ESMO Congress 2023


Updates in precision medicine and the continuing hunt for biomarkers

Genomic profiling is becoming a routine part of cancer management and with the increase in precision oncology programs and availability of molecular tumor boards, identifying key biomarkers to guide therapy decisions remains a key priority in oncology research.

Prostate cancer: BRCA

Demonstrating the benefit of targeted therapy in mCRPC, analyses from the MAGNITUDE study showed improved efficacy and clinically meaningful improvements for the PARPi niraparib + AAP vs placebo + AAP for patients with BRCA+ disease, detected by tissue or plasma-based assays.1,2

NSCLC: Exon20

Based on results from two presentations, targeted agents with activity against EGFR and HER2 showed antitumor activity in patients with HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations.3,4

Endometrial cancer: dMMR/MSI-H

In an exploratory analysis of the Phase 3 RUBY trial, results showed that the anti-PD-1 mAb dostarlimab + CP was associated with improved PFS and OS vs CP alone in the dMMR/MSI-H subgroup.5

Breast cancer: ESR1

The results from a systematic review further supported the use of a new generation oral SERD in patients with breast cancer harboring ESR1 mutations after progression on first-line therapy.6

Together, these results underpin the increasing value of biomarker-guided therapy in oncology.

AAP, acetate plus prednisone; AE, adverse event; CP, carboplatin-paclitaxel; CUP, cancer of unknown primary; dMMR, deficient DNA mismatch repair; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; mAb, monoclonal antibody; mCRPC, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer; MGT, molecularly guided therapy; MSI-(H), (high) microsatellite instability; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer; OS, overall survival; PARPi, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor; PD-1, programmed cell death protein-1; PFS, median progression-free survival; SERD, selective estrogen receptor degrader/downregulator.

1. Chi KNN et al. ESMO Congress 2023. Abstract LBA85; 2. Attard G et al. ESMO Congress 2023. Poster 1806P; 3. Girard N et al. ESMO Congress 2023. Abstract LBA5; 4. Loong HHF et al. ESMO Congress 2023. Abstract 1320MO; 5. Mirza MR et al. ESMO Congress 2023. Abstract 740MO; 6. Vilbert MS et al. ESMO Congress 2023. Poster 481P; 7. Mileshkin L et al. ESMO Congress 2023. Abstract LBA16.


Up next:

The top four themes of the conference

Theme 4: Medical innovation, artificial intelligence, and the potential for a new era of oncology care

Continue reading