This year's European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress has come to a close, with hundreds of studies having been presented.
The congress, which took place in Madrid, Spain, from 23 to 27 October, featured the first data presentation for MSD and Moderna's intersimran autogene, a cancer vaccine which met its primary endpoint in a Phase III melanoma study. The data was leaked two days ahead of the Presidential Symposium due to an embargo breach, which shocked journalists and delegates alike on the ground.
A key theme of the conference this year was the continued rise in use of targeted therapies in earlier lines of treatment, with chemotherapy seemingly being phased out in both hot and cold tumours in the first line of treatment - something which one expert told Pharmaceutical Technology's sister publication Clinical Trials Arena he would never have believed if he had heard just a few years ago.
Another key theme, highlighted by a GlobalData analyst, was China's rise in innovative medicines, with five of the 12 late-breaking abstracts (LBAs) being China-originated therapies.
Listen below to our ESMO special edition podcast, featuring commentary from editor Abigail Beaney and analysts Jasminemay Barcelon and Artem Naumenko, who were all on site in Madrid this year, as well as Annabel Kartal-Allen, reporter for Clinical Trials Arena, for all of the biggest study readouts, as well as the key themes that came from the 2026 congress.
You can listen to more podcasts from the GlobalData Media Healthcare team here.
