CONGRESS NEWS

Highlights in respiratory oncology

At ESMO 2020, again many interesting studies in the field of respiratory oncology were presented. For non-metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there was a focus on neoadjuvant immunotherapy, adjuvant treatment with osimertinib and post-operative conformal radiotherapy. When addressing metastatic NSCLC, much attention went to combination strategies such as combining EGFR and VEGF inhibitors, an EGFR-MET antibody plus a tyrosine kinase inhibitor or VEGF and PD-1 inhibitor combinations. In addition, the question was raised on whether immunotherapy can cure metastatic NSCLC. Finally, this overview will describe important results in the field of non-metastatic and metastatic small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Highlights in breast cancer

During the 2020 Virtual ESMO meeting, long-awaited results were presented of several important breast cancer studies. For hormone receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer, ESMO 2020 featured conflicting results on the use of CDK4/6 inhibitors in the adjuvant treatment of patients with hormone-receptor positive (HR+) early breast cancer. In HR+ metastatic breast cancer, final overall survival data were presented of the SOLAR-1 trial evaluating alpelisib in PIK3CA mutant patients. In triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), new data on immune therapy were presented. In early-stage TNBC, the addition of atezolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy resulted in a significant increase in the rate of pathological complete responses (pCR). In the metastatic setting, final results of the IMpassion130 trial confirmed the benefit of atezolizumab combined with nab-paclitaxel as first-line treatment for metastatic PD-L1 positive TNBC. Unexpectedly, the IMpassion131 trial evaluating atezolizumab plus paclitaxel in first-line treatment of patients with metastatic TNBC failed to meet its primary endpoint. Finally, the phase III randomized controlled ASCENT trial identified the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) sacituzumab govitecan as a safe and highly effective treatment option for heavily pre-treated metastatic TNBC patients.

Highlights in genitourinary cancers

Over the past years, many interesting studies in the field of prostate, urothelial and renal cell carcinoma have been initiated. In this overview, practice changing data from the latest virtual ESMO meeting are presented.

Highlights in melanoma

At ESMO 2020, most attention in the melanoma field went to studies addressing the benefit of immunotherapy, alone or in combination with other drugs. First of all, updates on the use of immunotherapy in the adjuvant setting were provided for the Keynote-054 and the CheckMate 238 trials. In the advanced melanoma setting, several studies investigating combinations of immunotherapy with targeted agents will be addressed. In addition to this, the ILLUMINATE-204 trial investigates the potential of combining immunotherapy with intratumoral therapy. Similarly, a second study describes the value of local therapy in the treatment of solitary melanoma after progression upon checkpoint inhibitors. Finally, vaccination strategies with an IDO/ PD-L1 peptide vaccine and adjuvant dendritic cell vaccination will be discussed.

Highlights in digestive oncology

The annual ESMO meeting was held virtually between 19^th and 21^st September 2020 and covered many interesting abstracts in the field of digestive oncology. In this overview, our main aim was to highlight the data that are most relevant for daily clinical practice. This year, we will discuss the results according to the traditional division in upper and lower gastro-intestinal tract tumours.

Highlights in gynaecological cancers

In this overview, the key highlights from ESMO 2020 with respect to gynaecological cancers will be discussed. In advanced endometrial cancers, data were presented on the use of letrozole in combination with palbociclib. In addition, to this, promising clinical efficacy was seen for the antibody-drug conjugate tisotumab vedotin in the treatment of patient with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. Also in cervical cancer, a study was presented on the optimal management of cervical cancer patients with intraoperatively detected positive pelvic lymph nodes. In ovarian cancers, several updates were presented of pivotal trials evaluating PARP inhibitors. In addition, results if the phase III INOVATYON trial indicate that platinum-based regimens should remain the standard of care for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer who experienced disease progression within six-twelve months after their last line of platinum-based therapy. Finally, results were presented of the IMagyn050 trial assessing the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in combination with atezolizumab in the treatment of patients newly diagnosed stage III-IV ovarian cancer.

Oncology highlights of the EAU20 Virtual Congress and EAU20 Theme Week

In light of the emergence and impact of COVID-19, the European Association of Urology (EAU) redesigned its 35th Annual EAU Congress (EAU20) into two online events, EAU20 Virtual Congress and EAU20 Theme Week, which took place from 17 to 19 July 2020 and from 20 to 26 July 2020, respectively. This article is an abridged version of the events’ oncology updates featured in the peer-reviewed conference report of the Medicom Medical Publishers.

BELG J MED ONCOL 2020;14(7):364-7)