Experts from NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, present their latest clinical findings and research at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, held May 29 to June 2 in Chicago.
“Our dedication to leading-edge research ensures that patients receive the most current and effective care available,” said Anirban Maitra, MD, director of Perlmutter Cancer Center. “By integrating personalized patient care with the expertise of our multidisciplinary teams, groundbreaking research, and clinical trials, we are able to offer access to the newest treatment options and advances in cancer care.”
NYU Langone Health faculty are presenting more than 20 posters and oral abstracts and leading several educational sessions at the meeting. Below is a snapshot of some of the work that will be discussed.
First Randomized Phase 3 Trial in This Rare Skin Cancer Shows Improvement in Quelling Metastasis (Abstract LBA9505)
Janice Mehnert, MD, director of the melanoma medical oncology program and associate director of clinical research at Perlmutter Cancer Center, and her team have found that patients with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare and aggressive skin cancer that carries a high risk of relapse, experienced fewer MCC-related recurrences and deaths after receiving pembrolizumab postsurgery than those who received standard care alone, supporting a potential new adjuvant treatment option for this difficult disease.
The first randomized phase 3 clinical trial, known as EA6174 or STAMP, enrolled 293 patients who’d had surgery to remove their MCC and randomly assigned them to receive either pembrolizumab every three weeks for up to 17 doses or standard care after surgery. Most participants had stage 3 disease, and researchers assessed whether pembrolizumab could affect their chances of relapse, overall survival, and other disease-specific outcomes. While the broadest relapse-free survival data showed some improvement, it did not meet statistical significance. However, pembrolizumab significantly reduced the risk of distant spread of the cancer.
Investigators also examined the role of radiation therapy in treatment outcomes. Among patients who received radiation therapy, the benefit of pembrolizumab was maintained overall. The strongest effect was seen in patients who received radiation before starting pembrolizumab: The treatment improved relapse-free and distant-metastasis-free outcomes. Pembrolizumab did not appear to improve outcomes when given concurrently with radiation.
Longer follow-up will be needed to determine the treatment’s effect on overall survival.
National Analysis Finds Income-Related Gaps in Lung Cancer Survival Have Widened Since Screening Guidelines Introduced (Abstract 8072)
A new national study suggests that while lung cancer screening has helped more patients receive earlier diagnoses and live longer, the benefits are not equal across income groups. Senior author Daniel J. Becker, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and his coauthors found that since the introduction of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lung cancer screening guidelines in 2013, patients in all income categories were more likely to be diagnosed at an earlier stage and had better survival. However, survival improvements were greater in wealthier communities, widening existing income-related disparities.
Using national cancer incidence, survival, and demographic data, investigators analyzed nearly 1 million lung cancer cases diagnosed between 2005 and 2022, comparing outcomes before screening guidelines were introduced (from 2005 to 2013) with outcomes after screening began (from 2014 to 2022). Across all county income levels, more patients were diagnosed with early-stage disease in the screening era. But the increase was smaller in the lowest-income areas than in the highest-income areas. Median survival also improved in every income group, rising by two months in the lowest-income group and by eight months in the highest-income group.
In adjusted analyses, the researchers found that the survival gap between patients living in the highest- and lowest-income counties was 12.2 percent larger in the screening era than in the years before guideline adoption. The findings suggest that although lung cancer screening is associated with meaningful population-level benefits, additional efforts are needed to make sure access to screening, early detection, and follow-up care reaches underserved communities as effectively as it reaches wealthier ones.
This study will be presented by Tyler Healy, MD, internal medicine resident at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Study Identifies New Way to Predict Outcomes in Advanced Prostate Cancer (Abstract 5074)
Researchers have developed a new model that may improve how doctors predict outcomes for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), an advanced form of prostate cancer known for its biological complexity and variable response to treatment. Investigators created a prognostic tool that outperformed several commonly used gene expression signatures in identifying higher-risk disease.
The study used data from patients in a cohort tracked by Stand Up to Cancer and applied computational methods to infer the activity of on-off switches of tumor behavior called transcriptional regulators. The resulting machine-learning model showed strong performance, suggesting that this approach may be a reliable way to classify patients according to risk. Among the most informative features were regulators and genomic alterations tied to aggressive prostate cancer biology, along with clinical factors such as prior therapy and age.
This study’s senior author is David R. Wise, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine and urology and the service chief of the genitourinary medical oncology program at Perlmutter Cancer Center. It will be presented by Aaron Griffin, MD, PhD, internal medicine resident at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
The researchers say the findings highlight the value of looking beyond standard gene expression patterns to better understand the underlying biology of advanced prostate cancer. In addition to improving prognostication, the analysis revealed distinct regulatory states associated with more aggressive and treatment-resistant disease. The authors conclude that this strategy could provide a stronger framework for risk stratification in mCRPC and may help guide future efforts to personalize treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer.
Study Links Earlier Immunotherapy Infusion Timing to Lower Recurrence Risk in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (Abstract 594)
Researchers have found that the timing of immunotherapy infusions may be associated with outcomes in patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) receiving neoadjuvant treatment. In a retrospective study of 139 patients treated with a regimen at Perlmutter Cancer Center sites, patients who received their first three immunotherapy infusions earlier in the day had a significantly lower risk of recurrence than those treated later, raising the possibility that circadian timing may affect the benefit of immune checkpoint blockade.
Corresponding author Iris Zhi, MD, PhD, medical director of clinical operations for medical oncology and interim chief of hematology and medical oncology at Perlmutter Cancer Center—Long Island, and other investigators analyzed patients treated between July 2021 and June 2025 and divided them into early and late infusion groups using the cohort’s median infusion time of 12:22 p.m. While the difference in pathologic complete response rates did not reach statistical significance, outcomes favored earlier treatment, with the total disappearance of cancer cell rates of 63 percent in the early group versus 45.2 percent in the late group. Recurrence rates were significantly lower among patients treated earlier in the day, at 3.7 percent compared with 16.1 percent in the late-treatment group, an effect driven largely by lower rates of distant recurrence.
After adjusting for baseline clinical factors, later immunotherapy timing remained associated with a markedly higher risk of distant recurrence. The authors conclude that circadian timing of immunotherapy may influence long-term outcomes beyond pathologic response, and the findings support further study of treatment timing as a potentially modifiable factor in early-stage TNBC care.
This study will be presented by lead author Xianghui Zou, MD, PhD, hematology and oncology fellow at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine.
Study Evaluates Novel CAR T-Cell Therapy for Advanced Solid Tumors (Abstract TPS2673)
Salman R. Punekar, MD, assistant professor of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, will present a study on a new type of CAR T-cell therapy for patients with advanced solid tumors in a first-in-human phase 1/2 clinical trial in progress. The study, called EVEREST-2, is testing A2B543, an investigational “logic-gated” CAR T-cell therapy designed to better distinguish cancer cells from healthy tissue by targeting tumors that express a cancer cell target called mesothelin, among other factors. The therapy also includes a booster intended to strengthen antitumor activity while reducing toxic effects.
The trial is enrolling adults with unresectable locally advanced recurrent or metastatic solid tumors, including pancreatic tumors; non-small cell lung, colorectal, ovarian, and mesothelioma tumors; and other mesothelin-expressing tumors. In the phase 1 portion, investigators are assessing safety, tolerability, and the recommended phase 2 dose, while the phase 2 portion will evaluate efficacy.
The treatment is intended to expand the potential of CAR T-cell therapy in solid tumors, where on-target, off-tumor toxicity has limited progress. Early findings from related studies have shown manageable safety and tolerability, and investigators say the EVEREST-2 trial will help determine whether this can further improve the potency and persistence of this tumor-selective platform. Enrollment is ongoing.
About NYU Langone Health
NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient Inc. has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 118 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation for four years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently ranked four of its clinical specialties No. 1 in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 320 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. The system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise.
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