In the span of a single year, the FDA approved ten molecularly targeted cancer therapies — each one designed not to overwhelm the body, but to find and dismantle the specific molecular machinery driving a patient's disease. The 2026 AACR Cancer Progress Report frames this acceleration against a sobering horizon: over 626,000 projected American deaths this year, and a cancer burden expected to grow nearly a fifth by 2050. Among the approvals stands vepdegestrant, the first drug of an entirely new class — PROTACs — that commandeers the cell's own disposal system to eliminate cancerous proteins,
AACR Report: FDA Approves 10 Targeted Cancer Therapies in 12 Months
Over 626,000 cancer deaths projected in the United States in 2026; disparities in access to targeted therapies and diagnostics limit treatment benefits for certain populations.