Dana-Farber Researchers Presented More Than 50 Research Studies at American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2026

SAN DIEGO, April 17, 2026 — Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers presented more than 50 studies at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, April 17-22, in San Diego, CA. The meeting is the focal point of the cancer research community, where leading scientists, clinicians, health care professionals, survivors, patients, and advocates share the latest advances in cancer science and medicine.

Select presentations by Dana-Farber faculty included a promising clinical trial chemotherapy and RAS inhibitor combination for pancreatic patients, new research on mapping the tumor microbiome using the presence of microorganisms, and encouraging results from a clinical trial for older patients with multiple myeloma precursor conditions.

AACR Scientific Achievement awards presented during the Annual Meeting honored Eliezer Van Allen, MD with the AACR-Waun Ki Hong Award for Outstanding Achievement in Translational and Clinical Cancer Research and Kimberly Stegmaier, MD with the AACR-St. Baldrick’s Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Pediatric Cancer Research.

In addition, Stegmaier, Alice Shaw, MD, PhD, and Matthew Vander Heiden, MD, PhD were recently recognized as Fellows of the AACR Academy Class of 2026.

Shaw, chair of the Department of Medical Oncology and chief of Strategic Partnerships at Dana-Farber, chaired the Opening Plenary, “Precision, Partnership, Purpose: Advancing Cancer Science to Save Lives Globally,” on Sunday, April 19.

In the Clinical Trials Plenary Session on Sunday, April 19, Elizabeth Lee, MD, the gynecologic oncology program’s liaison to the Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation at Dana-Farber, presented “CTEP #10355 A phase 1 trial of DS-8201a and olaparib in HER2-expressing malignancies: Results from dose escalation.” Omar Nadeem, MD, clinical director of the Myeloma Immune Effector Cell Therapy Program, clinical director of the Center for Early Detection and Interception of Blood Cancers and an associate director of the Myeloma Clinical Research Program at Dana-Farber, presented “Ciltacabtagene autoleucel in high-risk smoldering myeloma: Results from the CAR-PRISM trial” in the Clinical Trials Plenary Session on Monday, April 20.

RAS inhibitor plus chemotherapy shows promise for patients with pancreatic cancer in phase 1/2 study, supports larger trial

Brian Wolpin, MD, PhD, director of the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, shared results of a single-arm phase 1/2 trial of a combination of daraxonrasib plus chemotherapy in newly diagnosed patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. First-line standard of care with chemotherapy alone has modest benefits for these patients. Cancer-driving RAS mutations occur in more than 90 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer. Daraxonrasib is a potent, oral, RAS(ON) multi-selective inhibitor that inhibits all or nearly all oncogenic variants of RAS, including wildtype in an active, GTP-bound state. Forty patients were treated with daily daraxonrasib and twice monthly gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy. The safety profile was similar to the known side effects from both treatments. After a median follow-up of 9.7 months, results show that 58 percent of patients had a confirmed response and 90 percent of patients experienced disease control or a partial or complete response. The results support the recently initiated global phase 3 trial, RASolute 303, comparing daraxonrasib alone, chemotherapy alone and daraxonrasib plus chemotherapy in newly diagnosed patients. 

Wolpin shared the results of this study, titled “Daraxonrasib plus chemotherapy (CT) as first-line (1L) treatment for patients (Pts) with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPDAC),” at the Minisymposium: Late-Breaking Research Session.

Unlocking cancer’s microbiome through microorganisms

To provide a more robust look at the relationship between microorganisms and cancer, Anders Dohlman, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD at Dana-Farber, shared results from the largest pan-cancer microbiome analysis to date using metagenomic sequencing, which allows the identification of microorganisms. Using 16,369 tumor whole genomes from the UK Genome Project, the team identified tumor-associated microorganisms, including communities of bacteria, fungi, viruses and archaea in oral, esophageal, gastric and colorectal cancers. Two types of cancers contain the parasite Trichomonas, which commonly causes a sexually transmitted infection. The study found that these microbial communities were associated with hypermutated tumors, a pattern that reveals a close relationship between microbial load and tumor mutation across cancer types. Additionally, the study revealed a potential relationship between a limited amount of Akkermansia muciniphila—a beneficial gut bacterium—in early-onset colorectal cancer. This work unlocks a map of the tumor-associated microbial environment that can help future studies.

Dohlman shared the results of this study, titled “Biodiversity and biogeography of the multi-kingdom cancer microbiome,” at the Microbiome-Tumor-immune Crosstalk Session.

Results of phase 2 study using oral diabetes medication to help prevent progression of precursor multiple myeloma

Catherine Marinac, PhD, an investigator in the McGraw/Patterson Division of Population Sciences at Dana-Farber, shared results of a phase 2, single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in patients who go through precursor stages of multiple myeloma (MM) called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) or smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM). Current standard of care offers treatment for patients with high-risk SMM, but no pre-cancerous treatment options for patients with low-risk MGUS or SMM. Approximately 5 percent of individuals over the age of 50 are affected by these conditions. Metformin is a common type 2 diabetes oral medication that helps lower insulin like growth factor-1 and insulin levels, which can drive cancer growth. A total of 60 participants were treated with daily metformin or a placebo to see if the treatment effectively reduced or stabilized the serum monoclonal (M-) protein concentrations—a biomarker that signals risk of progression in MGUS and SMM. The safety profile was consistent with known side effects with the current standard of care. With a six-month follow-up from baseline, results show a median 3.2 percent decrease in protein concentrations among patients receiving metformin, compared to a 7.7 percent increase in patients receiving the placebo. The short-term use of metformin resulted in statistically significant changes for patients with MGUS and SMM, suggesting it could be a promising intervention in all precursor plasma cell disorders. However, given the pilot design, small sample size and stable underlying disease in this population, the findings are uncertain and should be viewed as hypothesis-generating pending confirmation in larger trials with longer follow-up.

Marinac shared the results of this study, titled “Results of a randomized placebo-controlled phase 2 study of metformin for the prevention of progression of precursor multiple myeloma,” during the Phase II Clinical Trials Poster Session.

Dataset analysis reveals the importance of endocrine therapy in early-onset hormone-receptor positive breast cancer

Kristen Brantley, PhD, an instructor in medicine at Dana-Farber, presented the findings of a database analysis of patients under the age of 40 who were diagnosed with breast cancer. In this demographic, predictors of a return of the cancer in the same site remain unclear despite persistent risk in long-term survivorship. Brantley and her team focused on recurrences that occurred within five years of primary diagnosis. Those patients with hormone-receptor positive cancer who did not receive endocrine therapy were approximately three times more likely to experience a recurrence than others in the group. The findings highlight the importance of recommending endocrine therapy for patients facing hormone-receptor positive breast cancer, and of improving treatment adherence by increasing tolerability.

Brantley shared the results of this study, titled “Risk factors for early locoregional recurrence among young-onset breast cancer patients: Findings from a single institutional prospective dataset,” at the Biological and Clinical Consequences of Cancer Therapy Poster Session.

Other research related to AI in the clinic and inherited risk factors for cancer

Zeyun Lu, PhD, a research fellow in the lab of Alexander Gusev, PhD at Dana-Farber, presented findings from a study employing existing large language model (LLM)-based artificial intelligence to evaluate medical records and provide prognostic insights for patients who have received immunotherapy for cancer. The findings suggest that LLM-based extraction of unstructured clinical notes can provide scalable and accurate characterization of immune-related side effects and provide insights about prognosis.

Lu shared the results of this study, titled “LLM-based extraction of immunotherapy toxicities reveals severity-dependent effects on overall survival,” at the Large Language Models in the Clinic Session.

Noah Fields, MS, a computational biologist in Van Allen’s lab at Dana-Farber, presented findings from a study of 1,380 familial cancer cases looking for novel inherited genetic risk factors for cancer. Existing cancer risk genes explain some cancers that cluster in families, but many familial cancer cases have no known pathogenic gene variant. The study found that 1 to 8.8 percent of unexplained familial cancers can be attributed to factors that can be identified by germline whole genomic sequencing and suggests that high-resolution germline genetic testing could benefit patients with familial cancer.

Fields shared the results of this study, titled “Unraveling the missing heritability of unexplained familial cancers with germline genome sequencing,” at the Genetic Epidemiology 2: Pathway Analysis, Sequencing, Functional Genetics / Family and Heredity Studies Session.

View the full list of Dana-Farber-led research at AACR.

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About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute   

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is one of the world’s leading centers of cancer research and treatment. Dana-Farber’s mission is to reduce the burden of cancer through scientific inquiry, clinical care, education, community engagement and advocacy. Dana-Farber is a federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.  

Dana-Farber is the only hospital nationwide with a top 3 U.S. News & World Report Best Cancer Hospital ranking in both adult and pediatric care. 

As a global leader in oncology, Dana-Farber is dedicated to a unique and equal balance between cancer research and care, translating the results of discovery into new treatments for patients locally and around the world, offering more than 1,200 clinical trials.