Each year, the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting brings together cancer specialists from around the world to share the research most likely to shape the next chapter of cancer care. This year’s major updates point to several important themes: more precise treatment, smarter use of surgery and chemotherapy, new approaches for difficult-to-treat cancers and a growing recognition that supportive care, including exercise, can be part of cancer treatment planning.

At Baptist Health Cancer Care, specialists across disease areas are closely watching these developments and what they may mean for patients now and in the future.

A closely watched pancreatic cancer study offers new hope

One of the most closely watched studies of the meeting focused on pancreatic cancer, one of the hardest cancers to treat. In the Phase 3 RASolute 302 trial, an investigational oral drug called daraxonrasib nearly doubled median overall survival compared with chemotherapy, 13.2 months versus 6.7 months, in patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Daraxonrasib is a RAS(ON) multi-selective inhibitor, a new type of targeted therapy designed to block cancer-driving RAS signaling. The results are especially notable because RAS mutations, including KRAS mutations, are found in more than 90 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer and have historically been difficult to target. Although the drug is still investigational, the FDA has already approved expanded access for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer whose disease has progressed after first-line chemotherapy, and final FDA approval is expected in the near future.

“Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most challenging diseases we treat, so a study showing this level of survival improvement in the second-line setting is truly groundbreaking,” said Kyaw Aung, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., gastrointestinal medical oncologist with Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute, who was involved in the early development of daraxonrasib. “What is especially exciting is that this is an oral targeted therapy aimed at a fundamental biological event that is central to many pancreatic cancers. We expect that these results will immediately translate into broader clinical use, and this could be an important step forward for a patient population that urgently needs better options.”

New immunotherapy strategy studied in squamous lung cancer

In advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer, the Phase 3 HARMONi-6 trial studied ivonescimab, an investigational antibody that targets both PD-1 and VEGF pathways, in combination with chemotherapy. The regimen improved overall survival compared with the immunotherapy-plus-chemotherapy combination used in the trial.

Ivonescimab is not yet approved in the United States, but the results are being closely watched because squamous lung cancer can be difficult to treat and because the study explores a dual immune and anti-angiogenesis approach.

“These results are important because they demonstrate that combining immune activation with anti-angiogenic activity using one drug improved outcomes for Chinese patients with advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer,” said Bruna Pellini, M.D., chief of thoracic medical oncology with Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute. “It is still investigational in the U.S., and we need to understand how it compares with the treatments we currently use in practice, but it adds momentum to a field where we are constantly working to extend survival and improve quality of life.”

Precision therapy moves earlier in lung cancer

Another lung cancer update reflects a broader trend in oncology: moving targeted therapies that work in advanced cancer into earlier-stage disease, when the goal may still be a cure.

The Phase 3 LIBRETTO-432 trial tested selpercatinib as adjuvant treatment after definitive local therapy in people with early-stage, RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer. RET fusions are uncommon, but when present, they can drive cancer growth and can be targeted with precision therapies.

“This is exactly why comprehensive biomarker testing matters,” said Dr. Pellini. “We are no longer thinking about precision medicine only after lung cancer has spread. Increasingly, we are asking whether the right targeted therapy, given earlier, can reduce the risk of recurrence and improve the chance of a cure for patients whose tumors have specific genomic drivers.”

Intensifying treatment for high-risk prostate cancer

For men with high-risk localized or locally advanced prostate cancer, the Phase 3 PROTEUS trial studied whether adding apalutamide to androgen-deprivation therapy before and after radical prostatectomy could improve outcomes.

The study met both primary endpoints: pathologic complete response or minimal residual disease, and metastasis-free survival. The findings suggest that more intensive systemic therapy around the time of surgery may help delay or prevent disease spread in carefully selected high-risk patients.

“For high-risk prostate cancer, the ways to improve cancer outcomes with surgery are an important part of the conversation with the patient,” said Murugesan Manoharan, M.D., FRACS, chief of urologic oncologic surgery with Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute. “The PROTEUS data support the idea that the combination of surgery with effective systemic treatment may improve long-term cancer control for patients with high-risk localized prostate cancer. The key is careful patient selection and multidisciplinary planning so that treatment is aggressive enough to address the risk of spread while still aligned with the patient’s overall health and goals.”

Long-term survival gains in triple-negative breast cancer

The final results of the KEYNOTE-522 trial provided long-term follow-up in high-risk, early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. After a median follow-up of nearly eight years, adding pembrolizumab to chemotherapy before surgery and continuing pembrolizumab afterward helped patients live longer and remain cancer-free longer.

At seven years, about 85 percent of patients treated with the pembrolizumab-containing regimen were alive, compared with about 77 percent of patients treated with chemotherapy alone.

“Triple-negative breast cancer can be aggressive, and long-term follow-up is incredibly important when we are talking about early-stage disease,” said Reshma Mahtani, D.O., chief of breast medical oncology with Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute in Plantation. “These final KEYNOTE-522 data reinforce that immunotherapy has changed the standard approach for many patients with high-risk, early-stage, triple-negative breast cancer by improving not only response before surgery, but long-term outcomes.”

Some breast cancer patients may be able to safely skip chemotherapy

The Phase 3 OPTIMA trial looked at whether a genomic test could help identify patients with clinically high-risk, hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer who could safely avoid chemotherapy.

Using a 50-gene test, researchers found that about two-thirds of patients could avoid chemotherapy based on a low-risk score, with very similar five-year outcomes. The findings represent another step toward giving patients the treatment they need and avoiding treatment they may not benefit from.

“One of the most important goals in breast cancer care is personalization: not undertreating patients who need chemotherapy, but also not exposing patients to chemotherapy when the expected benefit is very small,” said Dr. Mahtani. “OPTIMA adds strong evidence that tumor biology can help guide these decisions for many patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer.”

Some breast cancer patients may also be able to skip a bigger surgery

New long-term data from the Phase 3 SENOMAC trial showed that some patients with early breast cancer and limited spread to one or two sentinel lymph nodes could safely skip a full axillary lymph node dissection.

Five-year survival was about 94 percent whether or not patients had the additional surgery, while patients who avoided axillary lymph node dissection had significantly fewer long-term arm-related side effects. These findings support a continued shift toward less invasive surgery when cancer outcomes can be preserved.

“This is a meaningful quality-of-life issue,” said Dr. Mahtani. “Axillary lymph node dissection can lead to long-term arm swelling, discomfort and functional problems. The SENOMAC data support what we are seeing across breast cancer care: when it is safe to do less, doing less can be better for patients.”

A new look at treating brain metastases

The NEO-TACTICS study evaluated giving focused stereotactic radiation before surgery to remove large brain metastases. The study saw lower recurrence than what is typically reported with radiation after surgery, but the study was small, with 55 patients, and did not include a comparison group. Researchers noted that larger randomized trials are needed.

Still, the approach is of interest because brain metastases often require coordinated care among neuro-oncology, radiation oncology, neurosurgery and medical oncology.

“Brain metastases require highly individualized, multidisciplinary care,” said Manmeet Ahluwalia, M.D., MBA, FASCO, deputy director and chief scientific officer with Baptist Health Cancer Care. “The idea of treating with focused radiation before surgery is intriguing because it may help improve local control while addressing some of the challenges we see after surgery. At this stage, the findings should be viewed as hypothesis-generating, but they point to an important direction for future randomized research.”

Exercise continues to move into the cancer care conversation

New economic data from the CHALLENGE trial looked at a structured exercise program after chemotherapy for colon cancer. The program was associated with improved outcomes in the trial and was found to be cost-effective in the analysis.

The findings add to growing evidence that exercise should be discussed as part of survivorship and recovery, not simply as a general wellness recommendation. For many patients, the question is not whether movement matters, but how to safely incorporate structured activity into care with guidance from the oncology team.

GLP-1 medications raise an important research question

Another early study explored whether GLP-1 medications, commonly used for diabetes and weight management, may be associated with a lower risk of certain cancers progressing to stage IV, including lung, breast, colorectal and liver cancers.

The findings are preliminary and observational, meaning they show an association, not proof that GLP-1 medications prevent cancer progression. Researchers emphasized that randomized trials are needed. Still, the study reflects a growing interest in how metabolic health, weight, inflammation and cancer outcomes may intersect.

The bigger picture for patients

Taken together, this year’s ASCO updates underscore how quickly cancer care is changing. Some studies point to new therapies for cancer patients who have long had limited options. Others show how genomic testing and long-term clinical trial data can help doctors tailor treatment more precisely. Still others highlight ways to reduce treatment burden, whether by avoiding unnecessary chemotherapy, avoiding more extensive surgery or integrating exercise into survivorship care.

For patients, the takeaway is not that every new study immediately changes treatment. Many therapies remain investigational, and each patient’s care depends on cancer type, stage, biomarkers, prior treatment and overall health. But these findings show the direction of modern oncology: more personalized, more multidisciplinary and increasingly focused not only on helping people live longer, but helping them live better.