The European Society for Medical Oncology Congress took place from October 20-24, 2023 in Madrid, Spain, welcoming over 30,000 attendees from a variety of healthcare-related roles, including oncologists, surgeons, radiographers, nurses, patient advocates, and healthcare policy makers.

With the tagline this year of, “Disseminating innovative research for optimal cancer care,” ESMO 2023 did not disappoint, with presenters and discussants taking this to heart to deliver ground-breaking, field-changing content.

From the rich program addressing all the most relevant aspects of oncology, key topics discussed included exploring antibody–drug conjugates in a multitude of cancer types, promising new clinical data in NSCLC, updates in precision medicine, and assessing the progress of AI in oncology, with related sessions offering impactful and engaging presentations. I invite you to discover more on these topics on the following pages, summarized by Sally Dempster-Boulton, Scientific Director, and Emma Winter, SVP, Medical & Scientific Services.

A large team of our OPEN Health oncology experts were present for the duration, attending sessions and immersing ourselves in the atmosphere. As expected, the attending delegates participated in fruitful discussions, posing questions to presenters to tease out how newly communicated data are likely to change day-to-day clinical practice. The buzz on social media continued throughout the meeting, with eager attendees praising, challenging, and critiquing new data as they offered further reflections.

The insights reported here will be used to unlock possibilities in our future work. Please get in touch if you would like to hear more about this year’s ESMO proceedings and their implications for your medical affairs strategy development and medical communication planning.