2026 Program Guide
The Program Guide for the SU2C Scientific Summit 2026 includes the entire SU2C science portfolio since the start of the organization and features background, key accomplishments for closed teams, and key progress for all teams.
2025 Program Guide
The Program Guide for the SU2C Scientific Summit 2025 includes the active SU2C science portfolio from the beginning to end of 2024 and features the Scientific Advisory Committee, Health Equity Committee, and background and key progress for all teams.
2024 Program Guide
The Program Guide for the SU2C Scientific Summit 2024 includes the entire SU2C science portfolio since the start of the organization and features background, key accomplishments for closed teams, and key progress for active teams at the end of 2023.
Scientific Breakthroughs
Scientific Breakthroughs in Cancer Research Supported by SU2C During its First 15 Years
Highlights
- Pioneering Immunotherapy Combinations: First CAR T therapy for widespread use 1
The SU2C Pediatric Cancer Dream Team laid the groundwork for development of the first FDA approved CD19 CAR T therapy, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah, Novartis).
- Ibrance (Palbociclib) and Letrozole for women with metastatic breast cancer 2,3
- FDA approval of Ibrance with letrozole in women with ER+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer, which was a first-in-class approval for a CDK4/6 inhibitor, and improved treatment options for women with metastatic disease.
- Metastatic Prostate Cancer sensitive to PARP inhibitors: Studies expand use of Olapraib to HRR deficient mCRPC 4
- The SU2C Prostate Cancer Dream Team led by Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D. found high frequency of DNA-repair aberrations in metastatic PC, then tested PARP inhibition in clinical studies which laid the groundwork for use of Olaparib (AstraZeneca) for patients with homologous recombination repair gene-mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer
- Treating BRAF V600E mutant colorectal cancer 5
- The encorafenib (Pfizer) and cetuximab (Lilly) combination drug was approved for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer with a BRAF V600E mutation.
- Targeting PI3K in metastatic breast cancer 6
Targeting PI3K, alpelisib (Novartis) combined with fulvestrant (AstraZeneca) was approved for advanced or metastatic HR+/HER2-, PIK3CA – mutated breast cancer in postmenopausal women and in men.
- Pioneering Immunotherapy Combinations: CTLA4 blockade plus other immunotherapies yield breakthroughs in three cancer types 7
- The SU2C Dream Team led by James Allison, Ph.D. combined CTLA4 blockade with PD-1 inhibition and T-cell therapies in first-in-human clinical trials in melanoma and prostate cancers, leading the way for neoadjuvant NSCLC studies by team member Drew Pardoll, M.D., Ph.D.
- First-Line Immunotherapy for Patients with MSI-H/dMMR Metastatic Colorectal Cancer 8
The SU2C Colorectal Cancer Dream Team led by Luis Diaz, M.D. secured first-time FDA approval for the use of an immunotherapeutic agent in the first-line setting for the treatment of patients with MSI-H/dMMR unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer patients.
- TIL Therapy in NSCLC: Breakthroughs lead to multiple registration trials 9
- The SU2C Catalyst team led by Scott Antonia, M.D., Ph.D. and Eric Haura, M.D. demonstrated biological mechanisms and clinical feasibility of TIL therapy in late-stage NSCLC, leveraging support from five companies.
- Rectal Cancer Trial: PD-1 blockade trial in Rectal Cancer shows 100% clinical response in 1st 12 patients 10,11
- The SU2C Colorectal Cancer Dream Team led by Luis Diaz, M.D. led a trial treating patients with mismatch repair–deficient stage II or III rectal adenocarcinoma. All 12 initial patients treated had a clinical complete response.
- Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine: First successful demonstration of an RNA vaccine for cancer treatment 12
- The SU2C Convergence Team led by Benjamin Greenbaum, Ph.D. and Vinod Balachandran, M.D. uses a machine learning approach to identify patient-specific neoantigens used to design RNA vaccines, with a positive response observed in the Phase I clinical trial.
- Radiation Plus Immunotherapy for Sarcoma: Clinical trial met primary endpoint 13
- The SU2C Catalyst Team led by David Kirsch, M.D., Ph.D. conducted a trial with radiation plus immunotherapy for sarcoma which met its primary endpoint and showed a 43% reduction in risk of relapse.
References
- 1 Lee, D et.al. (2014). T Cells Expressing CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptors for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Children and Young Adults: a Phase 1 Dose-Escalation Trial. The Lancet, 385(9967), 517-528. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61403-3
2 Finn, R et al. (2015). The cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor palbociclib in combination with letrozole versus letrozole alone as first-line treatment of oestrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative, advanced breast cancer (PALOMA-1/TRIO-18): a randomised phase 2 study. Lancet Oncol, Oncology, 16(1), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1470-2045(14)71159-3
3 Finn, R et al. (2020). Overall survival results from the randomized phase 2 study of palbociclib in combination with letrozole versus letrozole alone for first-line treatment of ER+/HER2− advanced breast cancer (PALOMA-1, TRIO-18). Breast Cancer Res Treat, 183(2), 419–428. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-020-05755-7
4 Mateo, J et al. (2015). DNA-Repair Defects and Olaparib in Metastatic Prostate Cancer. N Engl J Med, 373(18), 1697-1708. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1506859
5 Tabernero, J et al. (2016). Phase 2 results: Encorafenib (ENCO) and cetuximab (CETUX) with or without alpelisib (ALP) in patients with advanced BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer (BRAFm CRC). Journal of Clinical Oncology, 34(15_suppl), 3544. https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2016.34.15_suppl.3544
6 Mayer, I et al. (2017). A Phase Ib Study of Alpelisib (BYL719), a PI3Kα-Specific Inhibitor, with Letrozole in ER+/HER2− Metastatic Breast Cancer. Clin Cancer Res, 23(1), 26–34. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-16-0134
7 Forde, P et.al (2018). Neoadjuvant PD-1 Blockade in Resectable Lung Cancer. N Engl J Med, 378(21), 1976-1986. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1716078
8 Commissioner, O. of the. (2020, June 30). FDA Approves First-Line Immunotherapy for Patients with MSI-H/dMMR Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. FDA. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-line-immunotherapy-patients-msi-hdmmr-metastatic-colorectal-cancer
9 Creelan, B et al. (2021). Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Treatment For Anti-PD-1-Resistant Metastatic Lung Cancer: A Phase 1 Trial. Nature Medicine, 27, 1410-1418. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01462-y
10 Cercek, A et al. (2022). PD-1 Blockade in Mismatch Repair-Deficient, Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer. N Engl J Med, 386(25), 2363-2376. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2201445
11 Cercek, A et al (2024). Durable complete responses to PD-1 blockade alone in mismatch repair deficient locally advanced rectal cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 42(17_suppl). https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2024.42.17_suppl.LBA3512
12 Rojas, L et al. (2023). Personalized RNA Neoantigen Vaccines Stimulate T Cells in Pancreatic Cancer. Nature, 618, 144-150. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06063-y
13 Mowery, Y M et al. (2024). SU2C-SARC032: A randomized trial of neoadjuvant RT and surgery with or without pembrolizumab for soft tissue sarcoma. J Clin Oncol, 42(16), 11504. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2024.42.16_suppl.11504
Innovation Summit Meeting Reports
Fund Research. Find Cures.
Stand Up To Cancer has set a bold goal to make earlystage detection an essential part of the standard of care for all cancers.
By doing so we will reduce cancer deaths by 25% in five years and 50% in 10 years. Success could mean saving hundreds of thousands of lives every year.
