ASCO 2026 — the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago, May 29 to June 2 — is the year's main venue for late-breaking oncology peptide data. Abstract titles released April 21; full abstracts publish May 21 at 5:00 PM ET.
Notable peptide-related programs slated for the meeting: Bicycle Therapeutics is presenting initial Duravelo-2 dose-selection data for nuzefatide pevedotin (BT5528) across multiple tumor types, including a Rapid Oral Abstract Session for the urothelial cohort. BriaCell will show 12- and 24-month overall survival data for Bria-IMT plus checkpoint inhibition in advanced metastatic breast cancer across three poster presentations and three publication-only abstracts. BioVaxys had its PESCO Phase 1B/2 abstract accepted for the MVP-S survivin peptide vaccine combined with pembrolizumab and cyclophosphamide in recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer.
Stories here cover the readouts and the company press releases that lead into them. See #peptide-vaccine, #peptide-drug-conjugate, and #bicycle-therapeutics for related coverage.
BriaCell's ASCO 2026 poster presentations added a biomarker finding beyond the headline 16.6-month median overall survival for Bria-IMT. In an ongoing analysis of heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer patients, 65% showed stability or a drop in Cancer-Associated Macrophage-Like cells (CAMLs) — circulating cells in the blood that reflect tumor activity — and that change significantly correlated with better progression-free survival. The CAML biomarker offers a potential early blood-based readout of Bria-IMT response, which matters for an immunotherapy where conventional imaging can lag the immune response. BriaCell's six ASCO 2026 data items (three posters, three publication-only abstracts) cover the pivotal Phase 3 Bria-ABC study of Bria-IMT plus checkpoint inhibitor plus further Phase 2 analyses. Bria-IMT is a whole-cell allogeneic peptide-and-cell immunotherapy in heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer that has failed ADC, checkpoint, and CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy. The biomarker work supports patient selection and response monitoring as the program advances toward accelerated-approval discussions.
A separate ASCO 2026 analysis examined outcomes in patients with breast cancer and co-existing obesity or type 2 diabetes who received GLP-1 receptor agonists — adding breast-cancer-specific depth to the broader GLP-1-and-cancer signal that ran through the meeting. The analysis sits alongside Abstract 3143 (the 12,112-patient study showing 38-50% lower metastatic progression across four obesity-related cancers, with breast cancer at 10% vs 20% metastasis on GLP-1 vs gliptin) and the Roswell Park aggressive-breast-cancer analysis. The consistent theme across the ASCO 2026 GLP-1 oncology slate: in obesity-related and metabolically-driven cancers, GLP-1 therapy appears associated with better outcomes, with the strongest and most mechanistically interpretable signal in breast cancer where high tumor GLP-1 receptor expression tracked with 45% lower mortality. Adverse-event rates matched the comparator groups with no increase in pancreatitis or other GLP-1-associated concerns in the cancer setting. The data is observational and not yet RCT-grade, but the breast-cancer consistency across multiple independent analyses strengthens the case for prospective study.
Mayo Clinic researchers led by Dr. Kathryn Ruddy will present a randomized Phase 2 trial of the folate receptor alpha (FRα) peptide vaccine TPIV200 in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer at ASCO 2026 (Abstract 536, June 1, 1:30-4:30 PM CDT). The trial dosed 80 patients with vaccine; 58 were evaluable for immunogenicity. The TPIV200 multi-epitope FRα peptide vaccine was found safe and immunogenic using a single low-dose injection without cyclophosphamide priming. FRα is overexpressed on the cell surface in breast, ovarian, and lung cancers, making it a shared-antigen vaccine target distinct from personalized neoantigen approaches. The data supports combining TPIV200 with an immune checkpoint inhibitor to extend recurrence-free or progression-free survival in TNBC — the breast cancer subtype with the highest mortality risk and fewest targeted-therapy options. The vaccine adds to the peptide cancer vaccine cohort (BioVaxys MVP-S, Dana-Farber NeoVax, Greenwich GP2) at ASCO 2026.
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center will present an analysis at ASCO 2026 (May 29-June 2 Chicago) by Dr. Zunairah Shah on the effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists in aggressive breast cancer. The real-world study examines whether GLP-1 therapy — widely used for glucose control and weight loss — confers additional benefit in high-risk breast cancer outcomes. The analysis joins the broader ASCO 2026 GLP-1 oncology slate, which includes Abstract 3143 (the 12,112-patient analysis showing 38-50% lower metastatic progression across four obesity-related cancers, with breast cancer showing 10% vs 20% metastasis on GLP-1 vs gliptin and 45% lower mortality with high tumor GLP-1R expression). Roswell Park also presented a companion real-world analysis on protein-energy malnutrition outcomes in metastatic TNBC (Abstract 1135). The GLP-1-and-cancer signal is one of the most-watched emerging themes at ASCO 2026, expanding the GLP-1 indication conversation beyond cardiometabolic disease.
The ASCO 2026 Annual Meeting opens tomorrow Friday May 29 at McCormick Place Chicago, running through June 2. The peptide-and-targeted-conjugate oncology slate that landed in the May 21 abstract release and the May 26 embargoed press briefing: Bicycle Therapeutics Duravelo-2 Phase 2 (zelenectide pevedotin 65% ORR / 58% BICR-confirmed in 1L urothelial, oral June 1 8:30 AM); Avacta AVA6000 FAP-Dox Phase 1a/1b in salivary gland (90% disease control); BriaCell Bria-IMT 16.6-month median OS in metastatic breast cancer; Sapience lucicebtide 28.4-month projected median PFS in glioblastoma; Corbus CRB-701 Nectin-4 ADC in HNSCC and cervical (oral May 29); Crinetics CRN09682 SSTR2 non-peptide drug conjugate BRAVESST2; Aktis AKY-2519 B7-H3 miniprotein radioconjugate; Mayo Clinic TPIV200 folate-receptor peptide vaccine in TNBC; plus the GLP-1 cancer slate (Abstract 3143, Roswell Park breast cancer). ASCO 2026 follows immediately after EASL 2026 closes May 30 — the back-to-back meeting structure makes the May 27-June 2 window the highest-density peptide-data week of 2026.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers led by David Reardon (Director, Center for Neuro-Oncology) and Catherine Wu (Chief, Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cell Therapies) presented Phase 1 data at ASCO 2026 on NeoVax — a personalized neoantigen peptide vaccine — combined with pembrolizumab in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The study excluded dexamethasone (an immune suppressant) and added pembrolizumab to enhance anti-tumor activity. Vaccine-stimulated anti-tumor activity was still evident in some patients after one year, with vaccine-specific T cells migrating into the brain and tumors following vaccination. The MGMT-methylated patient subgroup showed median survival meaningfully exceeding historical observations, though the authors emphasized this requires cautious interpretation given the lack of a randomized comparator arm. The timing of pembrolizumab administration didn't affect immune-response stimulation, but pembrolizumab-before-NeoVax-priming may extend overall survival. NeoVax adds to the personalized neoantigen vaccine cohort (BioNTech autogene cevumeran, Moderna intismeran autogene, Evaxion EVX-01) anchoring the broader peptide cancer vaccine field.
Aktis Oncology released first-in-human clinical imaging and dosimetry data on AKY-2519 ahead of ASCO 2026. AKY-2519 is a miniprotein radioconjugate — a small synthetic protein scaffold (akin to engineered peptide architecture) linked to a therapeutic radionuclide — targeting B7-H3, an antigen overexpressed in multiple solid tumors including metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and non-small cell lung cancer. The Phase 1 data demonstrated robust tumor uptake and limited normal-tissue exposure across multiple B7-H3-expressing tumor types. Two ASCO 2026 poster presentations cover the imaging and dosimetry results. The FDA cleared the IND for AKY-2519 in March 2026; a Phase 1b clinical trial in mCRPC patients is ongoing, with a second Phase 1b in various B7-H3-expressing tumor types expected to initiate in H2 2026. AKY-2519 joins Novartis's Pluvicto (PSMA-617) and Lutathera (DOTATATE) in the small but growing class of peptide-related radioconjugates with first-in-human or commercial validation.
A real-world data analysis previewed at ASCO's May 26 embargoed press briefing compared GLP-1 receptor agonists against DPP-4 inhibitors (gliptins) across 12,112 patients with seven obesity-related cancers. For four of the seven — lung, breast, colorectal, and liver — patients on GLP-1s were 38% to 50% less likely to progress to stage IV cancer than patients on gliptins. Specific metastasis rates: lung 10% (GLP-1) vs 22% (gliptin), breast 10% vs 20%, colorectal 13% vs 22%, liver 19% vs 28%. High tumor GLP-1 receptor expression was associated with a 33% lower risk of death across all seven cancer types; the association was particularly strong in breast cancer (45% lower mortality). The data reframes GLP-1 therapy as a candidate cancer-prevention modality alongside the established cardiometabolic indications. Abstract 3143 will be presented at the May 29-June 2 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.
ASCO holds its embargoed virtual press briefing for credentialed media today Tuesday May 26 from 3:30-5:00 PM ET. The briefing previews Late-Breaking Abstracts (LBAs) being presented Saturday May 30 at the Annual Meeting opening Friday May 29 in Chicago. LBA embargoes lift at 7:00 AM CT / 8:00 AM ET on the day of scientific presentation. Notable previewed material includes Abstract 3143 (the 12,112-patient real-world GLP-1 cancer metastasis analysis), the ARACOG (AFT-47) randomized clinical trial on cognitive effects of darolutamide vs enzalutamide, and additional peptide-oncology data from the previously-announced cohort. The May 26 briefing is the first formal media-access opportunity for LBA data and feeds directly into Wednesday-Thursday cycle press coverage that bridges into the meeting opening Friday.
Sapience Therapeutics' May 21 ASCO 2026 data update on lucicebtide (ST101) — a first-in-class C/EBPβ peptide antagonist — included a specific data point worth surfacing for the Tuesday cycle. In the Phase 2 Window-of-Opportunity study (n=9 evaluable as of April 27 data cutoff), patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (ndGBM) treated with lucicebtide plus standard-of-care chemoradiation achieved a projected median progression-free survival of 28.4 months — meaningfully exceeding the 4.0-6.9 month historic benchmark range. Six of nine patients remain alive past 22.3 months against a historical median OS range of 14.6-17.0 months. Median overall survival has not yet been reached. Lucicebtide crossed the blood-brain barrier with confirmed tumor uptake and target engagement via negative enrichment of the C/EBPβ regulon in tumor and myeloid cells. The poster session is scheduled for Monday June 1.
Monday May 25 is the US Memorial Day federal holiday; SEC filings, FDA actions, US company press releases pause for the day. The week's news cycle picks up Tuesday with ASCO's embargoed virtual press briefing for credentialed media (a preview of Late-Breaking Abstracts ahead of the May 29 Annual Meeting opening in Chicago) and Wednesday with EASL 2026's opening in Barcelona. The combined Tuesday-Wednesday cycle delivers the most concentrated peptide-mechanism data of any week in 2026 — Altimmune pemvidutide IMPACT MASH, Novo Nordisk ESSENCE liver safety, Madrigal Rezdiffra portal hypertension data, Eli Lilly retatrutide MASLD Phase 3 status, and Boehringer survodutide SYNCHRONIZE-1 preview at EASL plus the peptide-oncology cohort at ASCO (Bicycle, Avacta, BriaCell, BioVaxys, Crinetics, Sapience, Corbus). The Hepcludex approval Friday plus the EASL plus ASCO double-meeting structure makes this the highest-volume peptide-news week of 2026 to date.
ASCO will hold an embargoed virtual press briefing for credentialed media on Tuesday May 26 to preview Late-Breaking Abstracts being presented during the Annual Meeting that opens Friday May 29 in Chicago. Late-Breaking Abstracts are submitted after the standard abstract deadline and contain data that would not have been available at the regular submission cycle — typically the highest-impact data of the meeting. The briefing covers presentations across the full ASCO program including the peptide-oncology slate that landed in the May 21 abstract release: Bicycle Therapeutics' Duravelo-2 Phase 2 (65% ORR/58% BICR-confirmed), Avacta's AVA6000 Phase 1a/1b in salivary gland cancer (90% disease control rate), Sapience Therapeutics' lucicebtide Phase 2 GBM, BriaCell's Bria-IMT 16.6-month Phase 2 OS, Corbus Pharmaceuticals' CRB-701 Nectin-4 ADC, and Crinetics' CRN09682 SSTR2 NDC BRAVESST2. The May 26 embargo lifts late afternoon to feed press coverage into the Wednesday-Thursday cycle.
The Memorial Day week landing pad in the medical-conference calendar is unusually peptide-heavy. Monday May 25 is the US Memorial Day federal holiday. EASL 2026 (European Association for the Study of the Liver) opens Wednesday May 27 in Barcelona running through Saturday May 30, with Novo Nordisk's ESSENCE Phase 3 liver-safety analyses, Eli Lilly's retatrutide MASLD Phase 3 enrollment status, Boehringer survodutide SYNCHRONIZE-1 forward-look, and MetaVia vanoglipel + resmetirom MASH preclinical work anchoring the peptide-relevant program. ASCO 2026 (American Society of Clinical Oncology) opens Friday May 29 in Chicago running through Tuesday June 2 with the peptide-oncology slate landing across all five days. Combined, the two meetings concentrate the most peptide-mechanism data of any week in 2026 — MASH plus oncology back-to-back. Practitioner press will be split across the two meetings.
Sapience Therapeutics announced May 22 positive Phase 2 clinical and pharmacodynamic data update from its lucicebtide (ST101) trial in glioblastoma ahead of the ASCO 2026 Annual Meeting (May 29-June 2 Chicago). The Phase 2 Window-of-Opportunity study evaluates lucicebtide alone and in combination with standard-of-care chemoradiation, with dosing both before and after surgical resection. Nine patients were evaluable for analysis; the maturing data show durable progression-free and overall-survival improvements with a well-tolerated safety profile. Lucicebtide is a first-in-class peptide antagonist of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ) — a transcription factor that drives tumor aggressiveness, immune evasion, and stemness in glioblastoma. The 125-patient program across recurrent GBM monotherapy and newly diagnosed combination cohorts is the largest peptide-mechanism dataset in GBM to date. The Monday June 1 poster session details the efficacy, pharmacodynamics, and safety in newly-diagnosed patients.
Corbus Pharmaceuticals announced ASCO 2026 abstracts featuring updated clinical data from the Phase 1/2 study of CRB-701 (SYS6002), a next-generation antibody-drug conjugate targeting Nectin-4. The oral presentation in cervical cancer is scheduled for Thursday May 29 at 4:57 PM CDT; the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) poster on Friday May 30 at 4:30 PM CDT. The data will include clinical response durability and HNSCC patient-subgroup analysis. Corbus reached broad alignment with the FDA on registrational-study designs in second-line HNSCC and cervical cancer, enabling potential accelerated approval based on objective response rate and full approval on overall survival. The company expects to initiate a registrational study for CRB-701 in second-line HNSCC mid-2026. CRB-701 targets the same Nectin-4 antigen as enfortumab vedotin (Padcev) and Bicycle Therapeutics' zelenectide pevedotin — the second-line HNSCC opportunity is the segment where the three programs will compete most directly.
ASCO 2026 in Chicago opens Friday May 29 with the peptide-oncology calendar now fully fixed. Thursday May 29 4:57 PM CDT: Corbus CRB-701 Nectin-4 ADC oral session in cervical cancer. Friday May 30 4:30 PM CDT: Corbus CRB-701 HNSCC poster. Saturday May 30: BriaCell Bria-IMT three posters in metastatic breast cancer. Sunday May 31: Bicycle Therapeutics zelenectide pevedotin Phase 1 Duravelo-1 monotherapy update poster; Avacta AVA6000 FAP-Dox Phase 1a/1b in salivary gland cancers poster session. Monday June 1 8:30-8:36 AM CT: Bicycle Therapeutics Duravelo-2 oral abstract (Abstract 4516). Monday June 1: Sapience Therapeutics lucicebtide poster session for newly-diagnosed GBM. The peptide-oncology cohort is the largest single-meeting concentration of peptide-mechanism oncology data in recent ASCO history.
Bicycle Therapeutics' formal post-ASCO 2026 press release Friday morning specified the headline Phase 2 numbers from yesterday's abstract release. In the Duravelo-2 combination cohort, the optimal zelenectide dose plus pembrolizumab 200 mg every three weeks produced 65% ORR (17/26 evaluable patients) regardless of confirmation, with 58% BICR-confirmed ORR (15/26) at the 27-week cutoff in previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. An additional confirmed BICR response observed after the cutoff would bring the rate to 62%. The trial tested two dose schedules: 5 mg/m² weekly and 6 mg/m² two-weeks-on-one-week-off; the optimal dose moves forward in the Phase 3 expansion. Treatment retention was high and dose-limiting adverse events limited. The 65% Phase 2 ORR matches the 65% Phase 1 Duravelo-1 ORR (13/20) — pharmacology consistency across two different patient populations, an unusual durability signal for a peptide-drug conjugate.
BriaCell's formal post-ASCO 2026 press release Friday morning specified the headline number from yesterday's abstract release. Final Phase 2 median overall survival with Bria-IMT plus checkpoint inhibitor reached 16.6 months in heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer patients using the Phase 3 formulation — a substantial improvement over historical post-ADC, post-CPI, post-CDK4/6-failure populations where median OS typically runs 8-10 months. The release also specified positive quality-of-life data from the ongoing Phase 3 study and biomarker analyses confirming the predictors of anti-cancer response observed in Phase 2 carry forward into the Phase 3 cohort. The three poster presentations plus three publication-only abstracts at ASCO 2026 (May 29-June 2) will detail 12- and 24-month survival, treatment tolerability, and circulating-tumor-cell biomarker work. The 16.6-month median OS sets the bar BriaCell needs to clear or beat in the ongoing Phase 3 to support its accelerated approval ambitions.