Based on the results of the nonrandomized multicenter phase II VERSATILE-002 trial reported in JAMA Oncology, a regimen adding the human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16)-targeted immunotherapy PDS0101 to pembrolizumab demonstrated antitumor activity in immune checkpoint inhibitor–naive patients with recurrent or metastatic HPV16-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Weiss et al also reported a manageable safety profile.

Patients preparing for pancreatic cancer surgery maintained better physical function and experienced less fatigue with 5 treatments of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) than with 28 treatments of conventional radiation therapy given with chemotherapy, according to findings of a randomized phase II clinical trial. Rates of cancer remaining in the lymph nodes after preoperative treatment, the trial’s primary endpoint, did not differ significantly between the groups. Results were presented at the 2026 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract LBA 08).

Adding venetoclax to dose-adjusted EPOCH-R (DA-EPOCH-R) did not improve progression-free survival and resulted in excess toxicity and mortality among patients with newly diagnosed double-hit lymphoma, prompting early closure of the double-hit lymphoma cohort of the randomized ALLIANCE A051701 trial. Results reported by Abramson et al were published in The Lancet Haematology.

A multi-cancer early detection test named Galleri from the health-care company GRAIL received a favorable vote from the Molecular and Clinical Genetics Devices Panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Medical Devices Advisory Committee. The Committee voted for approval of the premarket approval application for the early detection test, according to a statement released by the company.