Rami Manochakian, MD, FASCO, on Updates on SCLC: No Longer Too Small to Ignore
ASCO 2026
Rami Manochakian, MD, FASCO, of Mayo Clinic Florida, summarizes an educational session at ASCO that reviewed the state of the field of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treatment. After decades of limited treatment progress, advances are being seen in immunotherapies, radiation therapy, bispecific T-cell engagers, antibody-drug conjugates, and radionuclide therapies.
Elizabeth Smyth, MD, of Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Churchill Hospital, discusses three major studies presented at this year’s meeting: the antibody-drug conjugate izalontamab brengitecan in recurrent or metasatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (Abstract 4008); the ATTRACTION-6 study of chemoimmunotherapy in HER2-negative advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer (Abstract 4006); and an investigational EP4 antagonist in combination with chemoimmunotherapy as a first-line strategy for HER2-negative gastric/GEJ cancer (Abstract 4007).
The ASCO Post Staff
Ramaswamy Govindan, MD, FASCO, of Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, presents the final overall survival results from the randomized phase III Alliance A081105 trial, which evaluated adjuvant erlotinib vs observation after complete resection of EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (Abstract 8001).
William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, presents pooled results from the BRUIN CLL-313 and BRUIN CLL-314 trials. BRUIN CLL-313 is comparing pirtobrutinib to bendamustine plus rituximab in treatment-naive patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL); BRUIN CLL-314 is comparing pirtobrutinib to ibrutinib in the same patient population (Abstract 7044).
Mohammed Al-Jumayli, MD, of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, discusses the effects of the use of a multimodal, digitally supported prehabilitation program among adults aged 65 years and older undergoing surgery for hepatobiliary cancer; the model was associated with favorable short-term functional performance signals and high levels of engagement (Abstract 12039).
The ASCO Post Staff
Richard Cathomas, MD, of Cantonal Hospital Graubünden, reviews results from the primary analysis of SAKK 06/19, an open-label single arm phase II trial, which found that the combination of intravesical recombinant bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) with atezolizumab, cisplatin, and gemcitabine was feasible and safe without unexpected toxicities and demonstrates promising efficacy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) (Abstract 4503).