NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer: 2026 Annual Principal Investigator (PI) Meeting
In March 2026, NCI convened its annual PI meeting of the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer. More than 120 participants attended to assess research progress, strengthen collaborations, and align ongoing efforts with NCI priorities in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The virtual meeting highlighted advances in cancer nanotechnology-driven approaches with clear translational potential.
Key Highlights
• Advancing cancer immunotherapy: Novel nanoparticle-enabled strategies—including neoantigen mRNA platforms, in situ vaccination, and immune-modulating nanocarriers—demonstrated the ability to enhance antitumor immunity and overcome immune suppression.
• Addressing delivery challenges in solid tumors: Innovative approaches targeting stromal and microenvironmental barriers, particularly in pancreatic cancer, showed improved delivery, tumor penetration, and therapeutic response for nanoparticle-based strategies.
• Enabling combination therapies: Nanotechnology platforms were leveraged to integrate chemotherapy, radiation, checkpoint blockade, and cell therapies, improving efficacy while reducing systemic toxicity.
• Innovative platforms and tools: Advances in engineered biomaterials, sensing technologies, and imaging modalities are expanding capabilities for targeted delivery, real-time immune monitoring, and precision diagnostics.
Areas of Scientific Interest, Impact, and Relevance to NCI’s Mission
The research presented underscores the strong scientific progress, emerging early-stage innovation, and growing translational momentum across the Nano Alliance portfolio. A sample of the topics presented include:
• Overcoming immune resistance in pancreatic cancer
• The use of AI platforms in immunotherapy
• Radiosensitizing nanoparticles in pancreatic cancer
• Innovative platforms for cancer vaccines
• Novel imaging platforms
• Biosensing to monitor immune response
These research areas reinforce the critical role of nanotechnology in advancing precision oncology, through earlier detection, improved targeting, enhanced immune activation, and more effective treatment monitoring. These efforts directly support NCI priorities in translational science, cancer immunotherapy, and imaging, with the potential to improve outcomes in hard-to-treat cancers.
Staff within the Nanodelivery Systems and Devices Branch within DCTD’s Cancer Imaging Program organized this meeting.