IOncology

Two pivotal studies in targeted therapy for gastric cancer drew significant attention at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. The world’s first randomized controlled trial (RCT) of CAR-T therapy in solid tumors (Abstract #4003) produced positive results, demonstrating the superior efficacy and manageable safety profile of Claudin 18.2-targeted CAR-T compared to standard therapies. Meanwhile, the DESTINY-Gastric04 phase III trial (Abstract #LBA4002) comparing trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) to the current second-line standard of ramucirumab (RAM) plus paclitaxel (PTX) in HER2-positive unresectable/metastatic gastric cancer also reported encouraging efficacy and safety data. On-site, we invited the lead investigators—Dr. Changsong Qi from Beijing Cancer Hospital and Dr. Kohei Shitara from the National Cancer Center Hospital in Japan—for an in-depth conversation on the background, results, and clinical significance of these two studies.

At the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting, updated survival data from the CheckMate 577 trial reignited discussion within the global oncology community. The study focused on patients with esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer who had received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery but did not achieve a pathologic complete response (non-pCR). In this high-risk subgroup, adjuvant treatment with nivolumab demonstrated sustained disease-free survival (DFS) benefits and a numerical improvement in overall survival (OS) compared with placebo. Oncology Frontier invited Dr. Wentao Fang and Dr. Xuan Hong from Shanghai East Hospital to offer insights into the efficacy and safety data of CheckMate 577.

At the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, two studies in the field of targeted therapy for gastric cancer drew significant attention. The world’s first randomized controlled trial (RCT) of CAR-T cell therapy for solid tumors (Abstract 4003) reported positive results, demonstrating both superior efficacy and manageable safety for Claudin 18.2-targeted CAR-T therapy compared to standard treatment regimens. Meanwhile, the Phase III randomized DESTINY-Gastric04 trial (Abstract LBA 4002) compared trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) with the current standard second-line regimen of ramucirumab plus paclitaxel (RAM+PTX) for patients with HER2-positive unresectable/metastatic gastric cancer, showing promising efficacy and safety outcomes.

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) has a relatively high incidence (1.8–3.0 per 100,000 person-years) and prevalence (17 per 100,000), with a substantial proportion of patients experiencing refractory or relapsed disease. Nearly 50% of patients relapse multiple times despite receiving first-line glucocorticoids, second-line CD20 monoclonal antibodies, and multiple conventional immunosuppressants, often becoming dependent on long-term drug therapy. As a result, patients with this otherwise benign disease frequently face a poor quality of life, complicated by thrombotic events, severe infections, and avascular necrosis of the femoral head, with disability or death occurring in 10–30% of cases. There is an urgent clinical need for innovative therapies capable of achieving durable, drug-free remissions.