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Latest Stories
Clinical
A note for historians: On April 21, 2026, pancreatic cancer finally began to budge.
Trials & Tribulations
Those of us who have devoted our careers to treating recalcitrant cancers know the heartbreak of walking alongside an individual facing an advanced diagnosis. We not only shoulder the clinical responsibility, but also the emotional weight that accompanies every step of that journey as each patient’s story becomes connected to our own.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has released a 412-page proposal that inserts political appointees into all stages of reviewing and awarding of federal research grants.
If you believe in the miraculous healing power of ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, and the harm from vaccination for HPV and COVID-19, you’ve got a powerful friend in Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
In a poignant keynote punctuated with anecdotes about grief, American Society of Clinical Oncology’s immediate past president Eric Small emphasized that the annual conference is not just about scientific discovery, but about a responsibility to translate discoveries into better outcomes for cancer patients globally.
Sponsored
One of the greatest challenges in cancer immunotherapy is finding the rare immune cells, called tumor-reactive T cells, whose job it is to recognize and eliminate tumor cells.
Cancer Policy
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released a guidance for states on how to implement Medicaid work requirements that will go into effect nationwide on Jan. 1, 2027.
Cancer Policy
Friends of Cancer Research announced the election of Richard Pazdur to the organization’s board of directors.
In Brief
Mina Sedrak, director of the UCLA Center for Cancer and Aging and director of Cancer Control and Survivorship Research at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Vijaya Raj Bhatt professor and medical director of the Leukemia Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, were selected to serve as co-chairs of the Cancer in the Older Adult Committee for The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology.
In Brief
Labcorp and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology will collaborate on a national, multicenter clinical trial for patients newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
In Brief
Advocate Health and Lind, an AI-powered clinical reserch platform, are partnering to help connect more cancer patients to clinical trials.
In Brief
OpenEvidence announced an integration of ASCO Guidelines, figures, and flowcharts into the OpenEvidence model.
In Brief
Katrina Armstrong, Columbia University executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences, Columbia University Irving Medical Center CEO, and dean of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, will transition from her current roles to launch the Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Research, a collaboration between Roy and Diana Vagelos and the University.
In Brief
Jian Liu, Miho Iijima, Mikayla Chen, Thu Le, and Tanae Lewis were named to the Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health and Policy Scholars Program, which is focused on cellular influence on health and disease.
In Brief
Jason Chiang and Kyung Sung of the Department of Radiological Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have received a $3.2 million, five-year grant from NCI to develop an artificial intelligence-enhanced imaging platform designed to improve yttrium-90 (Y90) radioembolization planning for patients with liver cancer.
Clinical Roundup
GRAIL Inc. presented more detailed results of the NHS-Galleri trial in an oral presentation at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.
Clinical Roundup
An international phase III study showed that patients with relapsed multiple myeloma treated with teclistamab lived longer and remained in remission significantly longer than patients receiving standard therapies.
Clinical Roundup
Adding the investigational adenoviral-based viral immunotherapy aglatimagene besadenovec (alglatimagene, CAN-2409) to standard radiation therapy improved disease-free survival for patients with intermediate- or high-risk localized prostate cancer, according to the results of a multicenter clinical trial led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, and Brady Urological Institute.
Clinical Roundup
Further positive results from the phase III SERENA-6 trial showed camizestrant plus a cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor—palbociclib, ribociclib or abemaciclib—maintained its progression-free survival benefit with longer follow-up and delivered a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in second progression-free survival, demonstrating sustained benefit beyond initial treatment.
Clinical Roundup
OST-HER2 (OST31-164) achieved statistically significant benefit for treated patients in overall survival at the 2.5-year timepoint in the prevention or delay of recurrence in fully resected, pulmonary metastatic osteosarcoma (75% vs. 47%, p = 0.003).
Clinical Roundup
While treatment is often successful, bladder cancer has one of the highest rates of recurrence of any cancer: Following treatment, about 50% of patients develop tumors again within the next five years. This makes it one of the most expensive cancers for society to treat.
Clinical Roundup
A study by researchers at the American Cancer Society showed that between 2003 and 2023, nearly five million people in the United States lived in food deserts—places with no grocery stores. Most of these deserts are in poor and rural areas and in places where people rely on public transit. At the same time, the number of food swamps or areas with mostly restaurants/fast-food locations increased nationwide.
Drugs & Targets
FDA approved Imfinzi (durvalumab) in combination with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin for the treatment of adult patients with BCG-naïve, high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Drugs & Targets
FDA approved Decnupaz (pivekimab sunirine-pvzy) for the treatment of adult patients with BPDCN, an ultra-rare and aggressive hematologic malignancy with limited treatment options. The approval is supported by data from the phase I/II CADENZA trial, a global study evaluating the safety and efficacy of Decnupaz for BPDCN.
Drugs & Targets
The European Commission authorized an expanded label for Venclyxto (venetoclax) to include use in combination with acalabrutinib (with or without obinutuzumab) and use in combination with ibrutinib for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
NCI Trials
The National Cancer Institute approved the following clinical research studies last month.
Podcast
At the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, the plenary sessions are one of the main events. A handful of clinical research studies are chosen from the thousands that are presented at the conference to represent the biggest achievements from the field in the last year.
The Directors
Getting NCI clinical trials to the community has never been an easy task. Has it been getting simpler or more difficult in recent years?
Clinical
As complementary and alternative medicines continue to gain acceptance beyond the margins of cancer treatment, results from a recent study from Yale School of Medicine published in JAMA Network Open suggests that some patients using CAM with their mainstream therapy may, in fact, be substituting alternative medicine for allopathic interventions.
Trials & Tribulations
Across the United States, rural communities bear a disproportionate and growing burden of cancer mortality.
Sponsored
Theranostics, the pairing of a diagnostic imaging agent with a targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy, has moved from a niche corner of nuclear medicine into one of the most active areas of investment in oncology.
Cancer Policy
In a letter, sixty organizations representing cancer patients and providers are urging HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to maintain the integrity of the U.S. Preventive Task Force.
Cancer Policy
FDA has issued warning letters to eight retailers for selling unauthorized tobacco products, including nicotine pouches and dissolvable tobacco products.
Cancer Policy
The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on May 28 approved the composition of COVID-19 vaccines for the 2026-2027 immunization season.
Cancer Policy
Pam Bondi, former U.S. attorney general, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Bondi received treatment and is in recovery, according to reports by Axios.
In Brief
Giulio Draetta was recently named chief strategy officer at Orionis Biosciences, a privately held, clinical stage life sciences company focused on discovery, design, and development of precision medicines for cancer and immune system-related disorders. Orionis is based in Boston and Ghent, Belgium.
In Brief
Baptist Health South Florida and the START Center for Cancer Research, the largest global network of fully dedicated, early-phase oncology clinical trial sites, announced plans to form a strategic collaboration.
Clinical Roundup
Teclistamab extends OS, deepens remissions in landmark trial published in NEJM and presented at ASCO
Patients with relapsed multiple myeloma treated with the immunotherapy teclistamab (TECVALI) lived significantly longer and remained in remission far longer than those receiving standard therapies, according to results from a major international phase III clinical trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.
Clinical Roundup
Physicians at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are calling for updates to a widely used system that grades side effects from cancer treatments, warning that current criteria may misclassify the severity of skin-related toxicities and limit consistency across clinical trials.
Clinical Roundup
A dual-threshold model for measuring the pancreatic tumor marker serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) identified patients with pancreatic cancer who had high-risk disease despite having low CA19-9 levels because of a genetic variation that impairs their ability to produce this biomarker.
Clinical Roundup
When activated in ovarian cancer cells, the receptor for the body’s primary stress hormone alters the tumor environment in ways that blunt immune response, according to research led by UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Clinical Roundup
Large pieces of DNA can transfer directly between human cells, and the DNA can persist and change how the recipient cell functions, according to a study led by researchers at Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern.
Clinical Roundup
An artificial intelligence model may be able to translate a tumor’s complex genetic profile into predictions about how that cancer may respond to treatment, according to a study conducted by researchers at University of California San Diego.
Clinical Roundup
Scientists at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a cytokine-armored CAR T-cell therapy that helps the immune system better attack aggressive brain tumors in mice while reducing dangerous side effects that have long limited immune-based treatments for glioblastoma, one of the deadliest and most treatment-resistant brain cancers.
Clinical Roundup
Illumina has developed a new, complete solution for molecular residual disease research based on whole-genome sequencing that will be distributed as a kit, with the aim of enabling more labs to adopt MRD detection for clinical research.
Drugs & Targets
FDA has approved pivekimab sunirine-pvzy (Decnupaz), a CD123-directed antibody and alkylating agent conjugate, for adults with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm.
Drugs & Targets
FDA has approved Hepcludex (bulevirtide-gmod) injection to treat chronic hepatitis delta virus infection in adults without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis. Hepcludex is the first FDA-approved treatment for chronic HDV infection, a serious and life-threatening condition that can cause rapid development of liver fibrosis, liver cancer, liver failure, and even death.
Drugs & Targets
FDA has granted Fast Track designation to STX-0712, an investigational therapy in development for the treatment of relapsed or refractory chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.
Drugs & Targets
RenovoRx Inc. received an Orphan Drug Designation of oxaliplatin for the treatment of pancreatic cancer delivered via RenovoCath device.
Podcast
While every agency under HHS, particularly FDA, has seen historic leadership shakeups and massive cuts to personnel and funding over the course of the second Trump administration—NCI has been spared, even getting a small raise, under the direction of NCI Director Anthony Letai.
Top HHS officials last week called for a “moonshot” focused on the role of the microbiome in cancer.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
As stirrings rise of a cancer “moonshot” focused on the relationship between the human microbiome and cancer, City of Hope’s Marcel van den Brink says this is the perfect time for such an influx of support.
NCI
NCI has been getting what seems to be less austere treatment compared to its NIH counterparts.
Capitol Hill
Esa M. Davis and John B. Wong have been fired from U.S. Preventive Services Task Force by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Guest Editorial
Once a week, the commute to the University of Maryland Medical Center serves as a bridge between two worlds for me. In one world, I am a neuro-oncologist navigating the rigors of brain tumor treatment. In the other, I am a son navigating the quiet, heavy reality of my father’s battle with pancreatic cancer.
Cancer Policy
In further major FDA shake-ups, three top regulators left the agency on May 15, just days after the resignation of Commissioner Marty Makary.
Cancer Policy
The charter governing the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will be returned to its previous framework for two years because the Department of Health and Human Services didn’t allow sufficient time for public comment after Robert F. Kennedy crafted a charter more favorable to his policy preferences.
Cancer Policy
As many as five million people may fall out of coverage on the Affordable Care Act Marketplace this year, according to an analysis from Kaiser Family Foundation and Wakely Consulting Group. The estimate projects enrollment to decline from 22.3 million people to 17.5 million.
Cancer Policy
EPA is rolling back limits on four types of PFAS chemicals, commonly referred to as “forever chemicals.” Some in this group of nearly 15,000 synthetic chemicals have been linked to a greater risk of cancer.
Cancer Policy
The U.S Supreme Court has declined to hear a slew of legal challenges filed by pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, and Boehringer Ingelheim.
In Brief
Charles Rudin was appointed director of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, effective June 1.
In Brief
Albert Koong was appointed chief scientific officer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center effective June 1.
In Brief
Dario C. Altieri has joined the faculty of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, effective Jan. 1, 2027, following completion of his leadership tenure at The Wistar Institute, Thomas Jefferson University has announced.
In Brief
Dan Theodorescu, the Nancy C. and Craig M. Berge Endowed Chair and director of the University of Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been awarded the Spence Medal, one of the most distinguished honors presented by the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons.
Funding Opportunities
The Steven A. Rosenberg Scholars Award is open for submissions.
Clinical Roundup
Exploratory analyses of the POTOMAC phase III trial showed adding one year of treatment with AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) to BCG induction and maintenance therapy reduced the number of high-risk disease recurrences within the first year, with fewer BCG-unresponsive recurrences in patients with BCG-naïve, high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer compared to BCG treatment alone.
Clinical Roundup
High-level results from a planned interim analysis of the VOLGA phase III trial showed perioperative treatment with Imfinzi (durvalumab) in combination with neoadjuvant enfortumab vedotin demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in event-free survival and overall survival in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer versus standard of care.
Clinical Roundup
A combination of a cancer vaccine and a drug, both of which harness the immune system to attack cancer cells, has proven successful in cutting the risk of skin cancer recurrence and death by 49%, according to a study led by researchers at NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center.
Clinical Roundup
The phase III TroFuse-005 trial evaluating sacituzumab tirumotecan, an investigational TROP2-directed antibody-drug conjugate, met its primary endpoints of overall survival and progression-free survival in certain patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.
Clinical Roundup
Novartis announced data from PSMAddition demonstrating improved prostate-specific antigen responses with Pluvicto (lutetium (177Lu) vipivotide tetraxetan) combined with standard-of-care in PSMA-positive metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer.
Clinical Roundup
A head-to-head comparison of five leading treatments for anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive non-small cell lung cancer could help oncologists fine-tune first-line TKI selection beyond what’s been seen in clinical trials alone, according to a study conducted by a team of researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the USC Shaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics have conducted.
Clinical Roundup
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a key molecular mechanism that allows animals to adapt to changing environmental conditions without altering their genes—an ability known as phenotypic plasticity.
Clinical Roundup
Scientists have long known that the DNA code in genes is not the only way to pass genetic traits from parents to offspring. “Epigenetic” marks—chemical modifications to DNA that don’t change the DNA code itself—can also be passed down.
Clinical Roundup
Physicians and researchers at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University announced they have administered the first investigational in vivo CAR-T cell therapy in the United States for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.
Drugs & Targets
FDA approved Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki) for both the neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer based on results from the DESTINY-Breast11 and DESTINY-Breast05 Phase III trials, respectively.
Drugs & Targets
FDA approved Signatera CDx as a companion diagnostic for use with adjuvant atezolizumab (Tecentriq) immunotherapy in muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Drugs & Targets
FDA granted orphan drug designation to CLN-049, a novel, investigational FLT3xCD3 T cell engager, for the treatment of relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia .
Drugs & Targets
FDA has granted Hyrnuo (sevabertinib) priority review status for the first-line treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors have HER2 (ERBB2) tyrosine kinase domain activating mutations in patients with no prior therapy.
Podcast
In last week’s issue of The Cancer Letter, the cover story featured something special: The first de novo book published by The Cancer History Project. The book, “Backwater to Blockbuster: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” co-written by Charles J. Sherr and William E. Evans, chronicles the previously untold story of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and its rise to becoming a global leader in pediatric cancer research.
Podcast
“Backwater to Blockbuster,” the first de novo book published by the Cancer History Project, traces the evolution of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to its current status of a powerhouse of research in pediatric cancer.
Clinical
In a recent set of regulatory decisions that culminated in the resignation of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary on May 12, the agency appears to have reversed its hard-ball stance on flavored e-cigarettes.
Regulatory News
The immediate impetus for FDA Commissioner Marty Makary’s exit from the top job at FDA is arguably less significant than the legacy of dysfunction he leaves behind.
Sponsored
For years, clues pointed to the gut microbiome as a key factor in cancer treatment outcomes. Recent advances in gene sequencing are now clarifying its influence on how patients respond to therapy.
Sponsored
Houston Methodist researchers identify B cells as driver of immunotherapy resistance in liver cancer
Despite major advances in immunotherapy, most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma fail to respond to current immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Cancer Policy
The U.S. Department of Justice issued a letter alleging that Yale Medical School of violating anti-discrimination laws and instititing policies that disadvantaged white and Asian applicants while favoring Black and Hispanic applicants.
The DOJ investigation, which was launched a year ago, reviewed the school’s admission policies for the class of 2023, 2024, and 2025, the letter states.
“The Department finds that Yale continues to intentionally discriminate against applicants based on their race after the Supreme Court’s decision in Harvard by granting and denying admission on the basis of race,” DOJ said in the letter dated May 14.
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its ruling of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, ended the use of affirmative action.
Higher education institutions are no longer allowed to use race as a factor in their admissions processes.
“Yale has continued its race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public’s clear mandate for reform,” Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general at the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. “This Department will continue to shed light on these illegal practices, and demand that institutions of higher education comply with federal law.”
The university issued the following statement, according to reporting from NBC Connecticut:
The students admitted to Yale School of Medicine demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and personal commitment; its program of medical education encourages curiosity and critical thinking, and its graduates go on to become leaders in clinical care, research, and public service. We will carefully review the Department of Justice’s letter. Yale School of Medicine is confident in the rigorous admissions process we follow.
This marks the second letter DOJ has sent this month to an elite medical school regarding admissions. On May 6, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA also received a letter with a similar allegation.
A spokesperson from UCLA noted the receipt of the letter, according to reporting by Inside Higher Ed.
We are confident in our practices and our mission to maintain access to a high-quality education to all qualified students. We are carefully reviewing the Department of Justice’s report. The David Geffen School of Medicine is committed to providing equal opportunity to all applicants and fully complying with federal and state laws.
DOJ is requesting that Yale and UCLA enter into voluntary resolution agreements to bring the schools “into legal compliance.”
Cancer Policy
The Association of Cancer Care Centers, in partnership with organizations across the cancer community, released a consensus statement identifying the primary drivers of the persistent drug shortage crisis in the United States, and proposing actionable policy solutions to protect access to critical cancer medications.
In Brief
A profile of Steven T. Rosen aired on Spectrum News 1 “California Stories with Giselle Fernandez” on May 11.
In Brief
The U.S. Department of Defense has funded a multi-institution research effort aimed at improving care and outcomes for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma.
In Brief
Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance announced the launch of the Community Accelerated Research Exchange, a first-of-its-kind, global, AI-powered ecosystem designed to transform how gynecologic cancer research is conducted—accelerating breakthroughs by connecting patients, clinicians, researchers, and advocates in real time.
In Brief
The Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center has entered a partnership with Cancer Hope Network to launch Peer Access to Trials, Hope and Support, a peer-to-peer program that gives patients and caregivers access to one-on-one peer mentorship from trained volunteers who have faced cancer themselves, either as survivors or caregivers.
In Brief
Nhan L. Tran was named distinguished professor, vice president of Cancer Discovery and Translation, co-director of the Immunology and Microbiome Division, and scientific director of the Microbiome and Immuno-Oncology program at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, which is part of City of Hope.
In Brief
The LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center expanded its Cancer Clinical Trials Office.
In Brief
Tampa General academic health system and Lakeland Regional Health have expanded their academic cancer care network, which was originally announced in January.
In Brief
The Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, a division of the Providence Cancer Institute of Oregon, received an NIH grant for its next phase of treatments for head-and-neck cancers.
In Brief
The Department of Health Abu Dhabi, regulator of the healthcare sector in the emirate, together with the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center, announced the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.
In Brief
Northwestern Mutual, through its Foundation, announced a class of scholars from its annual Childhood Cancer Scholarship Program for families affected by childhood cancer. The program provides scholarships to students affected by a diagnosis—either as survivors themselves or as siblings—enabling recipients to chase their dreams and transform their experience into purpose.
Funding Opportunities
AACR Research announced four funding opportunities with application deadlines on June 30.
Clinical Roundup
Researchers found that cases of stage 4 breast cancer are increasing both in incidence and as a proportion of all breast cancer diagnoses, according to findings from an observational study.
Clinical Roundup
A team led by Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University investigators has created a faster, cheaper way to determine the genes expressed in cancerous tumors. The AI-based tool could make personalized cancer treatment available to more patients.
Clinical Roundup
A research team led by investigators at Virginia Commonwealth University found evidence suggesting there is a positive association between GLP-1 agonists—drugs commonly used to treat obesity and diabetes—and better outcomes among breast cancer patients.
