AACR Cancer Experts Forecast Research and Treatment Advances for 2026

PHILADELPHIA – Cancer Research Catalyst, the official blog of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), started the new year with a post titled “Experts Forecast Cancer Research and Treatment Advances in 2026.”

In the post, five eminent AACR experts share their thoughts on potential developments in cancer research in the coming year:

• AACR chief scientific advisor William Hait, MD, PhD, FAACR, provided insight into what’s next for cancer prevention, detection, and interception;

• AACR President-Elect Keith Flaherty, MD, FAACR, director of clinical research at Mass General Cancer Center, shared his thoughts on future progress in precision medicine and drug development;

• Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, FAACR, director of immunotherapy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, spoke about advances in cancer vaccines and immunotherapy;

• Dana Pe’er, PhD, FAACR, chair of the Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discussed what 2026 could hold for AI in cancer research; and

• Marcia Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD, chief medical officer of PanOncology Trials Oncologic Hospital, Puerto Rico Medical Center, shared her thoughts on upcoming advances and opportunities in addressing cancer disparities.

Journalists are welcome to use any content from the blog post, including graphics and videos. Please cite the American Association for Cancer Research and link to the post. 

This post is part of the continuing mission of Cancer Research Catalyst to further accelerate the growth and spread of knowledge about cancer while providing helpful and interesting information to AACR members and the public. 

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