Why we are seeing a real step change in our ability to fight cancer

Attendees cheer at oncology meeting | Credit: ASCO/Scott Morgan 2026

By Emma Wilkinson

A pill that nearly doubles survival in pancreatic cancer sparked a rare standing ovation at a major oncology conference – but it is far from the only good news of late when it comes to cancer treatment.

It’s not often – if ever – that researchers presenting findings at a medical conference get a roaring standing ovation. But this is exactly what happened when clinical trial results of a new drug for pancreatic cancer were announced at this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) annual meeting.

Researchers on their feet enthusiastically applauding a graph of survival rates highlight the extent to which this feels like a genuine breakthrough

And that was just one of a raft of good news stories coming out of the conference – the most prominent on the cancer research calendar – mostly around targeted novel treatments and immunotherapies.

With Moderna and the University of Oxford announcing it will launch a trial of a cancer prevention vaccine for people at high risk of bowel and ovarian cancer in the UK this summer, it seems we have reached a genuine step change in our ability to tackle cancer, even hard to treat ones.