AACR Editors' Picks: CAR-T Therapy Advances and Neuron-Tumor Crosstalk in Pancreatic Cancer Highlighted

On May 28, 2026, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) published its monthly Editors' Picks featuring two high-priority research directions: new insights into CAR-T cell therapy enhancement mechanisms, and emerging science on neuron-tumor crosstalk in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The CAR-T research highlighted advances in CD28 co-stimulation domain engineering that improve CAR-T persistence and overcome T-cell exhaustion in hematologic malignancies — a critical limitation affecting durability of responses after initial CAR-T treatment. The neuron-tumor crosstalk work illuminates how pancreatic tumors co-opt neural inputs from the autonomic nervous system to drive tumor growth and immune evasion, suggesting that anti-neurogenic therapies combined with immunotherapy could improve outcomes in one of oncology's hardest-to-treat cancers. Separately, the AACR Editors' Picks publication coincides with pre-ASCO 2026 anticipation around the daraxonrasib (RMC-6236) Phase 3 RASolute 302 pancreatic cancer plenary scheduled for May 31 — the first KRAS/RAS-targeted agent to show unprecedented survival in metastatic PDAC. These findings contribute to a growing mechanistic understanding of pancreatic cancer vulnerabilities ahead of the ASCO 2026 annual meeting opening the next day in Chicago.