Live Updates From the AACR Annual Meeting 2026: Sunday, April 19
Today’s program is absolutely packed with sessions and events you will not want to miss, starting with the Opening Ceremony at 7:45 a.m. PT and ending with the Annual Reception—once again featuring The CheckPoints—starting at 8:30 p.m. PT. To stay abreast of it all, keep hitting refresh on day three of Cancer Research Catalyst’s live coverage of the AACR Annual Meeting 2026.
Today’s coverage will include the Opening Plenary, the first two Clinical Trials Plenary Sessions, the first two New Drugs on the Horizon sessions, the Presidential Address, and much more.
To catch up on what you may have missed from the meeting, check out our previous live updates from:
Live Coverage
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7:45 p.m. – James P. Allison, PhD, FAACR, Was Honored With the 2026 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research
A globally recognized immunologist and Nobel laureate, James P. Allison, PhD, FAACR, who is the Regental Professor and chair of the Department of Immunology, vice president for immunobiology, and founding director of the James P. Allison Institute at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, was recognized with the 2026 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research for his lifelong scientific achievements and transformative contributions to cancer research and patient care.
Allison discovered CTLA-4, an immune system inhibitory checkpoint molecule expressed by T cells, which he hypothesized acted as a molecular “brake” for T-cell activation and immune system function. He subsequently confirmed this hypothesis through experiments showing that a CTLA-4-targeted antibody, developed in his lab, could block CTLA-4 function and enhance immune-cell proliferation. Moreover, inhibition of CTLA-4 function allowed the immune system to recognize and attack cancerous cells, leading to inhibition of tumor growth in preclinical models.
These pivotal results led to clinical testing of the CTLA-4-targeted monoclonal antibody ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the treatment of cancer. In 2011, ipilimumab became the first immune checkpoint inhibitor to receive U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval as a treatment for unresectable or metastatic melanoma. Since then, immune checkpoint blockade therapies have been approved for more than 20 different cancer types, with some also receiving approval for use in solid tumors that present with certain biomarkers. It is estimated that more than half of patients with cancer in the United States are eligible for an immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
Through his landmark contributions to cancer research, as well as his scientific leadership in advancing the future of immuno-oncology, Allison has made and continues to make an unparalleled impact on the cancer field, reshaping its scientific direction and improving the lives of patients worldwide. Allison’s current research aims to improve immune checkpoint blockade therapy by identifying new strategies by which to unleash the power of the immune system to eradicate cancer.
Read more about Allison’s extraordinary scientific journey and his current research directions in this post covering his lecture at the inaugural AACR IO conference in 2025.
7:35 p.m. – Dog of the Day
As Annual Meeting attendees hunted for their next session, Hunter (pictured) stood by patiently watching the excited crowd. Hunter is an ambassador for Frosted Faces Foundation, an organization that helps senior dogs find homes. While Hunter is not available for adoption (he was accompanied by his loving owner), several other dogs who will be at the convention center during the meeting are. You can visit the dogs at the Wellness Lounge, located in the Exhibit Hall.
7:25 p.m. – Innovative Precision Oncology Strategies Were the Focus of Opening Clinical Trial Plenary
During the first Clinical Trials Plenary, dedicated to “New Frontiers in Precision Oncology,” presenters reported on early-phase clinical findings on four promising targeted treatments, including two novel KRAS inhibitors for lung cancer.
Byoung Chul Cho, MD, of Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine in Korea, presented updated results from a phase I/II clinical trial of the next-generation KRAS G12C inhibitor elisrasib, focusing on patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease progressed on previous immunotherapy and/or chemotherapy or first-generation KRAS G12C inhibitor therapy.
Elisrasib demonstrated a favorable safety and tolerability profile and led to clinical benefit. Among the KRAS G12C inhibitor-naïve cohort, treatment at the recommended dose of 600 mg resulted in overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) of 58.8% and 98.5%, respectively. Median duration of response (mDOR) was 16.5 months, median progression-free survival (mPFS) was 12.2m, and median overall survival (OS) rate at 12 months was 72%.
The response rate and duration of responses were significantly higher than with first-generation KRAS G12C inhibitors, said Cho in an AACR press release, suggesting that elisrasib’s molecular characteristics, designed for faster and stronger target engagement, may be translating into improved clinical outcomes for patients.
Elisrasib treatment also resulted in benefit for patients whose disease had progressed on earlier KRAS G12C inhibitor therapy. In this group, ORR was 32.3% and DCR was 83.9%. mDOR was 15.6 months, mPFS was 8.1 months, and 12-month OS rate was 71%.
Tumor responses were also observed in patients with brain metastases, a difficult-to-treat population, and in patients with KRAS gene amplification, which represents an important mechanism of evasion of KRAS G12C inhibitor efficacy.
“Based on these promising efficacy and safety data, elisrasib monotherapy received Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Fast Track designation in NSCLC,” Cho added.
The two KRAS inhibitors approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of NSCLC specifically target the KRAS G12C mutation. The next presenter, Jonathan W. Riess, MD, of UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, pointed out that KRAS G12D-mutated cancers are common, especially in pancreatic, colorectal, and lung cancer, and represent an area of large unmet need.
Riess discussed results from a phase I trial of zoldonrasib, a next-generation G12D-selective tri-complex RAS(ON) inhibitor that targets the active, GTP-bound state of KRAS. It works by forming a ternary complex with KRAS and blocking downstream signaling.
In the most recent analysis of 27 trial participants with G12D-mutant NSCLC whose disease had progressed on prior chemotherapy and immunotherapy, zoldonrasib was safe and led to a confirmed objective response rate of 52% and a disease control rate of 93% with a mPFS of 11.1 months and an OS rate at 12 months of 73%.
Molecular studies showed a marked reduction in KRAS G12D-mutant circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in 87% of the 15 patients who had detectable ctDNA before zoldonrasib treatment.
“The preliminary safety and antitumor activity support the continuing development of zoldonrasib as a single agent and in combination with other therapies,” said Riess.
The session also included results from phase I trials of the WEE1 inhibitor zedoresertib with the PKMYT1 inhibitor lunresertib and of the novel cyclin A/B-RxL inhibitor CID-078.
4:50 p.m. – Opening Plenary Featured New Insights Into Treatment Resistance, Molecular Degraders, and Artificial Intelligence
At this morning’s Opening Plenary, four pioneering researchers shared transformative ideas for studying and treating cancers.
Charles L. Sawyers, MD, FAACR, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, explained that the progression from castration-sensitive to castration-resistant prostate cancer is driven, in part, by the cancer cells undergoing a lineage switch from an adenocarcinoma state to a neuroendocrine state. Sawyers and colleagues dissected the cellular signaling that contributes to lineage switching and proposed seemingly conflicting therapeutic approaches: one that would prevent lineage switching to keep cancer cells in the less aggressive cell state and another that would promote lineage switching to take advantage of the therapeutic targets that are expressed in the neuroendocrine state.
Next, Carl H. June, MD, FAACR, of the University of Pennsylvania, shared new approaches for overcoming the longstanding challenge of using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy against solid tumors. Among these was a strategy to combat the hard-to-penetrate tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer. June and colleagues devised a sequential CAR T approach in which the first CAR T-cell therapy delivered eradicates cancer-associated fibroblasts so that the subsequently administered mesothelin-targeted CAR T cells could reach cancer cells—a strategy that led to responses in mice whose pancreatic tumors were otherwise resistant to mesothelin-CAR T cells.
Georg E. Winter, PhD, of AITHYRA, discussed proximity-inducing therapies that lead to protein degradation, such as PROTACs and molecular degraders, and noted that as of 2025, more than 25 PROTACs are in clinical investigation. He also shared results from mechanistic studies of targeted protein degraders, which identified intramolecular bivalent gluing as a novel modality of targeted protein degradation and uncovered new insights into the mechanism of action of fulvestrant (Faslodex) and other selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs).
Finally, Regina Barzilay, PhD, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examined the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to extract biological insights from routine clinical data and to enhance risk prediction for breast cancer. As one example, she shared an AI-driven model called SPARC, developed by her team, that integrates histopathology images with spatial transcriptomics data to simultaneously extract molecular information, predict treatment outcomes, and identify cellular phenotypes associated with treatment response. Another example was MIRAI, an AI model that can examine mammogram images to detect subtle changes associated with breast cancer in order to predict a patient’s five-year risk of breast cancer. She also shared a generative AI model, named MammoGen, that can use a mammogram image to generate an image of what the patient’s mammogram may look like in the future.
2:55 p.m. – Pezcoller–AACR Award Recognized Discoverers of HPV Vaccine for Their Major Contribution to Cancer Prevention
The 2026 Pezcoller Foundation-American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research was presented to Douglas R. Lowy, MD, and John T. Schiller, PhD, both Fellows of the AACR Academy.
Lowy is principal deputy director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and chief of the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology at NCI. Schiller is deputy chief of the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology at NCI and chief of the lab’s Neoplastic Disease Section. Both Lowy and Schiller are NIH Distinguished Investigators.
Close collaborators for more than 30 years, Lowy and Schiller developed the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that protects against cervical cancer and other HPV-induced cancers. In addition to making the key scientific discoveries underpinning the current HPV virus-like particle vaccines that are produced globally by five companies, Lowy and Schiller showed that the vaccine was effective in animals; developed the serological assays needed for vaccine development and characterization; identified the vaccine’s salient immune responses; demonstrated its safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy in humans; and determined its in vivo mechanism of action.
The HPV vaccine is the first vaccine developed specifically for cancer prevention. Infection by certain HPV types, especially HPV16 and HPV18, causes nearly all cervical cancers, most anal cancers, and more than half of all vulvar, vaginal, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers. HPV-induced cancers account for approximately 690,000 cancer diagnoses each year. Of these diagnoses, the majority are for cervical cancer, which leads to an estimated 350,000 deaths worldwide annually.
Vaccination has dramatically reduced cervical cancer incidence in younger women in countries with high HPV vaccine uptake since its introduction 20 years ago, and it is estimated that 1 million future HPV-induced cancers have already been prevented by the current vaccination programs. If further implemented globally, Lowy and Schiller’s vaccine, which protects against the most common cancer-causing HPV types, could prevent nearly all cases of cervical cancer and other HPV-induced cancers. Lowy and Schiller, together with their NCI and Costa Rican collaborators, were instrumental in the World Health Organization’s recent recommendation of single-dose vaccination programs, which is expected to further promote global uptake of the vaccines.
2:15 p.m. – Meet the Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Discovery
From Sunday through Tuesday, attendees will have the opportunity to engage with the editors-in-chief of AACR’s 10 peer-reviewed journals to discuss the scope of each journal and the types of manuscripts they are seeking to publish.
Cancer Discovery Editor-in-Chief Luis A. Diaz Jr., MD, FAACR, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, just arrived at the AACR Publications Booth (#3537) in the Exhibit Hall. Stop by before 3 p.m. PT to meet him.
And visit the booth later today for your chance to meet:
- Cancer Research Communications Editor-in-Chief Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, FAACR, of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, from 3 to 4 p.m. PT; and
- Cancer Research Editor-in-Chief Christine A. Iacobuzio-Donahue, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, from 4 to 5 p.m. PT.
2 p.m. – Bite-sized Research
Hungry? Us too. We stopped by the San Diego Bayfront to check out the food trucks that AACR has hired this year and were delighted to see so many of you there doing the same! We chatted with some attendees to get their food truck recommendations and, of course, to learn about their innovative research.
Watch this video to hear Brian G. Morreale, MSc, of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, share his thoughts on sambuusa and his work on myeloid-derived suppressor cells. (And, if terrible puns don’t ruin your appetite, be sure to check back each day for more editions of “Bite-sized Research”!)
The food trucks will be out there today, Monday, and Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
1:35 p.m. – WICR and MICR Meet-and-Greet Events in AACR Central
Two longstanding AACR constituency groups—Minorities in Cancer Research (MICR) and Women in Cancer Research (WICR)—just kicked off their respective meet-and-greet sessions at AACR Central in the Sails Pavilion. Attendees who are interested in meeting with MICR and WICR leadership and learning more about the programs, activities, and collaborations available through these groups are encouraged to come by.
The MICR meet and greet lasts until 2:45 p.m. PT. and the WICR session ends at 3 p.m. PT. For another chance to engage with each of these groups, catch their Town Meetings on Tuesday at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego. MICR’s Town Meeting will run from 4 to 5:30 p.m. PT and the one with WICR will go from 7 to 8:30 p.m. PT.
11:25 a.m. – AACR Annual Meeting 2026 Celebrated Vision for Progress in Opening Ceremony
The day started with nothing less than an AACR tour de force. To an audience of thousands (although the size of the crowd could have been infinite, for how large it seemed), AACR Chief Executive Officer Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), officially opened the AACR Annual Meeting 2026 to resounding applause.
This year, she said, marks the 119th year of AACR—which has, since its inception, mustered researchers from around the world to share the latest, most compelling advances in cancer research. And with more than 65,000 members in 143 countries and territories, AACR has never been more empowered to achieve its mission.
That mission, it became clear throughout the Opening Ceremony, only continues to grow in scope thanks to the power of global collaboration and AACR’s sustained commitment to progress. Foti spoke to the wide array of cancer research areas that AACR continues to invest in: artificial intelligence, cancer vaccines, pediatric cancer, and more have all been the focus of recent AACR initiatives. But in keeping with AACR fashion, there was more exciting news.
As announced by AACR President Lillian L. Siu, MD, FAACR, the AACR Center for Cancer Clinical Trials will enroll its first patients this year following approval of the investigational new drug (IND) application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada. She also announced a further strengthening of AACR’s global reach with the opening of the AACR Asia Pacific Office in Singapore.
Following up from the announcement of the program’s launch at AACR Annual Meeting 2025, the awardees of the AACR Trailblazer Cancer Research Grant Program were named at this year’s Opening Ceremony. These 15 scientists will receive funding of $1 million each for their paradigm-shifting projects.
No AACR Annual Meeting Opening Ceremony would be complete without recognition for the new class of Fellows of the AACR Academy. Elaine Fuchs, PhD, FAACR, led the crowd in cheers as the 2026 inductees took to the stage. More honors followed: awards for excellence in cancer research and cancer advocacy were presented to the winning researchers and nonscientist advocates, respectively.
Among those newly inducted Fellows was none other than the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI): Anthony Letai, MD, PhD, FAACR.
Letai took the podium to assert NCI’s commitment to cancer research across the stages of discovery, from the most nascent ideas to imminently preclinical work.
“I took this job because I knew that nearly all cancer breakthroughs started with a single NCI grant,” he said. “My work started with a single NCI grant.”
Letai remarked on the depth of experience the filled hall represented, and he encouraged the researchers to continue forming communities of collaboration—communities that, he said, the NCI exists to support.
He left attendees with three pieces of advice to maximize their time at the Annual Meeting: to listen to early-stage ideas; to engage with experts in different areas; and to keep a line of sight to translating research into clinical practice, “even if it is a very long line!”
As the Opening Ceremony neared its finale, Foti addressed the serious challenge that cancer research had faced in the year since the last AACR Annual Meeting. Thanks to a united front of researchers and research organizations, however, catastrophic cuts to cancer research funding did not come to pass—and indeed, cancer research funding was increased in the face of calls for calamitous decreases, Foti said.
In the face of yet another call for decreases in research funding, Foti enjoined the crowd to raise, from beneath their chairs, placards of appreciation for the U.S. Congress, which had stood firm in safeguarding cancer research.
The sea of signage was a moving symbol of what the crowd felt—in Foti’s words, “appreciation for our policymakers’ ongoing dedication to support medical research for the health and benefit of all.” The applause that followed very nearly brought the house down.
10:05 a.m. – Using Wearables to Guide Cancer Cancer
At the “Continuous Oncology: Wearables, Digital Biomarkers, and the Future of Cancer Interception” session yesterday, researchers discussed how consumer wearables, such as Fitbits and Apple Watches, may help identify changes in cancer patients’ physical function that could help oncologists guide their care. Learn more about the session in this article published by Cancer Today, AACR’s magazine for cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones.
