The idea that all women with hormone dependent early breast cancers that test negative for the HER2 molecule and have high risk clinical factors should be receive chemotherapy in addition to endocrine therapy is now being strongly questioned. A new study using a gene expression test to predict recurrence risk has shown that most patients do not benefit from adding chemotherapy to their ongoing endocrine treatment.

Results from the OPTIMA phase III randomized non-inferiority trial reported at the 2026 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology suggest that the current standard of care recommending chemotherapy for high-risk groups needs to be changed.

Peter Goodwin got the details of the study findings from first author, Robert C. Stein, PhD FRCP, Professor of Breast Oncology at University College, in London.

Patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer did not live longer with thoracic radiotherapy added to their chemo-immunotherapy in a study reported to the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2026 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, USA.

First author Bjørn Henning Grønberg MD PhD, Professor and Consultant in Oncology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim, Norway talked with the Audio Journal of Oncology about his group’s findings.

CHICAGO, USA—Combining the antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan with pembrolizumab immunotherapy for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancers testing positive for the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) led to significant delays of disease progression after subsequent therapy in comparison with standard of care using a combination of chemotherapy with pembrolizumab.

That’s according to first author of research reported at the 2026 American Association of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting Kevin Kalinsky MD, Division Director of Breast Medical Oncology from Emory University at the Winship Cancer Institute, Hematology and Medical Oncology, in Atlanta, USA. He told reporter Peter Goodwin more about the details.

An interview with:

Wing-Lok Chan MBBS, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Oncology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

CHICAGO, USA—Patients with advanced cancer had their quality of life preserved and required fewer hospitalizations when they monitored themselves digitally by using the SUPPORT+ mobile phone app prompting better self-management while giving regular access to guidance from a nurse. This was in a randomized controlled study reported to the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology by Wing-Lok Chan MBBS, from the Department of Clinical Oncology at the University of Hong Kong, in China. She talked about the findings with Peter Goodwin:

CHICAGO, USA—Patients with unresectable liver cancers who were eligible for treatment with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), were randomly offered, treatment with the anti-CTL-4 checkpoint inhibitor tremelimumab together with the anti PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab with or without a third drug: the multiple VEGFR 1, 2 & 3 kinase inhibitor, lenvatinib, in the phase threeEMERALD-3 study.

Findings of a significant improvement of progression free survival were reported at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting by first author Ghassan Abou-Alfa MD PhD from the Gastrointestinal Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York and Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York, NY. After his talk in Chicago Dr. Abou-Alfa gave Peter Goodwin the details:

Patients with RET Fusion Positive Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Benefit from Selpercatinib: LIBRETTO-432 Early Results An interview with: Jonathan W. Goldman MD, Director of Clinical Trials i

Abemaciclib Brings Marked Increase in Progression Free Survival for Patients with Advanced Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma An interview with: Mark A Dickson MD, Medical Oncologist, Associate Attending Ph

Omitting Axillary Lymph Node Dissection: Safe for Patients with Breast Cancer Spread to One or Two Sentinel Lymph Nodes An interview with: Jana de Boniface MD PhD Department of Surgery, Capio St. Göra

Timing of Surgery for Advanced Ovarian Cancer among Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Chemotherapy Cycles: Early Findings from Randomized CHRONO Trial An interview with: Jean-Marc Classe, MD PhD, Surgeon in Gy

Giredestrant Beats Standard Endocrine Therapies Irrespective of Menopausal Status in Patients with ER+, HER2- Early Breast Cancer An interview with: Peter Schmid MD PhD, Professor of Cancer Medicine;