Throughout the
To seize essentially the most significant takeaways for sufferers, CURE requested consultants to mirror on the overarching messages from the assembly and the way these findings might affect care at present and sooner or later.
Featured voices embrace Dr. Kanwal PS Raghav, professor within the Division of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The College of Texas MD Anderson Most cancers Middle and government medical director of the Division of Ambulatory Remedy Facilities; Dr. Stephen L. Chan, medical professor within the Division of Scientific Oncology at The Chinese language College of Hong Kong; Dr. Yanghee Woo, director of the Gastroenterology Minimally Invasive Remedy Program and professor of surgical oncology; and Dr. Thejus Jayakrishnan, a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Most cancers Institute and Brigham and Girls’s Hospital, in addition to an teacher in medication at Harvard Medical College.
On this dialog, consultants highlighted key themes shaping the most cancers panorama, together with advances in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing, the rising position of synthetic intelligence, progress in focused therapies for, and an elevated emphasis on high quality of life and patient-centered decision-making.
CURE: Trying on the convention as a complete, what would you want sufferers, together with their households and caregivers, to remove from the 2026 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium? What do you consider is crucial total message?
Raghav: Relating to ctDNA, there have been quite a few developments at GI ASCO 2026. We’re presenting knowledge from Japan, Australia, and the US concerning the reproducibility and excessive sensitivity of those assays in detecting molecular residual illness. We now have even seen alerts the place early intervention is ensuing within the eradication of ctDNA positivity. Whether or not that interprets into long-term outcomes is but to be seen, however the message right here is that many interventions and medical trials are nonetheless ongoing for circulating tumor DNA-positive sufferers.
You probably have stage 2, 3 or 4 illness, have acquired all standard-of-care remedies, and don’t have any scan proof of illness, it’s best to get a signatory take a look at, or some other take a look at that may detect molecular residual illness, and search for medical trials if you’re optimistic.
Chan: There are all the time many lively research ongoing, both creating new medication or measures to enhance the standard of life for sufferers. The ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium is a chance not just for clinicians to replace themselves, but additionally to work together with completely different consultants and specialties to allow them to enhance their observe based mostly on the most recent proof. That is really vital. Generally outcomes are adverse and generally they’re optimistic, however finally, all of them contribute to the evolving observe that helps our sufferers.
This 12 months, we have now seen optimistic trial knowledge that’s probably practice-changing. We now have additionally heard adverse outcomes from some trials, which could be discouraging, however these additionally assist our sufferers by refining our data.
Woo: Sufferers can go surfing to search out the specifics of those trials, however the primary takeaway I would like sufferers to have from GI ASCO 2026 is that there’s hope. Many new therapies, medication, and methods are being developed by scientists, surgeons, and medical oncologists working intently collectively. We aren’t simply biomarkers and medical outcomes; we’re being good by integrating AI evaluation to assist choose sufferers for remedy and predict outcomes.
With the information generated prior to now, we’re getting smarter about how we course of data to design higher research. Pharmaceutical firms and labs are creating new medication, such because the oncolytic virus CF33-hNIS for which we printed preclinical work in our summary. The true takeaway is that there’s vital hope that we’ll uncover one thing new by this collaboration and new know-how. Sources for abdomen most cancers are growing and enhancing; hopefully, we are going to quickly have patient-specific and tumor-specific methods of treating them.
By utilizing AI instruments and higher communication throughout the board — together with affected person advocacy teams, pharmaceutical firms, surgeons, and oncologists — we’re creating higher remedy methods for people. I’m hopeful that new and higher cures for abdomen most cancers are coming quickly; even with some disappointing trial outcomes this 12 months, we have now to maintain going.
Jayakrishnan: A very powerful takeaway for me and for sufferers is that persons are very considerate about these points. We’re taking affected person preferences and quality-of-life impacts into consideration. At this ASCO, we have now seen advances in focused therapies and progress in remedies for all gastrointestinal cancers. In colorectal most cancers, we have now seen new research with promising outcomes concentrating on the KRAS mutation in pancreatic most cancers, which has been thought of an “undruggable” goal till now. These choices even have fewer unwanted effects than conventional chemotherapy.
There have additionally been discussions concerning remedy choices for cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct most cancers) and novel therapies that focus on particular mutations. The identical applies to colorectal most cancers, particularly concerning the BRAF mutation and focused therapies utilized in mixture with chemotherapy to successfully management most cancers for lengthy durations whereas managing toxicity. Whereas not all sufferers are eligible for focused therapies since they require particular mutations, the sphere is transferring ahead.
We actually want extra research, however issues are progressing, and that’s the largest takeaway for me.
