ASCO'25: major advances in oncology therapies, research

The 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), this year held in Chicago, Illinois from May 30 to June 2, showcased a series of pivotal clinical trials and therapeutic advances that are set to reshape cancer care. Spanning tumour types from breast to colorectal, the conference highlighted progress in targeted therapies, immuno-oncology, and supportive care strategies.

Breast cancer

• Camizestrant shows superiority in HR-positive advanced breast cancer
  AstraZeneca’s selective oestrogen receptor degrader, camizestrant, reduced the risk of tumour progression or death by 56% in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive advanced breast cancer. The study, which used liquid biopsy to detect circulating tumour DNA, showed a median progression-free survival of 16 months compared with 9.2 months for the control arm. Patients also reported improved quality of life outcomes.
• Trodelvy and Keytruda combination benefits triple-negative breast cancer
  Gilead Sciences presented phase 3 data showing that the combination of sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy) with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) resulted in a 35% reduction in disease progression risk in patients with PD-L1-positive triple-negative breast cancer. The combination extended median progression-free survival to 11.2 months, versus 7.8 months for the Keytruda and chemotherapy arm.

Prostate cancer

• Triplet therapy improves survival in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer
  A network meta-analysis confirmed that triplet therapy comprising androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), docetaxel, and darolutamide yields the most substantial improvement in overall survival for patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), surpassing other established treatment combinations.
• Talazoparib and enzalutamide combination improves overall survival
  Final results from the phase 3 TALAPRO-2 trial demonstrated that adding the PARP inhibitor talazoparib to enzalutamide significantly prolonged overall survival in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), including those with and without homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene alterations.

Gastrointestinal cancers

• BREAKWATER trial redefines frontline therapy in BRAF V600E-mutant colorectal cancer
  The BREAKWATER phase 3 trial showed that combining encorafenib and cetuximab with the mFOLFOX6 regimen improved objective response rates to 61% in patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer. This triplet regimen is expected to become a new standard of care for this high-risk subgroup.
• Immunotherapy combination benefits MSI-high colorectal cancer
  In the CheckMate-8HW trial, the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab led to significantly longer progression-free survival compared with nivolumab monotherapy in patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer, confirming the value of dual checkpoint inhibition in this population.

Pancreatic cancer

• Circulating tumour DNA aids in real-time treatment monitoring
  The ARTEMIS-PC study demonstrated that circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) analysis offers a rapid and reliable method for monitoring therapeutic response in patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma, enabling earlier adjustments to treatment plans.
• Early promise for pan-RAS inhibitor in RAS-mutant pancreatic cancer
  An investigational pan-RAS inhibitor, RMC-6236, showed preliminary activity and a manageable safety profile in early-phase trials involving patients with RAS-mutant pancreatic cancer. The findings raise hopes for targeting a previously undruggable oncogene in this aggressive malignancy.

Immunotherapy

• Survival in gastric and gastro-oesophageal cancers with CAR T-cell therapy
  A first-in-human trial using CAR T-cell therapy in patients with advanced gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancers achieved a 40% increase in overall survival, marking a potential paradigm shift in the use of cellular therapies for solid tumours.

Lifestyle and supportive care

• Structured exercise reduces recurrence and mortality in colon cancer
  An international randomised trial involving more than a thousand patients showed that structured exercise interventions following treatment for colon cancer reduced cancer recurrence by 28% and mortality by 37%. These results suggest physical activity may offer greater benefit than many adjuvant therapies, reinforcing the role of lifestyle modification in survivorship care.