Priming Hematology/Oncology Fellows for the 2026 Meeting Season

Hello and welcome to the annual meeting season!

As you are likely aware, the 2026 AACR Annual Meeting and ASCO Annual Meeting take place this spring, with the 2026 ASH Annual Meeting being held in December.As a fellow, I attended several of these but ultimately decided that ASCO is my “home meeting.”However, the meeting is large and can be overwhelming. I want to share some tips that I have learned to help get the most from the meeting in terms of personal engagement and education.

The meeting can be divided up into different “tracks”. Tracks are a comprehensive itinerary through a given content area. The areas can be specific malignancies, such as breast or lung cancer, professional development/ medical education, palliative care, and developmental therapeutics, among others. Different meeting types can be found within each track as follows:  

The Educational Sessions are 30,000-foot views of key topics. Think of these as review sessions with some new data included as warranted. As a fellow, I found these sessions incredibly helpful and prevented me from wading too far “into the weeds” of new information. Pro-tip: These lectures are foundational.

Although not track-specific, the Educational Session category also includes one of my favorite offerings, ASCO Voices, which focuses on the human experience of the oncologist, caregiver, or patient. 

Research is presented in several formats. The Plenary Session includes practice changing abstracts that are predicted to have the most impact. Unlike the other sessions described, only a few topics will be highlighted. This session is very large and can be viewed in person or on screens in multiple settings within the conference center. Pro-tip: If you are cold-natured, bring something to keep you warm as this room is always chilly.

The Oral Abstracts Discussion generally highlights the most impactful research abstracts within a given topic. The lead author of each abstract will concisely present the findings and then a discussant will summarize the key points from each abstract and discuss how they are practice changing.A key point to remember is that any discussion session, whether oral abstract or poster discussion, have affiliated posters that will be viewable in the Exhibition Hall.

The Poster Discussion session is similar to the oral abstract discussion, but the abstracts cover more emerging, often less mature research that is still very compelling in a given topic area. For example, the research presented may be a trial with small patient numbers or an early phase trial, for which the potential impact of data is important.

The Clinical Science Symposium is a hybrid of sorts. This type of session can be thought of as a foundational educational session for a given research area.

Although not a didactic format, the poster display sessions are a fantastic opportunity to present research, case studies, etc. Posters are set up in the Exhibit Hall on a given day for a given topic and participants walk the rows, reading the posters and networking. See “poster walks” below.

Workshops

A relatively new offering is in-person, small group workshops on topics such as “how to publish a peer reviewed manuscript” or “genomics 101 for the medical oncologist.” Space is usually limited and may require registration. Pro-tip: This is a great opportunity for small group networking and identifying people who may be part of your mentorship team.

Lounges

Over the years, ASCO has recognized the importance of oncology affinity/interest groups such as trainees, women, and international oncologists, among others. To that end, there are several lounges that provide a place for gathering, discussion, informal programming, and networking. Each lounge focuses largely on professional development topics. Additionally, the trainee lounge often hosts “highlights of the day” sessions and guided poster walks which are conducted by lead investigators in the field. Pro-tip: The lounge is a respite from the craziness of the meeting, a place to unwind. It is also a great place for networking.

I highly recommend perusing the program in advance in order to plan your best experience.