Forging New Pathways in Oncology: Strategic Insights from the 17th Annual Frontiers in Cancer Science Conference
The 17th Annual Frontiers in Cancer Science (FCS) conference (2025) highlighted the convergence of multiomics, computational biology, and ancestry-specific genomics to advance proactive cancer care. Key insights included the role of epigenetic plasticity in maintaining tumor-propagating states and the identification of metabolic vulnerabilities, such as the WNK1-mTORC1 axis in leukemia and MAF-driven glutamine metabolism in myeloma. The meeting underscored the systemic nature of cancer, detailing how "cancer-educated" neutrophils prime premetastatic niches and how spatial exclusion mechanisms hinder immunotherapy. Breakthroughs in therapeutic engineering were showcased, including CD7-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cells and irreversible KRASG12C inhibitors. A critical focus remained on precision oncology for diverse populations, advocating for ancestry-aware datasets and long-read sequencing to address genomic disparities in Asian cohorts. Furthermore, the integration of artificial intelligence-driven "fragmentomics" and machine learning offers new pathways for early detection and tracking disease lethality. Collectively, FCS 2025 demonstrated that the future of oncology lies in integrating high-resolution disease models with robust data science to transition from reactive treatment to personalized, interceptive management.
Authors
- Sanjay De Mel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8881-3537)
- Sasidharan Swarnalatha Lucky (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1080-9308)
- N. Gopalakrishna Iyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8812-6219)
- Yilong Zhou
- Koji Itahana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7241-2894)
- Kristijan Ramadan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5522-021X)
- Reshma Taneja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6214-6177)
- S. Tiong Ong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9460-3483)
- Dachuan Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7518-4081)
- Anthony Khong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4293-8879)
- Soo Chin Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5835-6419)
- Wee‐Wei Tee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4952-6567)
- Kanaga Sabapathy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4346-7386)
- Choon Kiat Ong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6402-4288)
- Derrick Sek Tong Ong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7529-3790)
- Wai Leong Tam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2365-5264)
- Le Minh Giang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2385-5362)
- Zhong Yi Yeow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0755-3163)
Institutions
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG)
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Singapore General Hospital (SG)
- SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (SG)
- National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (SG)
- Duke-NUS Medical School (SG)
- National Neuroscience Institute (SG)
- National Cancer Centre Singapore (SG)
- National University Health System (SG)
- Institutul Clinic Fundeni (RO)
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (SG)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cancer Research
- Published
- 2026-07-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.can-26-1788
- Primary Topic
- Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00