The Therapies Experts Call the Biggest Breakthroughs in Decades
- New cancer diagnoses are projected to hit 2.1 million in 2026, even as decades of progress have driven a 35% decline in the cancer death rate, according to the annual Cancer Progress Report released by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). This shift in survivorship is creating a rapidly expanding survivor population that will need long‑term, coordinated care.
- By 2035, more than 23 million Americans will be living with a history of cancer, a trend Dr. Susan Hong says “underscores the need to make survivorship a central component of comprehensive cancer care,” including support for late effects, comorbidities, and financial strain.
- Major treatment breakthroughs — from the RAS inhibitor daraxonrasib to Moderna and Merck’s personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine — represent what Dr. Carlos Arteaga calls some of the “biggest advances in cancer care,” with several therapies showing unprecedented survival benefits.
- As innovations accelerate, experts stress the importance of tools that help patients navigate complex options; SurvivorNet’s My Health Questions tool aims to help people arrive at their doctor appointments “more informed and more confident” as survivorship needs grow.
The major shift in survivorship is creating a rapidly growing population of survivors who will need long‑term, coordinated care, experts say.
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The report indicates:
- Prostate cancer will lead new cancer diagnoses, with an estimated 333,830 cases
- Breast cancer will be the second most common diagnosis, with an estimated 321,910 women and 2,670 men being diagnosed
- Lung and bronchus cancer is expected to be the third most common cancer diagnosis, with 229,410 new cases
However, the AACR report notes that years of aggressive campaigns promoting early detection cancer screening, decreased tobacco use, and advances in treatments have all contributed to a decline of 35% in overall cancer deaths between 1991 and 2024. That translates to about 4.8 million fewer deaths.
Dr. Carlos Arteaga, head of the UTSW/Simmons Cancer Center and former president of AACR, tells SurvivorNet that notable drug approvals have made the most impact for patients.
Some of those notable approvals include “RAS inhibitor daraxonrasib for patients with pancreatic cancer, and in August 2026, Moderna and Merck announced that their personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine, intismeran, succeeded in a large Phase 3 clinical trial when combined with the immunotherapy drug Keytruda,” Dr. Arteaga says.
“Another important development is the global, randomized lidERA Breast Cancer trial of the selective estrogen receptor degrader giredestrant as a potential new adjuvant therapy standard for patients with breast cancer,” Dr. Arteaga adds.
A Major Step Forward for Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer has long been tough to treat, and new cancer medicines for the disease have been slow to develop. Daraxonrasib (brand name: Rasonque), which nearly doubled median overall survival in trials, was approved in August 2026 as a once-daily pill for adults with metastatic pancreatic cancer who have already had at least one treatment, or who can’t tolerate combination chemotherapy.
“This is by far the most effective treatment ever to be developed for pancreatic cancer,” Dr. Peter Hosein, associate director for clinical research at the Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet.
“The survival in the pivotal RASolute 302 trial was more than twice as good with Rasonque compared to chemotherapy. With other ongoing trials, it is conceivable that in the future, we will recommend this pill for someone with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer rather than chemotherapy infusions, which have been the standard for decades.”
WATCH: A ‘Major Advance’ For Patients With Pancreatic Cancer
The Cancer Vaccine
The personalized mRNA vaccine, intismeran autogene, significantly reduced the risk of melanoma coming back after surgery for high-risk patients when given in combination with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda).
It is the first mRNA-based cancer treatment to show success in a late-stage trial, the phase 3 INTerpath‑001 trial.
Dr. Janice Mehnert, associate director for clinical research at the Perlmutter Cancer Center of NYU Langone Health, tells SurvivorNet that as the full data is reviewed and shared in the coming months, this personalized mRNA approach may represent a true turning point.
“I think what’s important to understand is if you do have a melanoma that’s identified and surgically removed, this is certainly a therapeutic strategy that would be possible for you, I hope, in the near future,” Dr. Mehnert says.
The approach studied in INTerpath-001 applies specifically to patients with completely resected, high-risk stage IIB–IV cutaneous melanoma — not to everyone with melanoma that has been removed surgically.
Other leading melanoma specialists echo the significance of the trial.
Dr. Jeff Ishizuka, a medical oncologist at Yale School of Medicine, told SurvivorNet the Phase 3 result represents “a true breakthrough” after decades of cancer vaccines showing early promise but failing in larger studies.
WATCH: The Impact of the LIDERA Trial on Early-Stage HR+, HER2- Breast Cancer Patients
Other Major Treatment Developments
The lidERA trial made one of the biggest impacts at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, marking the first time an oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) has shown a statistically significant improvement in adjuvant disease-free survival (DFS) for early-stage hormone receptor-positive (HR+), HER2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer.
Giredestrant is currently the only oral SERD to demonstrate a clear improvement in invasive disease-free survival in the adjuvant setting, representing the first major step forward in endocrine therapy for early breast cancer in more than two decades.
Additional advances include:
- Dordaviprone (Modeyso): The first FDA-approved systemic treatment for H3 K27M-mutant diffuse midline glioma, a rare and aggressive brain tumor primarily affecting children and young adults
- Imlunestrant (Inluriyo): The second oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) approved for adults with estrogen-receptor-positive, HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer whose disease has progressed after at least one line of endocrine therapy
- Pivekimab sunirine-pvzy (Decnupaz): A CD123-directed antibody-drug conjugate, for adults with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm
- Relacorilant (Lifyorli): This treatment was approved in March 2026 for certain patients with advanced gynecologic cancers, offering an option for platinum-resistant patients regardless of tumor profile
- Sevabertinib ( Hyrnuo): A kinase inhibitor, for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have HER2 (ERBB2) tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) activating mutations
- Vepdegestrant (Veppanu): For breast cancers carrying an ESR1 mutation (the Guardant360 CDx liquid biopsy test was also authorized as a companion diagnostic to identify eligible patients)
- Ziftomenib (Komzifti): A menin inhibitor, for adults with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a susceptible nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) mutation who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options
- Zongertinib (Hernexeos): A kinase inhibitor, for an expanded indication for adults with unresectable or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have HER2 (ERBB2) tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) activating mutations
- Linvoseltamab-gcpt (Lynozyfic): A bispecific B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed CD3 T-cell engager, for adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor (PI), an immunomodulatory agent (IMiD), and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody
The AACR report highlights that, increasingly, research is leading to more individuals with advanced and metastatic cancers, in particular, surviving. For all cancers combined, the five-year relative survival rate for distant-stage disease has more than doubled over the past three decades, increasing from 17% in the mid-1990s to 36% during 2016-2022.
“The AACR Cancer Progress Report emphasizes the importance of delivering high-quality survivorship care across the cancer continuum by strengthening the evidence base, preparing multidisciplinary care teams, and advancing coordinated models of care that promote survivors’ long-term health and quality of life,” Dr. Hong says.
Helping Patients Get Answers
Cancer treatment breakthroughs are arriving fast, and for many patients and caregivers, keeping up can feel overwhelming. SurvivorNet’s AI-powered tool, My Health Questions, is built to cut through that complexity by helping people understand what new therapies mean for them and how to talk about their concerns with their care teams.
WATCH: SurvivorNet’s Proprietary AI‑Powered Tool Helps Man Battling Prostate Cancer Navigate Worrying Symptoms & Next Steps In Treatment
Embedded throughout the SurvivorNet website, My Health Questions delivers structured, clinically grounded answers based on medical guidelines and expert-reviewed research. Users can type or speak their questions and receive responses tailored to their individual profiles, with suggested prompts available for anyone unsure where to start.
Designed to support both major treatment decisions and everyday concerns, the tool is backed by leading oncology specialists. Its purpose is to complement conversations with clinicians — helping patients arrive at appointments more informed, more prepared, and more confident.
As SurvivorNet expands its patient-focused resources, My Health Questions represents a major step forward in how technology can support people navigating cancer.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
