An incredible scientific program at the AACR Annual Meeting 2025 showcased the amazing leaps being made across the continuum of cancer research and demonstrated the shared commitment to driving progress against cancer.

Annual Meeting Program Chairs Matthew G. Vander Heiden, MD, PhD, and AACR President Lillian L. Siu, MD, FAACR, introduced three speakers who summarized the major themes, discoveries, and impact of findings reported throughout the meeting.

Three sessions showcased first disclosures of agents in or nearing early-stage clinical trials, including a new wave of precision KRAS inhibitors and therapies aimed at reprogramming the tumor-immune microenvironment.

Understanding the development of metastases means considering what is happening in background normal tissues, said Mariam Jamal-Hanjani, MD, PhD, who presented findings from longitudinal studies of patients with lung cancer.

Juan C. Osorio, MD, shared data from a phase I trial focused on stimulating the CD40 immune signaling pathway in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Christina Curtis, PhD, MSc, spoke about predicting a tumor’s future trajectory by making measurements at multiple scales—molecular, cellular, tissue, organismal, and population.

Douglas Hanahan, PhD, FAACR, whose discoveries in cancer research have led to numerous advances in care, was the 2025 recipient of the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research.

Daniel J. Drucker, MD, was honored with the 2025 AACR-Irving Weinstein Foundation Distinguished Lectureship for his contributions to endocrinology, physiology and metabolism, and the characterization of hormone functionality.

William N. Hait, MD, PhD, FAACR, was recognized with the 2025 AACR-Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research because of his extensive contributions to cancer pharmacology, drug discovery, and precision medicine.

Muhammad Shaalan Beg, MD, MBA, explained on Monday how clinical investigators can use new technologies to decentralize clinical trials, conducting portions of the trial at sites distanced from the principal investigator.