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.

“The Plenary Sessions will shed light on remarkable progress across the cancer research continuum, from fundamental insights into cancer biology to new approaches in drug development,” said Paul S. Mischel, MD, FAACR, of Stanford University, who served as this year’s Annual Meeting Program Committee chair alongside Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD, FAACR, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

“The Plenary Sessions showcase what we believe are some of the most important discoveries with the greatest potential to impact clinical care,” noted Shaw.

Take a closer look at the Plenary Sessions below, and find the most up-to-date presentation details in the Annual Meeting App and Online Itinerary Planner.

PL01: Discovery Science Plenary: The Next Frontier in Minimal Residual Disease—Solid Tumors

Saturday, April 18, 4:15-6:15 p.m. PT
Hall H – Ground Level – Convention Center

This session will examine mechanisms that enable minimal residual disease (MRD) to form, as well as potential ways such insights could be applied to better diagnose and treat MRD.

Maximilian Diehn, MD, PhD, of Stanford University, will chair the session, which will include the following presentations:

• “From persistence to relapse: Evolution of drug resistance in lung cancer,”
  Aaron N. Hata, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
• “Therapeutic strategies to address cancer cell heterogeneity and plasticity,”
  Jean-Christophe Marine, PhD, VIB Center for Cancer Biology
• “The hidden lives of cancer cells—somatic evolution, cellular plasticity, and the detection of residual disease,”
  Dan A. Landau, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Genome Center
• “MRD-directed treatment strategies in colorectal cancer,”
  Jeanne Tie, MD, MBChB, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute

PL02: Opening Plenary: Precision, Partnership, Purpose: Advancing Cancer Science to Save Lives Globally

Sunday, April 19, 9:30-11:30 a.m. PT
Hall H – Ground Level – Convention Center

This session has been expertly crafted to exemplify the breadth and overarching theme of this year’s Annual Meeting, “Precision, Partnership, Purpose: Advancing Cancer Science to Save Lives Globally,” which reflects the extraordinary advances in cancer research and their expected impacts for patients across the globe.

Chaired by Program Committee Chairs Mischel and Shaw, the session will feature presentations on four transformative areas of cancer research:

• “How cancer cells escape targeted therapy by changing identity,”
  Charles L. Sawyers, MD, FAACR, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• “Beyond blood: The evolution of CAR T therapy for solid malignancies,”
  Carl H. June, MD, FAACR, University of Pennsylvania
• “Chemical rewiring of biological circuits for cancer therapy: Targeted protein degradation and beyond,”
  Georg E. Winter, PhD, AITHYRA Institute for Biomedical AI
• “Rethinking cancer diagnosis and treatment with AI: From molecular mechanisms to clinical management,”
  Regina Barzilay, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

PL03: AI Revolution in Cancer Research

Monday, April 20, 8-10 a.m. PT
Hall H – Ground Level – Convention Center

This session will cover wide-ranging applications of AI in oncology, from biological discovery and model development to real-world clinical implementation—showcasing how AI can improve cancer research and care.

Jakob N. Kather, MD, MSc, of Technische Universität Dresden, will chair the session, which will feature the following presentations:

• “From copilots to scientists: How agentic AI will transform cancer research,”
  Jure Leskovec, PhD, Stanford University
• “Building biological foundation models that reason,”
  Bo Wang, PhD, University of Toronto
• “Real-time multimodal AI enables individualized care in challenging subpopulations,”
  Suchi Saria, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
• “Multimodal, generative, and agentic AI for oncology,”
  Faisal Mahmood, PhD, Harvard Medical School

PL04: Early-Onset Cancers

Tuesday, April 21, 8-10 a.m. PT
Hall H – Ground Level – Convention Center

This session will examine the rising incidence of early-onset cancers and explore emerging insights into their causes, increased mortality, and prevention.

The session will be chaired by Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital, and will feature the following presentations:

• “Cancer trends in young adults: A birth cohort perspective and public health implications,”
  Hyuna Sung, PhD, American Cancer Society
• “Early-onset colorectal cancer: Advancing correlation to causation to prevention,”
  Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital
• “Early-life mutagenesis and the rise of early-onset colorectal cancer,”
  Ludmil B. Alexandrov, PhD, University of California, San Diego
• “Young-onset breast cancer: Lessons learned from postpartum diagnoses,”
  Pepper Schedin, PhD, Oregon Health and Sciences University

PL05: Innovative Treatment Modalities: Shaping the Future of Oncology

Wednesday, April 22, 8-10 a.m. PT
Ballroom 20 – Upper Level – Convention Center

This session will highlight innovative treatment modalities that are reshaping oncology, spanning precision radiopharmaceuticals, next-generation biologics, and cellular immunotherapy.

Katayoun Rezvani, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, will chair the session, which will include the following presentations:

• “Theranostics: Progress and promise,”
  Martin G. Pomper, MD, PhD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• “The (r)evolution of antibody-drug conjugates: From early concepts to next-generation cancer therapy,”
  Raffaele Colombo, PhD, Zymeworks, Inc.
• “From molecular design to therapeutic impact: Protein engineering driving T-cell engager innovation,”
  Angela Coxon, PhD, Amgen, Inc.
• “TIL therapy of solid cancers: T-cell features of clinical activity,”
  John B.A.G. Haanen, MD, PhD, Netherlands Cancer Institute

PL06: AACR Annual Meeting 2026 Highlights

Wednesday, April 22, 12:10-1:30 p.m. PT
Ballroom 20 – Upper Level – Convention Center

Mischel and Shaw will chair this closing session highlighting the key takeaways from the AACR Annual Meeting 2026. The session will include remarks from 2025-2026 AACR President Lillian L. Siu, MD, PhD, FAACR, and will feature three speakers to discuss the major themes and findings from meeting presentations across the continuum of cancer research.

• “Basic cancer science and translational research,”
  Katerina A. Politi, PhD, Yale Cancer Center
• “Prevention, early detection, population sciences, and disparities research,”
  Christopher I. Li, MD, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
• “Clinical research and clinical trials,”
  Ecaterina Dumbrava, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Register Today for the AACR Annual Meeting 2026 »

Don’t miss the world’s premier cancer research event, April 17 to 22 in San Diego. In-person and virtual registration packages include access to live sessions, Q&A, networking, CME/MOC credits for select sessions within the Educational Program, and more.