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AACR Pancreatic Cancer 2026

AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Pancreatic Cancer — Hilton San Diego Bayfront, San Diego, CA · September 25 – 28, 2026. The AACR subspecialty meeting where the pancreatic-cancer field (basic + translational + clinical) convenes between AACR Annual and the late-year clinical-readout cycle.

Status: Scaffold — meeting is ~4.5 months out as of today (May 11, 2026). Structure is being laid down now so the abstract submission cycle (typical AACR Special Conference window: ~June deadline, late-breaker ~August), pre-meeting program release (August–September), and live-coverage build (Sep 25–28) can be staged. Talk titles, the late-breaking slate, and named-lecture assignments are not yet public; anything in this vault dated before its embargo lift is reconstructed from prior-year (Pancreatic 2024 Boston, Pancreatic 2025) AACR programs, AACR 2026 Annual pancreatic-track content, sponsor pipeline guidance, and analyst preview notes — flagged inline.

Why this is in the vault

AACR Pancreatic is the field-level convening venue for PDAC research between the Annual Meeting (April) and the late-year clinical readouts (ESMO Oct, ASCO GI Jan). Two characteristics make it distinct from the broader AACR 2026 Annual Meeting:

  • Single-disease depth. The room is pancreatic-cancer-specialist-dominated — basic biologists (KRAS signaling, stroma, metabolism), translational scientists (PDX / organoid models, ctDNA / cfDNA biomarkers), and medical/surgical oncologists run cross-disciplinary discussions that the Annual Meeting's parallel-track format dilutes. Discussion sections after talks routinely run long; the small-room culture is a feature.
  • Hybrid format. Unlike SABCS (clinical-readout-driven) or EuroBioC (per-tool methods talks), AACR Pancreatic mixes practice-changing clinical readouts (Phase 1b/2 KRAS-inhibitor data, mRNA vaccine durability updates), mechanistic talks (stromal biology, immune evasion, metabolic vulnerabilities), and platform / model-system talks (organoids, GEMMs, spatial atlases). The per-talk template in talks/ is hybrid — each entry resolves to a trial anchor (clinical readout), tool anchor (model / platform / assay), or study anchor (mechanism paper / dataset).

The field is in an unusual moment. The KRAS-inhibitor wave that crossed the bar at AACR 2024–2025 (sotorasib / adagrasib for G12C; daraxonrasib pan-RAS at AACR 2025) is feeding the first wave of pancreatic-specific combination Phase 2 / 3 readouts. mRNA neoantigen vaccines (autogene cevumeran / BNT122) reported the first long-term recurrence-free survival signal at ASCO 2024, with follow-up readouts in the AACR Pancreatic → ESMO 2026 → ASCO GI 2027 cycle. Early-detection biomarker work (CA19-9 successors, microbiome signatures, MRI/CT AI) is moving from biomarker discovery to interventional trials. AACR Pancreatic 2026 is the venue where these three threads converge with the basic-biology audience.

Strong overlap with AACR 2026 Annual — the pancreatic-specific clinical-trials and KRAS sessions at Annual feed forward to expanded Phase 2 readouts at Pancreatic. Lighter overlap with SITC 2026 (PDAC immunotherapy track), ESMO 2026 (clinical Phase 3 pancreatic readouts), and ASCO GI 2026 / 2027 (GI-specific Phase 3).

What we have / will have to work with

Source Coverage Notes
AACR Conference page dates, chairs, program once released aacr.org Pancreatic Conference
AACR Abstracts Online full abstract supplement (Cancer Research / CCR proceedings) typical release: ~2 weeks pre-meeting, embargoed until presentation
Cancer Research / Clinical Cancer Research proceedings post-meeting indexed abstracts hosted at aacrjournals.org
AACR Meeting News editorial coverage during meeting aacr.org newsroom
Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer patient-organization recap, often the most accessible plain-language synthesis letswinpc.org — strong 2025 / 2024 coverage
PanCAN editorial Pancreatic Cancer Action Network — research-funder framing pancan.org
Lustgarten Foundation "Conquering KRAS" portfolio updates often surface here lustgarten.org
OncLive / Targeted Oncology / CancerNetwork KOL discussant interviews; clinical-readout depth per-trial coverage strongest on KRAS / mRNA vaccine items
Endpoints / STAT / BioPharma Dive / Evaluate / ApexOnco sponsor / pipeline framing Revolution Medicines, Mirati/BMS, BioNTech/Genentech, Amgen, Astellas, Black Diamond, Boundless, Frontier Medicines
Company press releases toplines + decks post-presentation RevMed, BMS (Mirati legacy), BioNTech, Genentech, AstraZeneca, Amgen
Social #AACR26 #PancreaticCancer on X / Bluesky / LinkedIn useful for room reactions

Primary citable source per talk should be the abstract DOI in the AACR Abstracts Online / Cancer Research supplement, not the company press release.

Program shape

AACR Pancreatic 2026 runs Friday September 25 through Monday September 28, 2026, four days, Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Co-chairs:

  • Andrew J. Aguirre (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) — KRAS biology / functional genomics / PDX
  • Florencia McAllister (MD Anderson) — microbiome, immune microenvironment, prevention/interception
  • Kenneth P. Olive (Columbia / Herbert Irving) — stroma biology, GEMMs, drug delivery
  • Eileen O'Reilly (Memorial Sloan Kettering) — clinical pancreatic-cancer trials lead
  • Diane M. Simeone (UC San Diego) — early detection, cancer stem cells, host institution lead
  • Colin D. Weekes (Mass General / Harvard) — translational clinical, KRAS-directed trials

The structure (per the 2022 / 2024 / 2025 recurring pattern):

  • Plenary / keynote lectures — opening keynote (typically a field-defining figure: prior years have included Pasca di Magliano, Vonderheide, Tuveson, Hingorani); named lectures bookend mornings.
  • Major symposia (typically 6–8 across the meeting) — thematic sessions of 4–6 invited + abstract-selected talks. Common 2024/2025 themes: tumor evolution, KRAS-directed therapy, the immunosuppressive microenvironment, metabolism, early detection / interception, models for translation, health disparities.
  • Mini-symposia / proffered-paper sessions — abstract-selected short talks, typically 4–6 per session, distributed across thematic afternoons.
  • Poster sessions — typically two large evening sessions; abstract floor ~400–600 posters.
  • Forum / interactive sessions — career development, trainee networking, advocacy / patient-perspective sessions.
  • Press program — informal; selected presentations get AACR press-release coverage when a sponsor topline is timed to the meeting.

Expected tracks dominating the 2026 corpus (based on prior-year load + 2026 pipeline state):

  • Pan-RAS and KRAS-selective inhibitors — daraxonrasib (RMC-6236, Revolution Medicines) pan-RAS Phase 2/3 PDAC data; zoldonrasib (RMC-9805, KRAS-G12D selective) Phase 1/2; the broader RMC tri-complex portfolio (RMC-6291 G12C(ON), RMC-5552 mTORC1, RMC-4630 SHP2); next-generation Mirati/BMS G12D agents; Astellas/Boundless RAS portfolio; Amgen / Frontier Medicines KRAS-mut combinations.
  • mRNA neoantigen vaccines — BNT122 / autogene cevumeran (BioNTech / Genentech) Phase 2 randomized data; the parallel Moderna / Merck mRNA-4157 individualized program if PDAC arm reads; T-cell receptor / TCR-T cellular therapies targeting shared neoantigens (KRAS-G12D / G12V class-I HLA-restricted).
  • Stromal biology and the immunosuppressive microenvironment — CAF heterogeneity, TGF-β / IL-6 / CXCR4 axis, the LIF / JAK-STAT pathway, mechanical-tension biology, stromal reprogramming with focal adhesion / hyaluronidase / sonic-hedgehog-pathway updates. Strong AACR Pancreatic franchise per the Olive / Tuveson lineage.
  • PDX / organoid / GEMM models — co-clinical trial designs, organoid-based drug screening platforms (Tuveson / Tiriac), patient-derived xenograft sensitivity portfolios, GEMM-derived combination screens for KRAS-resistance.
  • Early detection and biomarkers — CA19-9 successors (multi-analyte serum panels, methylation-based assays from Guardant / GRAIL / Exact Sciences), microbiome-based detection (oral / stool signatures), MRI / CT AI for sub-2-cm lesion detection, intercept strategies for high-risk cohorts (BRCA / Lynch / familial / new-onset diabetes).
  • Metabolism, hypoxia, autophagy — autophagy / lysosomal targeting (DC661 / hydroxychloroquine class), glutamine / pyrimidine metabolic vulnerabilities, MAPK-pathway-induced metabolic rewiring.
  • Immunotherapy beyond checkpoint blockade — CD40 agonists (sotigalimab follow-up), CXCR4 antagonists, claudin 18.2 ADCs / CAR-T (zolbetuximab class extending into PDAC), bispecifics, TCR-T.
  • Health disparities, racial / ethnic differences in outcomes — increasingly a programmed track at AACR Special Conferences; the disparities in pancreatic cancer incidence / mortality / trial access is a stated AACR priority.
  • Surgical / locoregional / radiation — borderline-resectable management, neoadjuvant chemotherapy paradigms (mFOLFIRINOX vs gem/abrax), SBRT integration.
  • Health-system / clinical-trial design — adaptive platform trials for PDAC (PRECISION-Panc, Precision Promise, AltCAP-style alternating regimens), real-world evidence.

Organization

conferences/aacr-pancreatic-2026/
├── index.md             # this page
├── program-notes.md     # pre-meeting prep: tracks, expected sessions, anticipated readouts, key dates
└── talks/               # hybrid per-talk artifact
    └── index.md         # template + master talk index (trial / tool / study anchors)

Hybrid talks/ directory is the load-bearing artifact. Each talk gets one Markdown file. Three anchor templates inside (trial / tool / study) live in talks/index.md. Expected ~25–40 entries spanning major-symposium invited talks, mini-symposium proffered papers, and the keynote slate.

What's different from sibling vaults

  • AACR Annual (../aacr-2026) is the parent meeting. AACR Annual's pancreatic-track sessions feed forward — many of the AACR Pancreatic 2026 talks will be by speakers who gave preview / mechanism talks at Annual in April.
  • SABCS / ASCO are clinical-readout-driven; AACR Pancreatic is hybrid. Single-disease focus but with a strong basic-biology / translational backbone — the per-trial template from SABCS doesn't fully fit, and the per-tool template from EuroBioC doesn't fit. The hybrid talks/ template is the resolution.
  • Smaller corpus than the Annual Meeting. ~400–600 posters + ~80–120 oral / mini-symposium talks vs Annual's thousands. Deeper per-talk coverage is feasible.
  • September timing. Lands between AACR Annual (April), ASCO (May/June), EHA (June), ESMO (October), and the late-year readout-heavy cycle (SABCS / ASH / ASCO GI). Good window for Phase 2 maturation data and mechanism-level translational reveals.
  • No AACR virtual-platform replay this year (per the 2024 / 2025 pattern). Slide decks are not centrally archived; primary capture is the abstract supplement + AACR Meeting News + KOL trade-press recaps.
  • AACR 2026 Annual — the parent meeting; pancreatic-track sessions there feed forward. KRAS / mRNA vaccine / stroma session content will be cross-linked per-talk.
  • ASCO 2026 — pancreatic-specific Phase 3 clinical readouts (KRAS-inhibitor combos, mRNA vaccine, FOLFIRINOX-backbone trials).
  • ASCO GI 2026 and ASCO GI 2027 (the latter the post-AACR-Pancreatic readout venue) — full GI clinical-readout context.
  • ESMO 2026 — pancreatic Phase 3 readouts in October, immediately downstream of AACR Pancreatic.
  • SITC 2026 — PDAC immunotherapy track overlap (CD40 agonists, mRNA vaccines, TCR-T).
  • JPM 2026 — sponsor 2026 pipeline guidance (Revolution Medicines, BioNTech, BMS, Astellas, Amgen) gives forward look on AACR Pancreatic 2026 readout candidates.

Next steps

  • Now (4.5 months pre-meeting, May 11): scaffold landing — this page + program-notes.md + talks/index.md. Track Revolution Medicines / BioNTech / BMS / Astellas pipeline guidance from Q1 2026 earnings calls (April–May) and ASCO 2026 (May/June).
  • Pre-meeting (Jun–Aug 2026): abstract submission deadline, late-breaker window. Populate program-notes.md with confirmed session titles and expected-readout shortlist once program drops (~August).
  • Pre-meeting (~Sep 11–18): abstract supplement publishes in Cancer Research proceedings; stub talk pages with abstract IDs + presenters.
  • Live meeting (Sep 25–28, 2026): real-time capture per major session. Keynote / plenary slots are highest priority.
  • Post-meeting (Sep 29 – Oct): finalize talk pages; cross-link to ESMO 2026 (Oct 23–27) pancreatic readouts where the same trial reads twice (interim AACR Pancreatic, primary endpoint ESMO).

Sources