E-News - February 2026
Spotlight on Alliance Trials
Upcoming Alliance Webinar Highlights Latest Cancer Treatment Advances
March 16 event features researchers, patient advocates highlighting key findings published recently
The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology will host a free, public webinar on Monday, March 16, 2026, from 1 pm to 2 pm CT showcasing key cancer research from Alliance investigators presented at the 2025 American Society of Hematology (ASH) and the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) meetings. The virtual meeting will highlight recent clinical advances impacting treatment for people living with breast cancer, multiple myeloma, and leukemia.
“We are excited to raise awareness of the ground-breaking research that Alliance researchers presented at ASH and SABCS,” said Evanthia Galanis, MD, Group Chair of the Alliance, Sandra J. Schulze Professor of Novel Therapeutics and Professor of Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “Supported by funding from the National Cancer Institute and with the momentum from industry collaborations, we’re able to advance discoveries and make meaningful improvements in cancer care for the benefit of patients everywhere."
“Clinical trials conducted by Alliance researchers have meaningfully shaped cancer care, often resulting in new standards of treatment and expanding our knowledge of cancer biology,” said Olwen Hahn, MD, Director and Principal Investigator of the Alliance Central Protocol Operations Program and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “Our panel of investigators will explain how the latest research results are impacting cancer care. We are also proud to have patient advocates join our panel to help explain the significance of the findings for people living with cancer and their loved ones.”
Panelists include:
- A. Marilyn Leitch, MD, UT Southwestern Medical Center: Dr. Leitch will present the results of the ALTERNATE trial (Alliance A011106), a randomized phase III study of neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (hormone targeting medicine) in postmenopausal women with clinical stage II/III breast cancer.
- Andrew Yee, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital: Dr. Yee will discuss the results of AFT-41, a randomized phase II study of daratumumab (immunotherapy), lenalidomide (immunomodulatory drug), ixazomib (cancer medication) and dexamethasone (steroid) in transplant-ineligible or deferred patients with multiple myeloma.
- Otto Metzger, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Dr. Metzger will discuss the central nervous system outcomes from the phase III PATINA trial (AFT-38), a randomized, open label clinical study on the use of palbociclib (cancer growth blocker) for metastatic breast cancer.
- Matthew J. Wieduwilt, MD, Wake Forest School of Medicine: Dr. Wieduwilt will present the results of Alliance A041703, a phase II trial using inotuzumab ozogamicin (targeted therapy) then blinatumomab (immunotherapy) for older adults with newly diagnosed, Ph-negative, CD22-positive, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
In addition to the investigators, patient advocates from the Alliance Patient Advocate Committee will join the panel to comment specifically on the importance of each trial and provide insight into the patient’s perspective.
The event is free and open to the public. Register today.
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The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology is a national leader in advancing cancer research, uniting more than 25,000 cancer specialists at 115 main institutions and 1,400 affiliates across the U.S. and Canada. As part of the National Clinical Trials Network and a leading research base for the NCI Community Oncology Research Program, the Alliance conducts pioneering, practice-changing clinical trials that improve outcomes and reshape standards of care. Our work has led to multiple FDA approvals, influenced national guidelines, and produced hundreds of high-impact publications. More than 40,000 participants have taken part in Alliance studies, and our growing biospecimen repository now includes more than 1.5 million samples, collected over the past 30 years. Learn more at www.AllianceforClinicalTrialsinOncology.org.
