Highlights and Updates From 2024 ASCO

Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, looks back at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting and highlights key presentations.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting always stirs much anticipation for the presentation of the latest oncology research, meeting old and new colleagues, and looking toward the future of oncology treatment. This year was no exception with the theme of “The Art and Science of Cancer Care: From Comfort to Cure,” which was picked by the 2023-2024 ASCO president, Lynn M. Schuchter, MD, FASCO. Her focus was on enhancing patient care while improving survivorship and outcomes. The theme was infused throughout the meeting in the presentations and educational activities.

The opening session included Schuchter’s presidential address, which discussed clinical trials she has been involved with in the area of melanoma research as well as the lessons she has learned from patients she has treated and the importance of lessons learned from each patient. Other impressive talks in the opening session included those by W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, National Cancer Institute director, and Lillian L. Siu, MD, FRCPC, who was recognized with the 2024 David Karnofsky Memorial Award for her work on drug development and early-phase clinical trials.

The plenary session had 5 abstracts, as follows, that were chosen from the thousands submitted for this year’s meeting^1-5:

• LBA1: Prospective randomized multicenter phase III trial comparing perioperative chemotherapy (FLOT protocol) to neoadjuvant chemoradiation (CROSS protocol) in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus (ESOPEC trial). First author: Jens Hoeppner, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
• LBA2: Neoadjuvant nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus adjuvant nivolumab in macroscopic, resectable stage III melanoma: The phase 3 NADINA trial. First author: Christian U. Blank, Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI-AVL), Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• LBA3: Comparative effectiveness trial of early palliative care delivered via telehealth versus in person among patients with advanced lung cancer. First author: Joseph A. Greer, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
• LBA4: Osimertinib (osi) after definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients (pts) with unresectable stage (stg) III epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) NSCLC: Primary results of the phase 3 LAURA study. First author: Suresh S. Ramalingam, Emory University School of Medicine, Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, Georgia.
• LBA5: ADRIATIC: Durvalumab (D) as consolidation treatment (tx) for patients (pts) with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). First author: David R. Spigel, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, Tennessee.

One additional structural change was the inclusion of rapid oral presentations, which allowed abbreviated oral presentations and discussions focusing on many of the different malignancies. Presenter diversity was enhanced with this structure, and there were improvements in the dispersion of new knowledge to the ASCO community. Every year the ASCO staff and committees improve the infrastructure and educational offerings at the ASCO annual meeting. The international oncology community looks forward to continuous improvement at future ASCO meetings.

References

1. Hoeppner J, Brunner T, Lordick F, et al. Prospective randomized multicenter phase III trial comparing perioperative chemotherapy (FLOT protocol) to neoadjuvant chemoradiation (CROSS protocol) in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus (ESOPEC trial). J Clin Oncol. 2024;42(suppl 17):LBA1. doi:10.1200/JCO.2024.42.17_suppl.LBA1
2. Blank CU, Lucan MW, Scolyer RA, et al. Neoadjuvant nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus adjuvant nivolumab in macroscopic, resectable stage III melanoma: the phase 3 NADINA trial. J Clin Oncol. 2024;42(suppl 17):LBA2. doi:10.1200/JCO.2024.42.17_suppl.LBA2
3. Greer JA, Trotter C, Jackson V, et al. Comparative effectiveness trial of early palliative care delivered via telehealth versus in person among patients with advanced lung cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2024;42(suppl 17):LBA3. doi:10.1200/JCO.2024.42.17_suppl.LBA3
4. Ramalingham SS, Kato T, Dong X, et al. Osimertinib (osi) after definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients (pts) with unresectable stage (stg) III epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) NSCLC: Primary results of the phase 3 LAURA study. J Clin Oncol. 2024;42(suppl 17):LBA4. doi:10.1200/JCO.2024.42.17_suppl.LBA4
5. Spigel DR, Cheng Y, Cho BC, et al. ADRIATIC: durvalumab (D) as consolidation treatment (tx) for patients (pts) with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). J Clin Oncol. 2024;42(suppl 17):LBA5. doi:10.1200/JCO.2024.42.17_suppl.LBA5