SEATTLE — Apr. 7, 2026 — Fred Hutch Cancer Center experts will present the latest findings in cancer prevention, diagnosis and care at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, April 17-22 in San Diego, Calif.
Meeting highlights include:
- Kevin Cheung, MD, will chair and discuss the role of cell necrosis in tumor cell dissemination and metastases in a major symposium.
- Cancer vaccine expert Nora Disis, MD, will speak in the AACR Presidential Select Symposium on precision-based prevention.
- Chris Li, MD, PhD, who has been elected to the AACR Board of Directors for 2026-2029, will chair and present in a major symposium focused on recent advances in precision screening. He will share current work from the Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) Clinical Validation Center, with the goal of developing a blood-based test to inform how frequently women should receive a screening mammogram. Li will also speak at the closing wrap-up plenary session to provide an overview of research presented on cancer prevention, early detection, population sciences and health disparities.
- Trang VoPham, PhD, MPH, MS, will chair and discuss advances in the use of geospatial and neighborhood data in cancer research in a major symposium.
See below for summaries and links to selected Fred Hutch presentations. For interview requests, contact media@fredhutch.org.
You can follow Fred Hutch #AACR26 updates on social media (X and Bluesky).
Colorectal cancer
Interaction between T-cell inflamed gene expression profile score and tumor-associated microbiome on colorectal cancer mortality in a heterogeneous patient population
Poster Section 9
April 20, 2026, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Presenter: Meredith Hullar, PhD
Meredith Hullar, principal staff scientist working with Ulrike (Riki) Peters, PhD, MPH, and Amanda Phipps, PhD, MPH, and their teams, sought to characterize connections between the microbiome and tumor immune response in colorectal cancer outcomes. They reported that among the genera tested, the bacteria Leptotrichia in combination with a low T-cell inflamed gene expression profile resulted in more than four times higher risk of colorectal cancer mortality. Deeper understanding of this immune-microbiota interaction could lead to prognostic tools and new treatment targets to improve colorectal cancer outcomes.
Agricultural glyphosate use and early-onset colorectal cancer mortality in the United States
Poster Section 33
April 21, 2026, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Presenter: Chloe (Jiayu) Lin, MPH
Scientists are searching for what may be driving the recent increases in early-onset colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, has been shown to promote colorectal carcinogenesis through mechanisms such as gut microbiome changes. To examine this association in an epidemiologic study, in a nationwide analysis of more than 100,000 deaths from colorectal cancer among people younger than 50 years, Chloe Lin, MPH, a research assistant in the lab of Trang VoPham, PhD, MPH, MS, observed a statistically significant dose-response relationship between agricultural use of glyphosate and risk of early-onset colorectal cancer mortality in the United States.
Spatial transcriptomics profiling of colorectal cancer tumors in Alaska Native peoples: Discovery of prognostic biomarkers
Ballroom 6 B - Upper Level - Convention Center
April 21, 2026, 2:35 - 2:50 p.m.
Presenter: Garrick Chang, PhD
For over 40 years, Alaska Native peoples have experienced the highest colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States — a disparity that is of deep concern to Tribal leadership and communities, who have actively addressed it through investments in screening programs and research. As part of those efforts, a research team led by principal staff scientist Jeroen Huyghe, PhD, and Ulrike Peters, PhD, in collaboration with Diana Redwood, PhD, at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, identified tumor and tumor microenvironment features at diagnosis that are associated with colorectal cancer mortality. Postdoctoral researcher Garrick Chang, PhD, who is presenting the research at AACR, identified distinct, spatially specific markers tied to mortality: in the tumors of participants who died, the tumor center exhibited decreased MUC2 and SPINK4 expression, suppressed interferon pathways, fewer plasma cells and increased mast cells.
Gynecologic cancers
Assessing paralog dependency in ovarian cancer to drive target discovery
Poster Section 20
April 19, 2026, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Presenter: Amy Lowe
There is an unmet need for targeted therapies for ovarian cancer, especially for non-RAS or BRCA1/2 mutant cases. Through examining paralog genes, which can compensate for each other’s functions, Amy Lowe, a research technician in the Berger Lab, and colleagues developed a dual-gene targeting library to better understand potential targets. Their work uncovered paralog dependencies across ovarian cancer cell lines, thus narrowing the list of potential therapeutic targets for future study.
Prospective organoid drug profiling and clinical response correlation for patients with primary or recurrent ovarian carcinoma (OC) in the PROSPERITY study
Poster Section 43
April 20, 2026, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Presenter: Elizabeth Swisher, MD
Patient-derived organoids from participants with ovarian carcinoma enrolled in the PRofiling Ovarian cancerS to improve PERsonalIzed TherapY (PROSPERITY) study allowed researchers to evaluate a potential method for measuring patients’ response to targeted therapies. Elizabeth Swisher, MD, and collaborators reported that it was highly feasible and promising to use patient-derived organoids to predict drug response in samples from more than one metastatic site. The researchers note that such a tool could help providers identify off-label drugs likely to be effective for a particular cancer, especially for recurrent tumors.
Science and Storytelling: Using a multi-component evidenced based strategy for successful recruitment of Black women with high-risk endometrial cancer to The SISTER Study
Poster Section 42
April 20, 2026, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Presenter: Kemi Doll, MD, MSCR
Kemi Doll, MD, MSCR, in partnership with ECANA, an African American endometrial cancer advocacy organization, created evidenced-based, community-engaged strategies to enroll participants into the Social Interventions for Support During Treatment for Endometrial Cancer and Recurrence (SISTER) Study. While the study enrollment window was limited to the time after diagnosis but before treatment initiation, these strategies successfully enrolled an underrepresented population in a randomized controlled interventional trial. The study team’s multi-component approach to enrollment could be used nationally to increase equitable clinical trial representation across historically excluded communities.
Prostate cancer
Multi-omic single-cell assessment of castration-resistant prostate cancer patients receiving177Lu-PSMA-617 and pembrolizumab shows timing of radioligand therapy alters immune response
Poster Section 45
April 20, 2026, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Presenter: Anusha Muralidhar, PhD
In a Phase 1 clinical trial, Anusha Muralidhar, PhD, a post-doctoral research fellow in the Fong Lab, evaluated the role of timing in administering a radioligand therapy along with a checkpoint inhibitor in patients with advanced prostate cancer. The study reported that treatment sequence for these drugs is critically important to achieve the immunomodulatory potential of radioligand therapy and optimize the benefits of combining these treatments. Notably, the study showed that administering the checkpoint inhibitor first resulted in lower T cell frequency, suggesting a detrimental immune outcome.
Breast cancer
Biologic processes enriched in the primary tumors of invasive breast cancer patients with disseminated tumor cells
Room 15 - Mezzanine Level - Convention Center
April 21, 2026, 3:35 - 3:50 p.m.
Presenter: Katherine Lawson-Michod, PhD, MPH
Katherine Lawson-Michod, PhD, MPH, a post-doctoral fellow in the Li Lab, and team identified biologic processes in the primary tumors of invasive breast cancer patients with disseminated tumor cells, which are cells that can persist after therapy and drive recurrence. Using bulk RNA- and DNA-sequencing in the primary tumor from a pilot set of 103 patients with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer, they found that among patients who had disseminated tumor cells at diagnosis, there was an upregulation of proliferative programs, which allow tumor cells to grow and divide unchecked, and an increased mutation burden in MARCH family genes, which are involved in MHC class I and II surface expression. These preliminary findings suggest specific biological pathways in the primary tumor that may lead to the spread and persistence of disseminated tumor cells.
Lung cancer
Utility of long-read RNA-sequencing for isoform and fusion discovery in lung cancer
Poster Section 21
April 21, 2026, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Presenter: Alice Berger, PhD
Alice Berger, PhD, and team created a comprehensive, accurate view of expressed isoforms in lung cancer. mRNA isoforms generated by alternative splicing encode related but distinct proteins often with important functional differences. The role of isoforms in cancer is important because they can alter tumor behavior and treatment response. Through long-read RNA-sequencing of tumor samples and cell lines, the research team identified increased expression of a KRAS isoform in tumors compared to normal samples. They also identified deletions to tumor suppressor genes and novel rearrangements in cancer-driving genes like EGFR. Their work is the largest long-read RNA-sequencing study to date and highlights the importance of understanding cancer genes at isoform-level resolution.
Implementation of clinical testing for tumor profiling
Molecular Standard of Care
Poster Section 20
April 19, 2026, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Presenter: Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips and Eric Collison, MD, created a systematic framework, or Molecular Standard of Care, to evaluate guideline-based molecular testing rates in Fred Hutch clinics. Across 157 patients with metastatic lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers, they found high adherence to these guideline-based molecular testing standards. They anticipate that these findings will lead to a more streamlined, automated approach to measuring the molecular standard of care to reduce clinical burden and enable real-time assessment of molecular testing adherence across patient populations, with the potential for this model to be expanded to other academic and community clinics.
Late-breaking poster studies
Full abstracts for late-breaking posters are embargoed until April 17, 2026 at 3 p.m. ET.
Prostate cancer phenotypes determined from circulating tumor DNA associate with outcomes to 177Lu-PSMA-617 therapy
Poster Section 50
April 19, 2026, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Presenter: Arthur McDeed
A phase 1B investigator-initiated trial of niraparib lead-in, followed by niraparib plus dostarlimab for metastatic BRCA1/2-mutated breast, tubo-ovarian, and pancreatic cancers
Poster Section 50
April 20, 2026, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Presenter: Elizabeth Swisher, MD
Multi-omic reconstruction of metastatic prostate cancer evolution from rapid autopsy reveals polyclonal seeding and implications for liquid biopsy
Poster Section 52
April 22, 2026, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Presenter: Azhar Khandekar, PhD
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Note: To the extent any commercializable discoveries result from the aforementioned research, Fred Hutch and the scientists who contributed to the discoveries may stand to benefit from their future commercialization.
The clinical trials referenced above involve investigational products and/or therapies that have not been approved for commercial marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other regulatory authority. Results may vary and encouraging results from early-stage clinical trials may not be supported in later-stage clinical trials. No conclusions should be drawn from the information in this Tip Sheet or from the conference presentations about the safety, efficacy or likelihood of regulatory approval of these investigational products and/or therapies.
Fred Hutch does not endorse or verify the accuracy of any content of any third-party sites, materials or related information that may be referenced by the presentations.
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Media Contact:
Claire Hudson
media@fredhutch.org
206-667-2210
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Fred Hutch Cancer Center unites individualized care and advanced research to provide the latest cancer treatment options while accelerating discoveries that prevent, treat and cure cancer and infectious diseases worldwide.
Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch is an independent, nonprofit organization and the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington. We have earned a global reputation for our track record of discoveries in cancer, infectious disease and basic research, including important advances in bone marrow transplantation, immunotherapy, HIV/AIDS prevention and COVID-19 vaccines. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services. Fred Hutch also serves as UW Medicine’s cancer program.