Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD, on Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer: Torvutatug Samrotecan
ESMO Congress 2026
Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, reviews updated results from the FONTANA trial, a phase I/IIa, first-in-human, open-label study, which is evaluating the safety and efficacy of torvutatug samrotecan, a folate receptor α–targeted antibody-drug conjugate, in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (Abstract 1245RO).
Trine Jakobi Nøttrup, MD, PhD, of Rigshospitalet, describes findings from the DOVACC trial, which evaluated the combination of olaparib, durvalumab, and UV1—a therapeutic cancer vaccine directed against human telomerase reverse transcriptase—as maintenance therapy in patients with BRCA wild-type recurrent ovarian cancer (Abstract LBA39).
Shannon N. Westin, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, reviews interim overall survival and safety results from a randomized phase III study evaluating durvalumab plus carboplatin/paclitaxel followed by durvalumab with or without olaparib in patients with advanced/recurrent endometrial cancer (Abstract LBA37).
Sanjiv S. Gangaram-Panday, PhD, of Erasmus University, presents 5-year outcomes from the Surgery As Needed for Oesophageal Cancer (SANO) trial. The study previously demonstrated that active surveillance is noninferior to standard surgery in terms of 2-year overall survival in patients with a complete clinical response after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy; active surveillance also resulted in improved quality of life (Abstract LBA78).
Yelena Y. Janjigian, MD, FASCO, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center—a co-chair of a Presidential Symposium at the ESMO Congress 2026—reviews results from the phase III trial that looked at the CLDN18.2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate sonesitatug vedotin vs investigator’s choice of therapy after at least one prior therapy for gastroesophageal cancer expressing CLDN18.2 in ≥ 25% tumor cells with membranous staining at any intensity (Abstract LBA7).
Brian M. Slomovitz, MD, of Mount Sinai Medical Center, discusses results from a phase III, randomized, open-label study of first-line pembrolizumab vs carboplatin/paclitaxel in patients with mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma (Abstract LBA12).
