr. Timothy Yap will present first data for PLN-101095, an integrin inhibitor being studied to promote better responses to immunotherapy.
  • April 19: Dr. Rodabe Amaria will present initial data from a trial of CRISPR/Cas9-engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy for melanoma.
  • April 20: Dr. Ranjan Upadhyay will present Phase II trial findings on immunotherapy to prevent recurrence after surgery in hormone receptor positive inflammatory breast cancer.
  • April 21: Dr. Kanwal Raghav will present data on the KRAS G12C inhibitor elisrasib, examining its potential against treatment resistance.

Selected Presentations from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Researchers from Dana-Farber will present more than 50 studies. Selected presentations include:

Clinical Trial Results

  • Pancreatic Cancer (April 21): Dr. Brian Wolpin will present results from a phase 1/2 trial of daraxonrasib combined with chemotherapy for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In the 40-patient trial, 58% had a confirmed response after a median 9.7-month follow-up. A global phase 3 trial is planned.

  • Multiple Myeloma Precursors (April 21): Dr. Catherine Marinac will present results from a phase 2 trial of metformin for patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) or smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM). After six months, the metformin group showed a median decrease in serum monoclonal protein, while the placebo group showed an increase. Researchers note the findings are hypothesis-generating due to the pilot design.

  • Other Trials: Dr. Elizabeth Lee will present phase 1 trial results for DS-8201a and olaparib on April 19. Dr. Omar Nadeem will present results from the CAR-PRISM trial on ciltacabtagene autoleucel on April 20.

Research Studies

  • Tumor Microbiome (April 21): Dr. Anders Dohlman will present a pan-cancer microbiome analysis of 16,369 tumors. The study identified tumor-associated microorganisms in several cancer types and noted associations between microbial communities and hypermutated tumors.

  • Breast Cancer Recurrence (April 21): Dr. Kristen Brantley will present an analysis of patients under 40 with breast cancer. The analysis found patients with hormone-receptor positive cancer who did not receive endocrine therapy were approximately three times more likely to experience a recurrence within five years than others in the group.

  • AI and Genetics (April 20-21): Dr. Zeyun Lu will present a study using large language model-based AI to evaluate medical records of patients who received immunotherapy. Noah Fields, MS, will present a study of 1,380 familial cancer cases that found 1% to 8.8% of unexplained cases could be attributed to factors identifiable by germline whole genomic sequencing.

More information on MD Anderson's presentations is available on MDAnderson.org/AACR.