The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024 brought together ~22,000 delegates, either in San Diego or virtually. As the programme committee chairs explained in the opening plenary session, one of the main objectives of this meeting was to highlight how technological advances from the past decade are being integrated into patient care.

Promising results were presented in three clinical plenary sessions. In the phase I/II LINKER-MM1 trial, patients with multiple myeloma received the BCMA × CD3 T cell engager linvoseltamab. The objective response rate (ORR) was 71%, including complete responses in 46% of patients. Although 73% of patients had grade 3–4 infections, their frequency and severity decreased after 6 months. In the phase III COMPASSION-15 trial, addition of the PD-1 × CTLA4 bispecific antibody cadonilimab to first-line chemotherapy in patients with gastric and gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinomas improved median overall survival (15 months versus 10.8 months; HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.50–0.78; P < 0.001). Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 66% of patients. In the phase I/II PETRA trial, the novel poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1-selective inhibitor saruparib was well tolerated in patients with advanced-stage solid tumours. Some efficacy signals were detected, including an ORR of 48% in patients with breast cancer, although longer follow up is needed.