A second plenary session spotlighted global cancer care, highlighting rising cancer rates and the disproportionate impact on LMICs, where only about 5% of cancer funding reaches the region, and calling for standardizing treatment, expanding prevention (including HPV vaccination and screening), and addressing funding cuts and resource disparities.

Global oncology disparities were underscored, noting that LMICs bear more than 70% of cancer deaths yet receive less than 5% of funding, prompting collaboration, resource optimization, and harmonized guidelines with examples like the African Cancer Coalition and regional guideline initiatives in MENA.

The conference featured more than 300 original research abstracts across topics such as bioinformatics, clinical oncology, epidemiology, and quality improvement, with poster tours and talks on equity in care and precision oncology.

NCCN is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers focused on patient care, research, education, and global initiatives, with NCCN Guidelines and NCCN Guidelines for Patients serving as core resources.

Panelists praised global collaborations like the International Adaptations of the NCCN Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa and NCCN Guidelines MENA Editions as exemplars of regional guideline adaptation and partnerships.

Awards and talks from Young Investigator Award recipients covered precision oncology, including osteosarcoma and T-cell repertoire studies in melanoma, among other topics.

Collaborations such as the International Adaptations of the NCCN Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa and NCCN Guidelines MENA Editions were highlighted as models of adapting guidelines for regional needs and global partnerships.

Next year’s NCCN Annual Conference will take place in San Diego, California, from March 19 to 23, 2027, inviting continued global collaboration in cancer care.

The 2026 NCCN Annual Conference in Orlando brought together over a thousand oncology professionals, including many virtual attendees, to discuss advances in cancer research, clinical guidelines updates, operations, and care-delivery policy issues.

Clinical guideline updates spanned gastrointestinal, genitourinary, gynecologic, hematologic, and dermatologic cancers, with discussions on immune checkpoint inhibitor toxicities and AI’s role in predictive analytics and decision support.

Operational and technological improvements were discussed, including the heavy demand for NCCN Guidelines with millions of downloads annually, and the potential of advanced EHRs, AI governance, and inter-institutional collaboration to streamline workflows.

NCCN Guidelines for Adolescents and Young Adults were highlighted as a key resource for addressing the needs of younger patients throughout care.