TargetCancer Foundation’s (TCF) supporters and partners came together in meaningful ways in 2025, illustrating the strength and power of the rare cancer community — one that is accustomed to rising above challenges and obstacles. Our 16th year was a year of growth and expansion in every area of our work. It is only through your support and participation that TCF can ensure that patients and families with rare cancers are never left behind.
A Founding Vision Becomes Reality
A fundamental goal was reached in 2025 with the global launch of the Cholangiocarcinoma Cell Line Atlas, fulfilling TCF founder Paul Poth’s original mission. After 15 years and more than $1.1 million in research funding through our partnership with The Bardeesy Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers worldwide can now access data from more than 60 biliary tract cancer cell lines.
The research, published in Cancer Discovery, identified two distinct subtypes of cholangiocarcinoma and potential drug targets, paving the way for more personalized treatments for cholangiocarcinoma patients. We are enormously grateful to Dr. Bardeesy and the support of the TCF community who helped us realize this important goal.
The Cholangiocarcinoma Cell Line Atlas was published by Dr. Nabeel Bardeesy in Cancer Discovery.
2025 Boston Marathon
In April, the largest team in TCF history ran the 129th Boston Marathon® presented by Bank of America. Twelve runners from across the United States and Canada raised more than $145,000, bringing our Team TCF cumulative total since 2015 to $800,000! We are so proud and grateful to all of them and can’t wait to cheer on Team TCF 2026 on April 20.
A Night to Strike Out Rare Cancer
In May, we held A Night to Strike Out Rare Cancer at Fenway Park. This new event brought together over 400 guests to fundraise and celebrate TCF’s programs while watching the Red Sox win on a beautiful spring night. We were especially grateful to MLB veteran pitcher Rich Hill for inspiring us through sharing his personal experience with rare disease.
(L-R): Members of the Team TargetCancer Foundation 2025; A Night to Strike Out Rare Cancer’s featured speaker Rich Hill and host Vanessa Welch, with TCF staff and board members at Fenway Park.
ASCO Educational Book Publication
We were thrilled with the publication in May of “Designing Clinical Trials for Patients with Rare Cancers: Connecting the Zebras.” This ASCO Educational Book, which included TCF-001 TRACK Principal Investigator Dr. Razelle Kurzrock, Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Vivek Subbiah, and TCF CEO Jim Palma as authors, was highlighted as one of the 10 most cited publications from the 2025 ASCO Educational Book series.
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting
In June, a team of staff and volunteers represented TCF at the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago. This meeting gathers over 40,000 oncology professionals worldwide. We also hosted our first booth in the ASCO Exhibit Hall, allowing us to present our work to thousands of attendees.
(L-R) The TCF booth at the 2025 ASCO Annual meeting; the ASCO Educational Book publication.
Paying With Our Lives: Save Rare Cancer Research Advocacy Campaign
In response to concerns from patients, advocates, and researchers about the federal funding cuts to medical research, TCF launched the Paying With Our Lives: Save Rare Cancer Research advocacy campaign in July. The campaign includes a toolkit of resources to support participation, as well as the 50 Stories From 50 States initiative to elevate and share the personal impact of these devastating cuts.
Rare Cancer Day
We put our advocacy tools into action on September 30 for Rare Cancer Day. TCF is proud to be part of a working group that secured the adoption of a Congressional Resolution recognizing September 30 as Rare Cancer Day. In addition, the TCF team traveled to Washington, DC, to meet with legislators and to educate them about the critical need to restore and retain funding for rare cancer research. We look forward to expanding these advocacy efforts in 2026.
(L-R): A 50 Stories From 50 States participant; Rare Cancer Day activities in Washington, DC.
Think Tank on Advancing Precision Medicine in Rare Cancers
On October 29, the Think Tank on Advancing Precision Medicine in Rare Cancers brought together leaders from top academic and medical institutions worldwide, advocacy partners, patients, journal editors, and industry partners. This year’s meeting was particularly meaningful as we showcased four early-career investigators through abstract and poster presentations, highlighting the next generation of rare cancer scientists.
The collaborative discussions focused on the questions, ideas, and identification of challenges, all while keeping rare cancers at the center of the discussion. Many of the sessions are now available for viewing on our website.
Industry Roundtable
The next day, TCF hosted its Industry Roundtable, uniting industry partners in rare cancer and tissue-agnostic drug development for an impactful forum that addressed common challenges and identified areas for collaboration. The meeting focused on TCF’s advocacy efforts for developing tissue-agnostic clinical treatment guidelines, as well as the current political and regulatory environment and its impact on the development and approval of rare cancer and tissue-agnostic treatments.
(L-R): The 2025 Think Tank on Advancing Precision Medicine in Rare Cancer Patient Keynote; the 2025 Industry Roundtable participants.
New Educational Resources
In order to provide reliable information to patients and families facing rare cancers, TCF has developed rare cancer educational resources on important topics including What Is a Rare Cancer, Initial Steps After Diagnosis, and Biomarker Testing. We were proud to add two new resources in 2025 entitled Tissue Agnostic Therapies in Rare Cancers and Rare Cancer Treatments.
TCF-001 TRACK Clinical Trial
Our TCF-001 TRACK clinical trial reached an important research milestone, enrolling 255 rare cancer patients from 44 states with more than 65 different rare cancers.
The study continues to enroll towards our goal of 400 patients.
(L-R): Snapshots from the two new patient educational resources released in 2025; TCF-001 TRACK continues advancing towards its enrollment goal.
We are grateful for the TCF community and are looking forward to what is to come in 2026!