Cancer researchers around the world conduct clinical trials at all stages, accelerating the progress of cancer treatment and prevention. The American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting serves as a platform for presenting the results of groundbreaking clinical trials every year, and the Annual Meeting 2024 has seen more submissions than in any previous year, according to Shivaani Kummar, MBBS, DeArmond University Chair of Cancer Research, co-director of the Center for Experimental Therapeutics, and deputy director for Clinical & Translational Research, Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University.

“We have had a record number of submissions for clinical trials this year, reflecting the rapid translation of novel treatment strategies from the labs to the clinic,” Kummar said.

Kummar serves as co-chair of the AACR Annual Meeting Clinical Trials Committee along with Ryan B. Corcoran, MD, PhD, Mark J. Kusek Endowed Chair in Colorectal Cancer and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Tucker Gosnell Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

The Annual Meeting program features three clinical trials minisymposia and four in-depth clinical trials plenary sessions that will include presentations on the science behind the trials. Clinical data will also be presented in other sessions throughout the meeting.

Kummar expanded on the variety of therapies being studied in clinical trials this year.

“The range of therapeutic strategies under investigation include novel antibody drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, cell-based therapy for solid tumors, and molecularly targeted agents,” Kummar said. The PARTNER and PETRA trials, as well as iMATRIX and COBALT-RCC, are among studies that will be discussed in clinical trials plenaries and minisymposia.

Kummar highlighted a few of the abstract presentations that are scheduled during the AACR Annual Meeting 2024. Check the online planner for the most up-to-date information on session topics, dates, and times, and sign up for news updates from AACR Annual Meeting News to learn more about this year’s clinical trials presentations.

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PLENARY SESSIONS

CTPL01 — Beyond Immune Checkpoint Inhibition: Novel Immunotherapy Strategies

Sunday, April 7, 1 – 3 p.m. PT

CT001: Linvoseltamab, a B-cell maturation antigen-targeted T-cell-engaging bispecific antibody, induces deep and durable responses in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma including difficult-to-treat subgroups

CT002: CTX130 allogeneic CRISPR-Cas9-engineered chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma: Long-term follow-up and translational data from the phase 1 COBALT-RCC study

CTPL03 – Advances in Targeted Therapy

Monday, April 8, 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. PT

CT0011: The PARTNER trial: Neoadjuvant olaparib in germline BRCA mutated breast cancer (gBRCA); ‘gap’ scheduling with carboplatin and paclitaxel, a step closer to cure

CT014: PETRA: first-in-human Phase 1/2a trial of the first-in-class new generation poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 selective inhibitor (PARP1i) saruparib (AZD5305) in patients (pts) with advanced solid tumors with BRCA1/2, PALB2 or RAD51C/D  mutations

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CLINICAL TRIALS MINISYMPOSIA

CTMS01 — Cancer Vaccines: Ready for Prime Time?

Sunday, April 7, 3 – 5 p.m. PT

CT026: Systemic responses to SYNC-T therapy: In situ personalized cancer vaccination with intratumoral infusion of multitarget immunotherapy in patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)

CTMS03 — Novel Agents and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies

Tuesday, April 9, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. PT

CT039: Alectinib in children and adolescents with solid or CNS tumors harboring ALK-fusions: Data from the iMATRIX Alectinib Phase I/II open-label, multi-center study