AACR Rolls Out 2026 Progress Report, Congressional Briefing and Immunotherapy Meeting Preview
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The American Association for Cancer Research has released a cluster of updates for 2026. Its Cancer Progress Report 2026 pairs survivor stories with new targeted therapies such as zongertinib and ONC201, and argues that stable federal funding underpins rising survival rates. A briefing for US Congress, part of a 95-minute expert lecture, surveyed precision oncology advances: the first molecularly targeted therapy for diffuse midline glioma, seven FDA-approved CAR-T therapies since 2017 including a first for marginal zone lymphoma, KRAS inhibitors that nearly doubled survival in advanced pancreatic cancer in a Phase III trial, a positive Phase III personalized melanoma neoantigen vaccine, and early-onset colorectal cancer rising more than 6% per year in the US from 2019 to 2023. Looking ahead, UCLA's Toni Ribas previews the AACR IO 2026 cancer immunotherapy meeting, where matching the right therapy to the right patient remains the core open challenge.
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- youtube.comAACR 2026 Cancer Disparities Report Highlights Patient Stories, Social Determinants and Community Navigation
The AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2026 presents patient narratives across colorectal, Hodgkin, breast, AL amyloidosis, myoepithelial carcinoma (MEC) and hepatitis B-related liver cancers, describing delayed diagnosis, treatment and referrals. Disparities stem from both biological factors and social determinants such as access to care and healthy food; some Indigenous communities travel 680-mile round trips to Mayo every two weeks. Asian communities show high hepatitis B positivity and liver cancer mortality but underuse screening due to cultural reluctance to discuss health. Community navigators proved effective, and sexual and gender minorities call for more affirming providers; speakers urge continued cancer research funding as a national priority.
- youtube.comRibas Previews the AACR Cancer Immunotherapy 2026 Meeting
Toni Ribas of UCLA introduces the AACR IO 2026 cancer immunotherapy meeting, which brings together researchers at many levels to develop new immunotherapy drugs. He notes that over the past 50 years immunology has established the basic mechanisms of how the immune system interacts with cancer, yet current immunotherapies work only for some patients, and the core challenge is developing the right therapy for the right patient. AACR and the journal Cancer Immunology Research will continue to disseminate related findings from members.
- mp.weixin.qq.comAACR Issues 16th Annual Cancer Progress Report Spotlighting Vaccines, AI and Liquid Biopsy
The American Association for Cancer Research has released its 16th annual Cancer Progress Report, covering the 12 months from July 2025 to June 2026. Issued each September, the report reviews the past year in cancer research and care, and this edition highlights cancer vaccines, artificial intelligence and liquid biopsy. Its data come from the United States, but the report says the trends it describes are global.
- youtube.comAACR Cancer Progress Report 2026 Links Patient Stories to New Therapies Including Zongertinib and ONC201
AACR has released its Cancer Progress Report 2026, built around survivor narratives that trace journeys from diagnosis through clinical trials to treatment with new targeted therapies such as zongertinib and ONC201. The report frames sustained, stable federal research funding as central to rising cancer survival rates, and points to personalized vaccines and new targeted drugs as practice-changing. It includes one forward-looking mention of AI reducing complex data to better starting points for diagnosis and therapy.
- youtube.comAACR Congressional Briefing Covers Precision Medicine, RAS Inhibitors and Personalized Cancer Vaccines
An AACR briefing for US Congress, part of a 95-minute expert lecture, outlined progress in precision oncology: the first molecularly targeted therapy for diffuse midline glioma, protein-degrading agents, seven FDA-approved CAR-T therapies since 2017 including a first for marginal zone lymphoma, and KRAS inhibitors that nearly doubled survival in advanced pancreatic cancer in a Phase III trial. It also highlighted liquid biopsy, a positive Phase III trial of a personalized melanoma neoantigen vaccine, and rising early-onset colorectal cancer rates of more than 6% per year in the US from 2019 to 2023.
- youtube.comIncoming AACR President Keith Flaherty Maps AI and Cancer Research Priorities
Keith Flaherty, an oncologist at MGH and AACR president for 2026–27, reviewed two breakthroughs of his career, decoding the cancer genome and understanding immune control of cancer, with immunotherapy from the mid-2010s freeing about 10% of very late-stage metastatic patients from disease. He points to epigenetic therapies and targeting metabolic reprogramming as future directions, and expects data integration plus AI to yield a more holistic understanding of each patient's molecular universe within 3 to 5 years. He also urged sustained public research funding and attention to social determinants of cancer outcomes.
- mp.weixin.qq.comAACR Cancer Progress Report 2026: US Cancer Mortality Fell 35% From 1991 to 2024
The American Association for Cancer Research released the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2026, showing that overall cancer mortality in the United States fell 35% between 1991 and 2024. The report attributes the decline mainly to reduced smoking rates and the resulting drop in lung cancer deaths. The report also points to further anticancer advances ahead.
- nature.comThe top cancer success stories of the past 50 years, by the numbers
The American Association for Cancer Research's Cancer Progress Report 2026 finds that 71% of people with cancer in the United States now live at least five years after diagnosis, up from 49% in the late 1970s. Lung cancer five-year survival rose from 13% for those diagnosed between 1975 and 1979 to 29% between 2016 and 2022, while lymphoid leukaemia survival in children and adolescents up to 19 rose from 57% to 90%. Liver cancer survival has tripled to 22% since the mid-1990s, though gains remain uneven across malignancies.
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