AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR CANCER RESEARCH
Drive biomarker discovery and advance oncology research with NGS and spatial technologies
The American Association for Cancer Research® (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026 took place April 17–22 in San Diego, CA and brought together scientists, healthcare professionals, survivors, patients, and advocates to communicate the latest advances in cancer science and medicine. We discussed our latest solutions that drive biomarker discovery and advance oncology research.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by AACR.
Poster presentations
RNA isoform discovery and quantification with SMART-Seq mRNA Long Read (v1 and v2) kits
In this poster, Dr. Jackson Peterson demonstrates how SMART-Seq Long Read technology powers discovery of novel mRNA isoforms in cancer cells. By capturing full-length transcripts up to 8 kb and beyond, the SMART-Seq mRNA Long Read kit can be used to identify cancer-specific isoforms and characterize isoform switching associated with drug resistance. Additionally, updates to SMART-Seq technology expand the input range to 2 µg and generate even longer cDNAs from reverse transcription with UMI-powered accuracy. These new features make the version 2 kit an exceptional solution for long read RNA-seq due to the ability to detect the longest transcripts, the flexibility to support the widest input range, and the highest sensitivity for gene detection on the market.
Profiling histone modifications in single cells to gain insight into the effects of epigenetic drug treatment on tumor cells
With this poster, Dr. Shuwen Chen presents a novel, high-throughput single-cell CUT&Tag (scCUT&Tag) method for complex epigenetic analysis. Shasta CUT&Tag provides a high-throughput, automated approach to scCUT&Tag, enabling discovery of gene regulatory changes for heterogenous samples at single-cell resolution. The Shasta CUT&Tag method applies the Takara Bio Shasta Single Cell System in conjunction with a CUT&Tag assay to profile histone modification patterns in thousands of individual cells and characterize global, cell type-specific acetylation patterns in A549 cells following epigenetic drug treatment.
Trekker enables high-sensitivity, single-cell spatial profiling of the FFPE lung SCC tumor microenvironment without segmentation or deconvolution
With this poster, Dr. Cedric Uytingco showcases our next-generation single-cell spatial technology, Trekker FX, and its application for high-resolution spatial analysis of FFPE human carcinoma tissue. Trekker FX indexes nuclei directly within intact tissue sections and supports same-section H&E staining for histopathological correlation. The accessible workflow requires no specialized instrumentation and integrates with established single-nucleus RNA-seq protocols to generate high-sensitivity spatial and gene expression data. Learn how you can use Trekker FX to profile complex tumor ecosystems and accelerate biomarker discovery.
Cross-platform comparison of spatial transcriptomics technologies in an FFPE lung squamous cell carcinoma sample
With this poster, Dr. Bryan Bell presents a benchmarking study using a single FFPE lung squamous cell carcinoma block to evaluate Takara Bio’s Trekker spatial technology alongside Visium, Visium HD, and Xenium. Trekker technology is a new class of spatial technology—employing a unique spatial-tagging strategy that preserves the positional identity of intact nuclei, enabling true single-cell-resolution spatial profiling. Across platforms, integrated analysis showed that Trekker technology provided strong concordance with both high-resolution imaging-based signals and array-level structure while preserving the advantages of whole-transcriptome profiling from FFPE. These findings demonstrate that Trekker technology enables high-resolution, scalable, and unbiased spatial characterization of archival lung cancer tissue and complements existing spatial technologies by combining flexible FFPE compatibility with comprehensive molecular detection.
More cells. More biomarkers. More discoveries.
Want to go from sample prep through data analysis with less hands-on time and stress? Meet the Shasta Single Cell System, which helps researchers find novel biomarkers. Learn how our high-throughput Shasta technologies can inspire the next breakthrough.
Featured technologies
Trekker Single-Cell Spatial Mapping Kit
Transform standard single-cell genomics data by incorporating a simple spatial transcriptomics kit upstream of your sequencing workflow.
Long-read mRNA-seq
Generate high-quality, long-read, barcoded cDNA from 1–1,000 intact cells or 10 pg–100 ng of total RNA.
Shasta Single Cell System introduction
Explore exciting new single-cell NGS technologies to usher in an era of novel biomarker discovery.
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