The AACR Chemistry in Cancer Research working group organized three special sessions at the Annual Meeting that featured first disclosures on the discovery, structure, and mechanism of action of 12 novel cancer agents that have recently entered into phase I clinical trials or will do so in the next few months.

AACR Past President Lisa M. Coussens, PhD, FAACR, and ASCO President Eric P. Winer, MD, FASCO, co-chaired a special session exploring the role of myeloid cells in cancer development and how basic science discoveries are creating opportunities for new therapeutic targets in solid tumors.

The AACR and the Japanese Cancer Association organized a joint session that provided an overview of clinico-genomic cancer data initiatives in the U.S. and Japan and examined some of the challenges that arise when analyzing observational, real-world clinico-genomic data. Kenneth L. Kehl, MD, MPH, and Hiroyuki Mano, MD, PhD, chaired the session.

Research into clonal hematopoiesis is revealing insights into the initiation of hematologic malignancies, the biology of clonal selection, and the broad consequences of somatic mutations on the function of terminally differentiated blood cells. It’s a “fast-moving field with major clinical implications,” according to session chair Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD.

Experts discussed how the microenvironments of different organ sites regulate metastasis and therapeutic response during an Annual Meeting symposium on Monday, April 17. “There are complex interactions between systemic host responses and the local microenvironments,” said symposium chair Mikala Egeblad, PhD.

Three investigators on the cutting-edge of cancer research — including symposium chair Olga A. Anczuków, PhD — described efforts to target RNA splicing in cancer and the immune system during an Annual Meeting session on Sunday, April16.

During a symposium on Monday, April 17, a panel of scientists discussed how they are leveraging quantitative sciences to advance their cancer research. Symposium chair Nagarajan Vaidehi, PhD, discussed her lab’s work using computational methods to study allostery and disordered proteins.