For the 20th year in a row, major advances in cancer research and practice-changing clinical trials from the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting (ASCO25) were presented at the ASCO-licensed Best of ASCO meeting, held on July 18–19, 2025, in Beirut, Lebanon. It was indeed a great celebration and commitment to continue this annual tradition of dissemination of knowledge generated at ASCO Annual Meetings.
How the Best of ASCO Meetings Were Born
It all began when the ASCO Board of Directors decided to select the most important annual meeting abstracts and started the first Best of ASCO meeting in Washington, DC, in 2004–2005, and the meeting was approved to go international, with the first ones held in Japan, Mexico, and Lebanon. I personally served with the Giants of Oncology leaders in the highly appraised ASCO International Affairs Committee of 2002–2005. They included Drs. Larry Einhorn, Larry Norton, James Armitage, Gabriel Hortobagyi, Paul Bunn, Margaret Tempero, Sandra Swain, Cliff Hudis, Martine Piccart, the late Jose Baselga, and others, and they all were dedicated to supporting global oncology research, disseminating knowledge, and advancing patient care worldwide.
The ASCO International Affairs Committee is credited with having started several global oncology programs, such as the International Travel Grant, which evolved into the International Development Educational Award; the international spread of Quality Oncology Practice Initiative certification; International Clinical Trials Workshop; the Multidisciplinary Cancer Management Course, and the ESMO/ASCO Global Curriculum. The committee advanced debates on multidisciplinary tumor boards for the management of patients with cancer. During my tenure as Chair of the ASCO International Affairs Committee, we held an educational session at ASCO 2014 entitled, “Tumor Boards: Optimizing the Structure and Improving Efficiency of Multidisciplinary Management of Patients with Cancer Worldwide,” which was published in the ASCO Educational Book and has more than 270 citations so far.
Best of ASCO: ‘Beyond Just Educational’
The Best of ASCO meetings have become very popular and are being held annually in more than 35 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. For instance, in Beirut, as in many other cities and countries, the Best of ASCO meeting offers the chance for people who were unable to attend ASCO meetings to discuss study findings as they were presented at ASCO meetings.
The format of the meeting goes beyond being just educational by presenting data as they were originally presented at ASCO meetings. The whole process of clinical research starts with background on any particular clinical trial, unmet needs, methodology, collection of results, conclusions, and recommendations. Speakers are allowed to add their opinions in one or two non-ASCO slides if they wish. Q&A and debate follow each set of presentations. We believe this process promotes and encourages clinical research thinking and culture.
Highlights of Best of ASCO2025
At the Best of ASCO25, we had a great faculty of speakers from ASCO. They included Drs. Ghassan Abou-Alfa, Fatima Cardoso, Robert Haddad, Eileen O’Reilly, Hussein Tawbi, Mark Robson, Giuseppe Curigliano, and Komal Jhaveri, as well as a handful of international experts from the United States, Europe, Arab Countries, and Lebanon (including the American University of Beirut President Dr. Fadlo Khuri). Featured practice-changing abstracts include the following:
- Abstract LBA3: VERIFY trial on hepcidin mimetic rusfertide in polycythemia vera;
- Abstract LBA8000: CheckMate 816 on the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab plus chemotherapy in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC);
- Abstract 8001: NeoADAURA trial on EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib in EGFR-mutated NSCLC;
- Abstract LBA1: ATOMIC trial on adding the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab to adjuvant FOLFOX (leucovorin, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin) in DNA mismatch repair, stage III colon cancer;
- Abstract 508: OASIS 4 trial on use of elinzanetant (a dual receptor antagonist that blocks the action of neurokinin-1 and -3) in managing vasomotor symptoms in patients with breast cancer;
- Abstract LBA1008: DESTINY-Breast09 trial on the antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) plus the monoclonal antibody pertuzumab (which targets the HER2 protein) in HER2-positive advanced breast cancer;
- Abstract LBA4: SERENA-6 trial of the oral selective estrogen receptor degrader camizestrant plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor in patients with emerging ESR1 mutations by circulating tumor DNA serial testing;
- Abstract 6012: KEYNOTE-689 on the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab in neoadjuvant therapy for resectable locally advanced head and neck cancer;
- Abstract LBA5500: TRUST trial of radical upfront surgery for advanced ovarian cancer;
- Abstract LBA3510: CHALLENGE trial on a structured exercise program in patients with stage 3 or high-risk stage 2 colon cancer.
Despite years of troubles in our region, we made the Best of ASCO Lebanon meeting an annual tradition. I am proud to have chaired or co-chaired the Best of ASCO Lebanon meeting over the past 20 years and served as a liaison with ASCO to advance education and research, improve the care of patients with cancer, and promote hematology oncology professional networking in Lebanon and around the world.
DISCLOSURE: Dr. El Saghir reported no conflicts of interest.
Dr. El Saghir is Chairperson, Best of ASCO Lebanon; Professor of Clinical Medicine at the American University of Beirut; and Past Chair of ASCO International Affairs Committee. Dr. El Saghir wishes to acknowledge Dr. Hiba Moukadem for her role in the Best of ASCO Planning Committee.
