Top 5 Highlights from ASCO 2026: Moores Cancer Center at the Forefront

Article Content

The 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago was defined by practice-changing results and urgent conversations about the future of cancer care. For UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, it was also a moment of significant institutional presence. Our clinicians, researchers and physician-scientists were at the center of some of the meeting's most significant science. Here are five highlights that showcase the depth and reach of Moores Cancer Center at ASCO 2026.

1) A Landmark Moment in Pancreatic Cancer: The RASolute 302 Trial

Pancreatic cancer has long been one of oncology's most resistant frontiers. More than half of patients are diagnosed after metastasis has already occurred, and until now, second-line options have offered only modest benefit alongside significant toxicity. That landscape may be changing.

Results from the Phase 3 RASolute 302 trial, presented during ASCO's plenary session and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that the oral RAS(ON) multi-selective inhibitor daraxonrasib nearly doubled median overall survival compared with standard chemotherapy in previously treated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (13.2 months vs. 6.6 months).

Moores Cancer Center is a participating trial site for the Phase 3 Study of Daraxonrasib (RMC-6236) in Patients With Previously Treated Metastatic Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The center is led by Diane M. Simeone, MD, a nationally recognized pancreatic cancer researcher and advocate for accelerating advances in pancreatic cancer prevention, early detection and treatment.

2) New Hope in First-Line Pancreatic Cancer: Atebimetinib + mGnP

Moores Cancer Center's Peter Vu, MD, MHA delivered a Rapid Oral Abstract Session presentation at ASCO 2026 that drew significant attention from the oncology community. Dr. Vu presented Phase 2a clinical trial data (Abstract #4013) evaluating atebimetinib, an oral MEK inhibitor, in combination with modified gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (mGnP) as a first-line regimen for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. What makes this approach compelling is that, unlike many targeted therapies, atebimetinib was tested across all patients regardless of mutation status, not just those with specific genetic profiles.  

The results were striking: patients treated with atebimetinib plus mGnP achieved a median overall survival of 17.3 months, substantially outperforming historical benchmarks for first-line pancreatic cancer treatment. This work reflects Moores Cancer Center's coordinated, multi-front effort to transform outcomes for patients with one of the hardest cancers to treat.

3) The Coming Wave of Early-Onset Cancer: H. Irene Su, MD, MSCE Takes the Stage 

Moores Cancer Center's H. Irene Su, MD, MSCE served as chair of the high-profile ASCO/ASPO Joint Session titled "The Coming Wave of Early-Onset Cancer.” Within that session, Dr. Su delivered a presentation titled "Oncofertility in Young People With Cancer: Preserving Hope Across Resource-Constrained Settings," which focused directly on one of the field's most pressing challenges.  

Her presentation addressed the gap between what is known about fertility preservation and what is actually accessible to young cancer patients, particularly those in under-resourced settings. Ensuring that young cancer survivors have access to oncofertility counseling and family-building support regardless of where they receive care remains a critical issue.

4) Endometrial Cancer: Ramez N. Eskander, MD and NRG-GY018 

Endometrial cancer has long been an area of limited therapeutic progress for patients with advanced or recurrent disease. Moores Cancer Center's Ramez N. Eskander, MD presented updated overall survival data from the Phase 3 NRG-GY018 trial at the ASCO 2026 Gynecologic Oncology Session, with results simultaneously published in Nature Medicine. The trial randomized 809 patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer to receive pembrolizumab or placebo in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel.

With nearly four years of follow-up, pembrolizumab continued to demonstrate a sustained overall survival benefit in both mismatch repair–deficient and mismatch repair–proficient disease, including a 9.3-month median OS advantage in the pMMR cohort, even though a substantial proportion of control-arm patients subsequently received immunotherapy after leaving the study.

5) Rare Cancers: Sandip P. Patel, MD, FASCO and the DART Trial 

For patients with rare cancers, prospective clinical trial evidence has historically been scarce. Moores Cancer Center's Sandip P. Patel, MD, FASCO presented comprehensive final results from DART (NCI/SWOG S1609), the first federally funded study of dual CTLA-4 and PD-1 checkpoint inhibition in rare cancers, at ASCO 2026.

The trial enrolled 727 eligible patients across 53 rare cancer cohorts at more than 1,000 sites nationally. Nearly half of all cohorts demonstrated clinical activity, and more than 10% of patients achieved durable responses with progression-free survival of two years or more.

Moores Cancer Center at ASCO 2026

These five highlights only begin to capture the breadth of Moores Cancer Center's contributions to this year's meeting. From practice-changing advances in pancreatic and gynecologic cancers to new insights for rare cancers and survivorship, Moores Cancer Center faculty helped shape some of the most important conversations at ASCO 2026. Their work reflects our mission to accelerate discoveries, expand access to innovative clinical trials and deliver the latest advances to patients throughout the region.

 Learn more about clinical trials and research at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center at moorescancercenter.ucsd.edu.

See the full breadth of Moores Cancer Center presence at ASCO 2026 here!