The ASCO Post

News and views from the world of clinical oncology and hematology

THE ASCO POST delivers timely and unbiased reports on major oncology meetings across the globe, including ASCO's annual meeting and regional symposia. Additionally, this newspaper-style publication provides readers with important summaries of evidence-based clinical literature from both general and specialty journals (fully sourced with links to original reports); notable research, data, and liter

ature with application in the clinic, including cost considerations/implications; columns from ASCO's membership with perspective on developments in oncology, quality cancer care, technology, electronic health records, and expert opinion on the state and economics of cancer care.

09/08/2026

Hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients face an elevated risk of skin cancer, making prevention and surveillance an important part of long-term survivorship care.

New research suggests that targeted and technology-enabled outreach to both HCT recipients and their primary care physicians may help improve sun-protection behaviors and skin cancer screening practices.

The findings highlight how coordinated communication across the care team may help address long-term cancer risks after transplantation.

Led by Saro Armenian, DO, MPH, of City of Hope; Published in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Read more: https://ascopost.com/news/august-2026/outreach-to-hct-recipients-primary-care-doctors-may-reduce-skin-cancer-risk/

09/07/2026

Artificial intelligence is driving advances in precision oncology, but success depends on access to high-quality data and protecting patient privacy.

Federated learning offers a promising approach by allowing institutions to collaboratively train AI models without sharing sensitive patient data. But how ready is this technology for real-world clinical research?

Tune into the webinar hosted by ASCO AI in Oncology and join Ken Kehl, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Umit Topaloglu, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), as they discuss the opportunities and challenges of federated learning in oncology, including implementation, model performance, and privacy considerations.

📅 September 9, 2026
🕕 6:00–7:00 PM EDT

Reserve your spot: https://ascoai.broadcastmed.io/live/2/page/5

09/04/2026

The treatment landscape for HER2-positive breast cancer continues to expand.

Results from the phase III HORIZON-Breast01 trial showed that trastuzumab rezetecan significantly prolonged progression-free survival compared with the control regimen in patients with previously treated HER2-positive metastatic disease.

These findings provide new evidence for the growing role of antibody-drug conjugates in HER2-targeted treatment.

Senior author Erwei Song, MD of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital; published in The Lancet Oncology

Read more: https://ascopost.com/news/august-2026/trastuzumab-rezetecan-improves-progression-free-survival-in-her2-positive-metastatic-breast-cancer

09/03/2026

How easily can an AI-generated classification shape a physician’s perception of treatment effectiveness?

In two controlled experiments, physicians received incorrect AI classifications for patients with a fictitious disease. Despite seeing outcome feedback that contradicted the AI labels, participants continued to make different treatment decisions based on those classifications.

The study highlights an important consideration as AI decision-support tools enter clinical workflows: effective oversight may require more than keeping a clinician in the loop. Training and workflow design that encourage critical evaluation of AI outputs may also be essential.

Learn more: https://ascoai.org/articles/2026/08/experimental-study-finds-physicians-susceptible-to-causal-illusions-from-ai-generated-patient-classifications/

09/02/2026

A HER2-targeted neoadjuvant strategy is showing encouraging activity in HER2-positive locally advanced breast cancer.

New study findings demonstrated a high pathologic complete response rate with the HER2-targeted regimen, highlighting the potential of treatment approaches designed around tumor biology in patients with high-risk disease.

The results add to the growing evidence supporting targeted strategies in the neoadjuvant setting.

Led by Chenghui Yang, PhD, of The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University |

Read more:https://ascopost.com/news/august-2026/her2-targeted-regimen-yields-high-pathologic-complete-response-rate-in-locally-advanced-breast-cancer/

09/01/2026

Generative AI is moving beyond target discovery and into the clinical development of new cancer therapies.

The FDA has granted Fast Track designation to ISM6331, an investigational pan-TEAD inhibitor for adults with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma whose disease has progressed following prior treatment.

The agent’s structure was selected using a generative AI model and optimized through structure-based drug design. ISM6331 is now being evaluated in a global, multicenter phase I trial, with first-in-human findings expected at ESMO Congress 2026.

Learn more: https://ascoai.org/articles/2026/08/ai-designed-pan-tead-inhibitor-receives-fda-fast-track-designation-for-mesothelioma/

08/31/2026

What if AI could help accelerate the discovery of new CAR T-cell therapies?

In a Cell study, researchers developed a human-in-the-loop framework that combined large language models with expert review to evaluate potential CAR T-cell targets from public datasets. The approach identified GPNMB as the top multicancer candidate, and a GPNMB-directed CAR T-cell therapy demonstrated encouraging antitumor activity across multiple preclinical cancer models.

Beyond the therapeutic findings, the study highlights how AI can help researchers systematically prioritize promising targets from rapidly expanding biological datasets, potentially accelerating the earliest stages of therapeutic discovery.

Senior authors: Carl H. June, MD, and Zoltan Arany, MD, PhD of The University of Pennsylvania

Read more: https://ascoai.org/articles/2026/08/llm-framework-nominates-gpnmb-as-a-multicancer-car-t-cell-target/

08/28/2026

The treatment landscape for advanced biliary tract cancer continues to evolve with longer-term evidence.

A post hoc analysis of the TOPAZ-1 trial supports the sustained benefit of durvalumab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin, providing additional evidence for this immunotherapy-based combination as a frontline standard of care.

Led by Do-Youn Oh, MD, PhD, of Seoul National University Hospital; published in JAMA Oncology.

Explore the findings: https://ascopost.com/news/august-2026/topaz-1-post-hoc-analysis-supports-durvalumab-plus-chemotherapy-in-advanced-biliary-tract-cancer/

08/27/2026

Agentic AI is entering a new phase of clinical research.

Two Nature studies evaluated AI systems capable of managing complex clinical workflows; from navigating electronic health records to supporting longitudinal patient management. Both matched or exceeded physician performance in simulated environments while underscoring the need for rigorous prospective validation before real-world use.

Could agentic AI become the next evolution of clinical decision support?

Learn more: https://ascoai.org/articles/2026/08/two-studies-compare-agentic-systems-with-physicians-in-simulated-clinical-care/

08/26/2026

New evidence from the phase III KEYNOTE-B15/EV-304 trial may redefine perioperative treatment for patients with cisplatin-eligible muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Researchers found that enfortumab vedotin plus pembrolizumab significantly improved event-free survival, overall survival, and pathologic complete response rates compared with neoadjuvant cisplatin plus gemcitabine.

Led by Matthew D. Galsky, MD, of The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Read more: https://ascopost.com/news/august-2026/enfortumab-vedotin-plus-pembrolizumab-improves-outcomes-in-cisplatin-eligible-muscle-invasive-bladder-cancer/

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