Coalition to Accelerate Early Detection of Deadly Cancers

While cancer mortality rates in the United States have steadily declined over recent decades, a group of recalcitrant cancers remains stubbornly lethal. For diseases like pancreatic, ovarian, and upper GI cancers, the primary barrier to survival is not just the biology of the tumor, but the timing of the diagnosis.

To combat this pressing issue, the Lustgarten Foundation, in partnership with The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), Break Through Cancer, and The Honorable Tina Brozman Foundation (Tina’s Wish), has launched a new coalition committed to solving one of the most urgent challenges in cancer care: detecting deadly cancers earlier, before symptoms appear and treatment options narrow. The coalition will invest in highly collaborative research teams developing new approaches to the early detection and diagnosis of pancreatic, ovarian, and esophageal cancers, as well as cancer predisposition syndromes.

These cancers are among the hardest to detect early—and the most lethal as a result.

WHY EARLY DETECTION MATTERS

Pancreatic, ovarian, and esophageal cancers often grow silently in their earliest stages. By the time symptoms appear, disease has frequently spread, limiting treatment options and contributing to persistently low survival rates.

For pancreatic cancer in particular, the stakes could not be higher. The five-year survival rate remains just 13%, largely because most patients are diagnosed too late.

Existing screening tools have not been sufficient. Meaningful progress will require new biological insights, advanced technologies, and unprecedented collaboration across disciplines—exactly what this coalition was built to deliver.

A NEW MODEL FOR PROGRESS

This initiative represents a shift in how early detection research is funded and advanced. Rather than working in silos, the coalition aligns strategy, funding, and expertise to accelerate solutions no single organization could achieve alone.

The effort builds on a scientific workshop convened in early 2025 by AACR, the Lustgarten Foundation, and The Mark Foundation, which brought together researchers from around the world to identify the most pressing gaps—and the most promising opportunities—in early detection science.

Together, the coalition is creating a global early detection ecosystem designed to move discoveries faster from the lab toward patients.

“Pancreatic cancer alone has a five-year survival rate of just 13%, largely due to late detection,” said Linda Tantawi, CEO of the Lustgarten Foundation. “Early detection research is a promising frontier that could give doctors and patients the time and options they need to drastically improve outcomes for some of the deadliest cancers.”

FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS

The coalition has awarded up to $2 million each to six collaborative research teams tackling critical barriers to early cancer detection, including two projects with a strong focus on KRAS-driven cancers, a hallmark of pancreatic cancer:

Programmable Recognition of KRAS Neoantigens for Early Cancer Diagnostics Across Patients
Nikolaos G. Sgourakis, PhD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania; Mark A. Sellmyer, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania; Possu Huang, PhD, Stanford University

Detection and Interception of KRAS-mutant Pancreatic Cancer Using Small Molecule RAS(ON) Inhibitors
Brian M. Wolpin, MD, MPH, and Andrew J. Aguirre, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Julie L. Sutcliffe, PhD, University of California, Davis; Laura D. Wood, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University

Towards a Unified Platform for Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Cancer Risk Prediction and Cell-free DNA Surveillance
Trevor J. Pugh, PhD, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research; Brian D. Crompton, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Paul A. Northcott, PhD, St. Jude Children’s Hospital; Kara N. Maxwell, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Digital Pathology Diagnostics for Robust Stratification of Esophageal Cancer Risk
Christina Curtis, PhD, and Greg Charville, MD, PhD, Stanford University; William M. Grady, MD, University of Washington; Rebecca Fitzgerald, MD, University of Cambridge

Molecular Profiling of Ovarian Cancer Precursors to Transform Early Detection and Precancer Stratification
Peter K. Sorger, PhD, David R. Walt, PhD, and Sandro Santagata, MD, PhD, Harvard University; Ronny I. Drapkin, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Harnessing Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) and Aneuploidy Signals in Plasma Whole Genome for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer
Dan Landau, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine; Ronny I. Drapkin, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania; Paul S. Mischel, MD, FAACR, Stanford University; Adam Widman, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Additional funded projects address ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, and inherited cancer risk syndromes using approaches such as digital pathology, whole-genome plasma analysis, and molecular profiling of cancer precursors.

LOOKING AHEAD

At the Lustgarten Foundation, we believe time is everything—and early detection has the power to give patients more of it.

By joining forces with visionary partners and supporting bold, high-risk science, this coalition aims to change what’s possible for patients facing cancers that have gone undetected for far too long.

Learn more about the coalition and funded projects here.