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The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting brought together thousands of cancer researchers, clinicians, advocates, and patients in San Diego from April 17–22. This year's theme—“Precision, Partnership, Purpose: Advancing Cancer Science to Save Lives Globally”—set a powerful tone for a meeting that showcased advances across the lung cancer landscape.
One message was loud and clear. Science is accelerating, and we are reimagining how healthcare is delivered. From next-generation targeted therapies to AI-powered diagnostics, AACR 2026 offered a snapshot of both the progress and the work still ahead.
Here is exciting lung cancer news from the meeting.
1) Patient research advocate, Jill Feldman, was honored at AACR 2026
This year, AACR’s highest honor for patient advocacy was awarded to Jill Feldman, a longtime lung cancer survivor, research advocate, and cofounder of the EGFR Resisters. Jill was recognized with the 2026 AACR Distinguished Patient Advocacy and Engagement Award during the Opening Ceremony on April 19, where she delivered remarks that moved the room.
For research to be both scientifically rigorous and meaningful, the people expected to live with the outcomes belong in the room to help shape what is asked, what is measured, and what is prioritized. That is the difference between measurable progress and meaningful progress.
-Jill Feldman, Patient Research Advocate
For the lung cancer community, Jill's recognition at AACR 2026 was not just a celebration of one person. It was a validation of what decades of patient-centered advocacy can accomplish.
2) KRAS inhibitors reach new heights
One of the areas attracting buzz at AACR 2026 was the rapid expansion of KRAS-targeting therapies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). KRAS mutations are among the most common driver mutations in lung cancer. Yet targeted treatment has lagged behind other mutations like EGFR or ALK.
Zoldonrasib (KRAS G12D): Phase 1 data on zoldonrasib, an oral KRAS G12D-selective inhibitor, in patients with previously treated NSCLC (who had received an immunotherapy and chemotherapy) showed an objective response rate of 52% and a disease control rate of 93% patients. Approximately 4% of patients with NSCLC have KRAS G12D mutations, for which no targeted therapy is currently FDA-approved. This data is a significant step toward filling that gap.
Elisrasib (a next generation KRAS G12C inhibitor): For patients with KRAS G12C-mutated NSCLC, the story is evolving too. Two first-generation inhibitors, sotorasib and adagrasib, are already FDA-approved, but many KRAS G12C-positive tumors eventually develop resistance. Elisrasib, a next-generation KRAS G12C inhibitor, showed promising response rates in patients both naïve to prior KRAS G12C therapy and in those who had progressed on first-generation inhibitors. This data signals that we are entering a new chapter where KRAS resistance may become treatable.
3) Precision Medicine continues to evolve and improve
Updated data from the TRUST-I and TRUST-II trials showed that taletrectinib achieved a 46.1-month progression-free survival and an 89.8% overall response rate in TKI-naive patients with ROS1-rearranged metastatic NSCLC. Twenty-three percent of the 157-patient pooled efficacy population had brain metastases at baseline. Activity was also observed in patients whose tumors harbor the ROS1 G2032R resistance mutation and in those with CNS disease. Taletrectinib is currently approved as a ROS1 cancer treatment in the United States.
The meeting also featured updated results from the ARROS-1 trial of zidesamtinib, a next-generation ROS1-selective inhibitor, specifically in patients who had already progressed on newer agents. In 46 patients previously treated with repotrectinib, zidesamtinib achieved a 41% response rate, while in 19 patients previously treated with taletrectinib, the response rate was 47%. These results suggest zidesamtinib may provide a meaningful treatment option for patients who have exhausted currently available FDA-approved therapies.
Some researchers have raised the hypothesis that TrkB inhibition by dual Trk/ROS1 inhibitors, like repotrectinib and taletrectinib, could be contributing to their CNS activity and influencing side effects. Preclinical data presented at AACR shows that taletrectinib inhibits TrkB to a lesser extent than repotrectinib. This could explain why talectrectenib has less cognitive side effects and yet offers CNS protection.
Beyond new drugs, studies on the clinical utility of serial liquid biopsies for oncogene-driven lung cancer underscore how ctDNA-based monitoring is becoming central to tracking treatment response and resistance in real time.
4) Lung cancer in people without tobacco exposure (lung cancer in never-smokers) gets its own session
Lung cancer is increasingly being diagnosed in people who have never smoked, a reality that demands scientific and clinical attention. AACR 2026 dedicated an entire joint session, co-organized with the Japanese Cancer Association (JCA), specifically to this topic: "AACR-JCA Joint Session: Lung Cancer in Never-Smokers." The session examined the molecular epidemiology, tumor biology, and therapeutic approaches unique to this population. A key focus was on EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma, the subtype most frequently seen in never-smokers, and why it occurs more frequently among individuals of Asian descent. Environmental exposures, including air pollution and indoor cooking fumes, were also discussed as important contributing risk factors.
For the lung cancer community, this session was a long-overdue acknowledgment. Not all lung cancer patients have a history of tobacco exposure, and not all patients fit the traditional high-risk profile. Advocacy, early detection, and biomarker testing must be expanded to reflect this reality.
A parallel session, "Aging, Environmental Exposures, and Lung Cancer," explored how factors like PM2.5 particulate matter and other environmental carcinogens contribute to lung cancer risk across populations, reinforcing that our understanding of who gets lung cancer must continue to evolve.
5) Use of AI to improve healthcare delivery is not too distant
Artificial intelligence made its most clinically grounded appearance yet at AACR 2026. One of the standout presentations in the lung cancer space discussed a deep learning platform called Path-IO (Pathology-driven Immunotherapy Optimization).
Path-IO analyzes images of routine pathology slide images to predict which patients with metastatic NSCLC are most likely to respond to immunotherapy. Rather than relying on the existing FDA-approved PD-L1 biomarker, which often fails to predict outcomes because it ignores spatial context in the tumor microenvironment, Path-IO identifies specific tissue "niches" and integrates that information with imaging and clinical data.
The platform was validated across 797 patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors from MD Anderson Cancer Center, with external validation across international real-world cohorts and a Phase III randomized clinical trial. Future directions include integrating CT imaging, genomic factors, and other clinical variables to build what the researchers describe as a comprehensive "digital twin" model for each patient.
6) Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) approaches are growing
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which accounts for about 15% of all lung cancer diagnoses, received important scientific attention at AACR 2026, with a session dedicated to "Neuroendocrine and Small Cell Lung Cancers."
Building on discussions from recent SCLC-focused meetings, discussions at AACR 2026 continued to advance the field's understanding of SCLC subtypes (SCLC-A, SCLC-N, SCLC-P, and SCLC-I) and how matching patients to treatment based on their tumor subtype may improve outcomes. Efforts to improve approaches to monitoring treatment response using blood-based biomarkers, such as circulating tumor DNA and immune cell profiling, were also highlighted.
Researchers are also making strides with novel treatments. Radioligand therapy that targets proteins expressed on SCLC cell surfaces represents a compelling new frontier because it leverages SCLC's known sensitivity to radiation while delivering the drug precisely to tumor cells and sparing healthy tissue. While still early, these approaches reflect a field moving from a one-size-fits-all paradigm toward more personalized treatment strategies.
Looking ahead
AACR 2026 made one thing clear —from KRAS inhibitors targeting mutations that were once considered "undruggable," to AI tools that can read a biopsy slide and predict a person’s response to treatment, to dedicated sessions on lung cancer in people without tobacco exposure—the field is evolving in ways that offers real hope to patients and families. But progress in the laboratory must be paired with progress in making new treatments accessible.
LUNGevity will continue to support research advances, while improving clinical trial equity, comprehensive biomarker testing, and policies that ensure patients everywhere can benefit from these breakthroughs.