Five breakthroughs at the world's biggest cancer conference that will change lives

Once a year, for a single long weekend, Chicago is transformed into the undisputed global capital of cancer research. The city's streets are lined with pharmaceutical advertisements as a vast army of 40,000 oncologists, researchers and industry executives converges on the banks of Lake Michigan. A remarkable 7,295 abstracts, posters and presentations are being shared — and in some cases — hotly contested at this year's annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The 2026 conference featured the most thrilling breakthrough I have covered in five years of travelling to the US to report on ASCO. Numerous other studies also carry the potential to meaningfully improve the lives of thousands of patients. As I prepare to board my flight home to the UK, here are the five stories I believe matter most from the world's largest cancer conference. Cancer researchers tend to be measured and precise in the language they use when discussing trial results. Mindful of raising false hope among vulnerable patients, they typically rely on scientific terminology and are careful to highlight the limitations of their findings. Yet when the results of a trial for a new pancreatic cancer drug were announced, the researcher presenting the findings to a packed and captivated hall of hundreds of leading oncologists was met with an emotional standing ovation. The findings revealed that patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who received the drug, daraxonramcib, lived for twice as long as those undergoing chemotherapy. One doctor who attended the presentation told me: "There was certainly more than one person in tears in that room.", reports the Express . At the press conference where the results were unveiled to journalists, Dr Rachna Shroff, ASCO expert in gastrointestinal cancer, also acknowledged that the findings had brought her to tears. Describing the pill as a "game-changer", she said: "I don't know that we use that word very commonly in the world of pancreatic cancer. When the press release came out for this data, I was in clinic and, having treated pancreatic cancer for 16 years, I actually started crying." For many years, pancreatic cancer has been amongst the most dreaded diagnoses in medicine. Frequently detected late owing to non-specific symptoms, it carries the poorest prognosis of any common cancer. Approximately 11,500 new pancreatic cancer cases occur in the UK each year and it is responsible for over 10,000 deaths annually. The success of daraxonracib represents a seismic breakthrough in a field more accustomed to celebrating modest, gradual progress. And it could signal the beginning of a broader revolution. Clinical trials are currently under way to establish whether this new category of targeted RAS drugs can deliver comparable survival benefits for patients battling lung, colorectal and other cancers. While it is not a cure, the medication can provide patients with valuable additional time alongside their loved ones, and it represents the first in a promising new wave of treatments that are expected to improve further. As well as bringing forward new treatments, cancer specialists are continually working to minimise the unnecessary administration of aggressive therapies. An international study led by UCL has discovered that a genetic test could enable more than 5,000 British women with breast cancer to sidestep chemotherapy annually by identifying those who will genuinely benefit. The demanding medications can trigger severe side effects, and some women with the most prevalent, hormone-sensitive variant of the illness gain little to no advantage. The new test, called Prosigna, examines a tumour specimen to assess the activity of genes associated with cancer progression. The study revealed that only 2% of patients with a low score would benefit from chemo. And it found that using the test to remove chemotherapy from treatment plans for women with a low Prosigna score did not significantly increase their risk of death or cancer recurrence. Co-chief Investigator Professor Iain MacPherson, of the University of Glasgow, said the research represents "a major step forward in delivering more personalised, precise care, ensuring that treatment decisions are driven by what will genuinely improve outcomes for patients, while avoiding unnecessary toxicity." Several of the stories I reported on at the conference were accompanied by patient case studies, which are vital in helping us grasp the real-world significance of medical research. The standout account this year centred on Carl Walsh, a man who had been subsisting on a diet of soup, rice, pudding, tinned ravioli and "many, many omelettes" before receiving a new cancer jab. Carl, 56, had been diagnosed with tongue cancer, which had caused painful swelling and made eating extremely difficult. After enrolling in a trial at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London, he began receiving an injection of amivantamab every three weeks. The drug works on three fronts: it blocks a key protein called EGFR that assists cancer growth, disrupts a second pathway called MET that tumour cells exploit to evade treatment, and stimulates the immune system to mount an attack. After just two rounds of treatment, Carl was able to begin reintroducing foods into his diet. He said: "The thing I enjoyed most was the first big steak. My speech is completely back to normal and at work I speak regularly on headsets without problems." Patient accounts such as this one help to translate the dense scientific terminology and statistics found in conference abstracts and presentations into something that resonates with us all. Sparing patients from life-altering surgery was the key aim of another study presented at the conference. It examined a new bladder cancer drug that targets a protein used by tumour cells to evade detection by the immune system. The success of the trial means that patients with advanced cancer could be offered an alternative before facing radical surgery to remove the entire organ. Artist Tracey Emin underwent the procedure to treat severe squamous bladder cancer in 2020, describing the experience as "hardcore". Lead researcher Professor Nick James, a specialist in prostate and bladder cancer at The Institute of Cancer Research in London, said that sparing patients from surgery would help them "maintain more of their normal daily function and independence". He added: "I expect this approach to be practice-changing - offering bladder cancer patients improved outcomes whilst preserving their quality of life." It proved a remarkable year for breakthrough treatments, with another tablet that prevents cancer from evading the immune system found to reduce tumours in patients suffering from six common and difficult-to-treat forms of the disease. The twice-daily medication was trialled alongside an immunotherapy drug called cemiplimab. Immunotherapy treatments have transformed the cancer care landscape over the past 15 years, yet they do not prove effective for every patient. A tablet capable of enhancing the effectiveness of immunotherapy across several types of cancer, and shrinking tumours by as much as 95% in certain patients, has shown considerable promise. Among the best-responding cancer type, 55% of lung cancer patients saw their disease stabilise for at least six months. Cervical cancer recorded the lowest response rates, yet even within this group, at least 18% of patients experienced a halt in disease progression for six months or longer. Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite, a consultant medical oncologist at The Christie specialist cancer hospital in Manchester, described the results as "very impressive". She went on to say that such compelling findings were "unusual at such an early stage when we're usually just looking at how safe it is. For a brand new drug to show that kind of profile so early, and in so many different types of hard-to-treat cancers, gives me genuine optimism."