Biomedical researchers convened at China Medical University’s Shuinan Campus in Taichung, Taiwan, on November 7–8 for the 2026 International Conference on Advanced Biomedical Sciences to address persistent challenges in personalized cancer vaccines, engineered T-cell therapies, and treatment resistance.

Opening the scientific proceedings, the cancer immunology and immunometabolism session examined strategies designed to enhance tumor detection and maintain durable immune responses. Robert Schreiber of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis detailed approaches targeting neoantigens—distinct mutated proteins specific to an individual patient’s tumor—to formulate personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines tailored to individual genetic profiles.

Addressing the metabolic and environmental obstacles facing immune interventions, Sidonia Fagarasan of Kyoto University and the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences discussed how metabolic regulatory pathways govern the magnitude of endogenous anti-tumor defenses. Complementing this perspective, Philip Greenberg of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and University of Washington addressed engineered T-cell therapies, highlighting methods to sustain T-cell survival and functional capacity within hostile, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments.

Transitioning into cancer biology and translational investigations, Mien-Chie Hung delivered a report on cellular signaling networks, detailing interactions between ribonucleases and receptor tyrosine kinases and assessing the direct functional consequences of these interactions for clinical immunotherapy applications.

Addressing systemic disease consequences, Min Li of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and editor-in-chief of Cancer Letters delivered a presentation focused on pancreatic cancer cachexia. Li characterized cachexia as a syndrome defined by progressive muscle and weight loss that compromises patient stamina and treatment tolerability, emphasizing the necessity of targeting its underlying biology to preserve essential physical function.

Targeting metabolic complexes within tumor cells, Ruey-Hwa Chen of Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biological Chemistry presented research focusing on the purinosome, a multi-enzyme assembly that drives purine synthesis. Chen outlined how inhibiting or disrupting this biosynthetic complex offers a potential therapeutic pathway to increase tumor vulnerability to conventional chemotherapy while simultaneously enhancing tumor visibility to immune surveillance.

A specialized session spotlighted progress reports from the T-Star Center, an initiative backed by Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council to foster collaborative investigations among domestic research centers. Investigators Alan Yueh-Luen Lee and Cheng-Chin Kuo from Taiwan’s National Health Research Institutes linked chemotherapy resistance to metabolic adaptations: Lee illustrated how mitochondrial reactive oxygen species signaling enables malignant cells to survive cytotoxic therapy by altering redox balance and lipid metabolism, while Kuo reported that IDH1-generated α-ketoglutarate promotes paclitaxel resistance in ovarian cancer through histone demethylation coupled with AKT signaling pathway activation.

Concluding the T-Star evaluations, James Chih-Hsin Yang of National Taiwan University reviewed EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer, analyzing the dynamic evolution of tumors and their local immune environments throughout therapy to inform subsequent treatment selections after first-line targeted therapies fail.

The concluding precision medicine session highlighted epigenetic remodeling strategies by Hsing-Chen Tsai of National Taiwan University Hospital to optimize T-cell metabolism, LincRNA-p21-derived oligonucleotides by Wei-Chien Huang targeting DDB2-dependent DNA repair vulnerabilities in aggressive breast cancer, and biomarker-guided dual PI3K–mTOR inhibition outlined by Tai-Lung Cha of the National Health Research Institutes, while journal editors Priscilla N. Kelly of Science and Min Li met with early-career investigators to review peer review standards and clear scientific communication.

The international gathering brought together members of the United States National Academy of Sciences, including Robert Schreiber and Philip Greenberg, alongside academicians of Academia Sinica and participating researchers representing institutions across Japan, the United States, and Taiwan. Mien-Chie Hung, an academician of Academia Sinica and former president of China Medical University who established ICABS in 2021, formally opened the proceedings at the Shuinan Campus by acknowledging the institutional support provided by China Medical University Board Chairman Chang-Hai Tsai and President Ann-Shyn Chiang across the two-day conference program.

Robert Schreiber serves as the Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Sidonia Fagarasan holds dual appointments as professor and vice director of the Center for Cancer Immunotherapy and Immunobiology at Kyoto University and team director at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences. Philip Greenberg directs the Program in Immunology at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and serves as professor of medicine and immunology at the University of Washington, contributing perspectives on sustaining engineered T-cell activity in suppressive microenvironments.

In the translational research and cancer biology presentations, Min Li contributed expertise as George Lynn Cross Research Professor of Medicine, Surgery and Cell Biology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in addition to his editorial role at Cancer Letters, calling for a biological reassessment of pancreatic cancer cachexia to safeguard physical stamina and treatment tolerance. In parallel, Ruey-Hwa Chen, a distinguished research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biological Chemistry, detailed investigations into the purinosome as a multi-enzyme assembly responsible for purine biosynthesis, framing its disruption as a mechanism to heighten chemotherapy sensitivity and immune detection.

Collaborative research infrastructure formed the backbone of the drug resistance evaluations presented by the T-Star Center, a dedicated initiative backed by Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council to advance frontier oncology investigations through joint projects among domestic institutions. Research teams from Taiwan’s National Health Research Institutes, China Medical University, and National Taiwan University detailed adaptive mechanisms used by tumor cells to evade treatment. Alan Yueh-Luen Lee, deputy director of NHRI’s Department of Research Planning and Development and investigator at the National Institute of Cancer Research, joined Cheng-Chin Kuo, director of NHRI’s Institute of Cellular and System Medicine, in presenting findings on mitochondrial redox regulation and IDH1-mediated epigenetic resistance mechanisms.

Lu-Hai Wang leads an investigative team at China Medical University’s Chinese Medicine Research Center, developing antibody-directed strategies against exosome-borne EDIL3 in receptor-negative breast cancer. In the translational precision medicine session, Hsing-Chen Tsai contributed clinical and research perspectives as deputy director of the Center for Frontier Medicine and attending physician at National Taiwan University Hospital, while Wei-Chien Huang serves as director of China Medical University’s Cancer Biology and Precision Therapeutics Center. Addressing targeted dosing strategies, Tai-Lung Cha, director of NHRI’s National Institute of Cancer Research, described biomarker-guided dual PI3K–mTOR inhibition intended to secure therapeutic efficacy under reduced drug exposure.

Complementing the thirteen invited lectures, the conference agenda incorporated educational forums and recognitions for early-career researchers, including short platform presentations, a dedicated poster session, and outstanding abstract awards. In the Meet the Editors session, Priscilla N. Kelly, senior editor at Science, joined Min Li to examine peer review standards, manuscript originality, and clear scientific communication. China Medical University, founded in 1958 as a research-oriented institution in Taichung, maintains dedicated research priorities in oncology, neuroscience, precision medicine, artificial intelligence in healthcare, drug discovery, regenerative medicine, and Chinese medicine and natural products.

Subject of Research: Advanced biomedical research presented at ICABS 2026 on cancer immunotherapies and treatment resistance mechanisms

Article Title: Cancer vaccines, T-cell engineering and drug resistance take center stage at ICABS 2026 in Taiwan

Article References: Cancer vaccines, T-cell engineering and drug resistance take center stage at ICABS 2026 in Taiwan. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

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Keywords: ICABS 2026, cancer vaccines, T-cell engineering, drug resistance, immunotherapy, cancer cachexia, oncology, China Medical University, Cancer, vaccines, T-cell, engineering