Experts Share Top Takeaways From AACR Annual Meeting 2025

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025, held in Chicago, highlighted a wide range of topics in cancer research, including groundbreaking clinical trials, emerging risk factors, and the growing influence of technology.

During on-site interviews, the following experts shared their biggest takeaways from this year's meeting:

• Kimlin Tam Ashing, PhD, professor and founding director of the Center of Community Alliance for Research & Education at City of Hope National Medical Center
• John Heymach, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Mingyang Song, MBBS, ScD, associate professor of clinical epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• Duke Appiah, PhD, MPH, associate professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
• Samantha Garcia, PhD, MPH, a third-year postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California
• Raymond Osarogiagbon, MD, director of the multidisciplinary thoracic oncology program at Baptist Cancer Center
• K. "Vish" Viswanath, PhD, a professor of population sciences at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a professor of health communication at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

This transcript has been lightly edited; captions were auto-generated.

Transcript

What was your biggest takeaway from this year's AACR Annual Meeting?

Ashing: AACR is my conference home. It's where I learn about the advancements in science across all domains, including areas outside of my scope of work. But it's important because then I can use that to communicate to my community partners and enrich their learning about the advances in cancer medicine.

The inclusion of the survivor advocate program, I think, is just wonderful, and they can be a powerful source and resource in terms of what I was describing earlier, not only training advocates on science, but [also] science advocacy for the broader benefit of the public and society.

Heymach: I just saw the plenary discussion by Kevan Shokat, [PhD]. Kevan and his group at UCSF [University of California, San Francisco] have been absolutely instrumental in developing ways for us to target KRAS mutations.

KRAS is the most common oncogenic driver in non–small cell lung cancer and, of course, all solid tumors. He really gave a beautiful recap of the development from the very beginning, of how they figured out how to develop drugs for that, and then how the field has really taken the ball and run with it.

It really is a testament to the importance of investing in basic science because it was really decades of investment in basic science that set the stage for brilliant researchers like Kevan and his team to make the breakthrough. Then, the pharmaceutical industry could take that breakthrough, run with it, and make hundreds of drugs we now have in clinical testing.

Song: My takeaway is that environmental factors are very important for cancer. We have known in the past few decades that some common dietary and environmental exposures are associated with cancer, but more research is needed to address these emerging exposures, such as ultraprocessed foods, microplastics, and PFAS [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances], and how these ubiquitous exposures may influence our cancer risk.

Appiah: For me, it is my first time, so I've really enjoyed the conference. I'm excited that there is a focus on cancer disparities.

For instance, I presented at one of the mini symposiums, so I'm excited to see that there is a focus on cancer disparities and also cancer of all types, which really impressed me; almost every cancer, you see something on it.

For me, the wide array of studies investigating well-known and lesser-known cancers, and giving some publicity to some of these cancers, I think, is great.

Garcia: [My] biggest takeaway is that there are still multilevel factors that contribute to cancer outcomes. I think that we're all attacking it from a different angle, which is what's going to help advance the field forward.

Osarogiagbon: My biggest takeaway is that science rocks. Science rocks. Science saves lives. Our scientific enterprise has been outrageously successful. Now is not the time to badmouth it.

Viswanath: AACR is an amazing organization where scientists from virtually every discipline come together to share their latest findings. When you come here, it's like a fire hose of the latest advances in science, of cancer, including cancer treatment.

The excitement rubs off on you when people share their latest science with you. That, to me, every time I stop by and talk to people, have a conversation, or attend sessions, stands out, number 1.

Number 2, you look at a lot of early-stage investigators all around you: graduate students, postdocs, and research assistants. This is the future of cancer science. These are the people who will go on to make extraordinarily significant contributions, and to see them here, at this time, sharing their findings, talking to people, listening in on these sessions, and presenting gives me a sense of hope and optimism. I'm excited for them and excited for us.