The Opening Plenary: Unifying Cancer Science and Medicine—A Continuum of Innovation for Impact will expand on this year’s meeting theme, revolving around the concept of carrying scientific discoveries through to impactful therapeutics, noted Annual Meeting Program Chairs AACR President-Elect Lillian L. Siu, MD, FAACR, of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Matthew G. Vander Heiden, MD, PhD, of Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The session, organized by Siu and Vander Heiden, will take place today, April 27, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. CT in Hall B1 of McCormick Place North (Level 3).

With a spectacular lineup of eminent researchers, the Opening Plenary will encompass some of the most compelling topics in cancer research, including KRAS inhibition, extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA), the tumor microenvironment, and cancer vaccines.

“These are four exciting and emerging areas of science that have relevance to not only the basic understanding of cancer biology but also have current or forthcoming implications for cancer treatment,” Vander Heiden noted.

“We are thrilled to have the field’s leading researchers covering these timely and diverse topics that underscore the continuum of cancer research,” added Siu. “These are really the ‘who’s who’ of their respective fields.”

The session will feature a presentation by Kevan M. Shokat, PhD, FAACR, of University of California, San Francisco, on advances in targeting KRAS. “Drugging proteins previously thought to be undruggable is one of the hottest topics in cancer research right now—and the KRAS inhibitors developed by Shokat and others are the poster children of that,” said Vander Heiden. Shokat will discuss lessons learned from targeting KRAS and implications for future efforts to drug difficult targets.

Paul S. Mischel, MD, FAACR, of Stanford Medicine, will explain how ecDNA leads to tumor heterogeneity and plasticity. “We have known about ecDNA for a long time, but Mischel’s research has brought its role in cancer to the forefront and has implications for therapeutic targeting and overcoming drug resistance,” said Vander Heiden.

Johanna A. Joyce, PhD, FAACR, of Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, will examine how the tumor microenvironment affects tumor biology and how it may be disrupted for cancer treatment. “Joyce’s talk will highlight how the interactions between cancer cells and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment impinge on therapies and contribute to drug resistance,” Siu noted. “These insights are key to advancing immunotherapy as well as other therapeutic classes.”

Catherine J. Wu, MD, FAACR, of Harvard University, will present on using cancer vaccines to tackle the continuously evolving tumor ecosystem. “The field of therapeutic cancer vaccines is rapidly progressing, and as a longtime leader in the field, Wu will explore what has and has not been effective and the exciting advances on the horizon,” said Siu. Wu discussed cancer vaccines and her predictions for the advances to come in an interview with the AACR Blog last year.

(To learn about anticipated progress for this year, check out the AACR Blog’s interview with Vinod Balachandran, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who is another prominent cancer vaccine researcher.)

As both program chairs noted, the breadth of topics included in the Opening Plenary—with implications for basic science, drug discovery, and patient care—means “there’s something that will appeal to everyone,” so don’t miss it!

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