The AACR Annual Meeting 2026 features six can’t-miss Plenary Sessions with a slate of prominent speakers discussing several of the hottest topics in cancer research.

Attendees gathering in San Diego can learn about the latest advances in the field and forge connections with their peers, while also enjoying beautiful weather, local food, and live music.

A new session will seek to provide answers to an age-old question: How can scientists help nonscientists understand complex research concepts and projects?

Several sessions and events will be dedicated to the science of survivorship and the importance of patient perspectives in cancer research, creating a harmonious forum for collaboration between those who research and treat cancer and those who are most affected by it.

This year’s Annual Meeting will highlight new insights into the underpinnings of cancer, new approaches to reduce cancer risk, new technologies to detect cancer and intervene earlier, and new treatments that are empowering patients to live longer, better lives.

Program Chairs Paul S. Mischel, MD, FAACR, and Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD, FAACR, have planned sessions that reflect the extraordinary advances in cancer research and their expected impacts for patients across the globe.

This year, Educational Sessions and Methods Workshops will be available to all attendees as part of their standard meeting registration at no additional cost. Two days of cross-disciplinary programming will create a launchpad for the scientific sessions that follow.

Workshops, panel discussions, and one-on-one conversations will provide early-career researchers with the opportunity to learn from experienced scientists, refine their grant-writing skills, plan their career trajectories, and more.

Speakers spanning different fields will discuss how artificial intelligence tools are being deployed in real time, from the lab bench to the clinic.

The 2026 class joins a distinguished group of visionary scientists who have reshaped the global landscape of cancer research and continue to advance the AACR’s mission to prevent and cure all cancers.