IOncology

The 19th National Breast Cancer Academic Conference and the 21st Shanghai International Breast Cancer Symposium (SIBCS) were successfully held on October 16–17. Under the theme “Building on Solid Foundations and Navigating with Precision,” this year's meeting focused on advances in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. At the conference, Professor Shusen Wang of the Breast Cancer Prevention and Treatment Center, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, served as an expert in the late-stage disease section of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association Guidelines and Standards for Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment. He joined fellow experts in analyzing, reviewing, and discussing challenging cases of advanced breast cancer. Against this background, Oncology Frontier invited Professor Wang to share his insights on patient selection and key clinical decision-making, the integration of treatment recommendations in clinical guidelines with individualized care, and the challenges and potential pathways for implementing guidelines in routine practice.

According to the list of newly elected members for 2026 released by the U.S. National Academy of Medicine (NAM) on the 19th local time, Academician Jun Ma of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chair of the Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, and Executive Vice President of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, has been elected to the NAM. He is the only scholar from China among the international members elected this year.

On August 22, 2026, the phase III TALENTOP study, led by Academician Jia Fan and conducted across 24 centers nationwide, was published in The Lancet, a leading international medical journal. The study provides high-level Chinese clinical evidence for conversion therapy in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and redefines the boundaries of surgical treatment for advanced HCC. These findings have attracted widespread academic attention in China and internationally.

Editor's Note: As neoadjuvant systemic therapy becomes increasingly integrated into breast cancer clinical practice, the principles and strategies guiding breast surgery are undergoing comprehensive transformation. Surgery is no longer an…

Assessing the value of perioperative treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) requires attention to both pathological response and survival outcomes. Delivering that treatment throughout the patient's journey also calls for close coordination between medical oncology and urology. At the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, the phase 3 KEYNOTE-866 trial reported results for perioperative pembrolizumab combined with cisplatin-based chemotherapy in patients with cisplatin-eligible MIBC. In this interview, the trial's presenter, Professor Jens Bedke of Stuttgart, Germany, discusses the study design and key findings, the interpretation of pathological complete response (pCR) and survival endpoints, and multidisciplinary coordination across neoadjuvant therapy, radical cystectomy and adjuvant therapy.

Gastric cancer is a common malignancy worldwide, with a particularly high incidence in China. Most patients are diagnosed at an unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic stage. Approximately 85% of patients have HER2-negative disease. Although first-line immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy has significantly improved outcomes for patients with advanced HER2-negative gastric cancer, the benefits of this approach are beginning to reach a plateau, highlighting the urgent need for new treatment strategies.Gastric cancer is a common malignancy worldwide, with a particularly high incidence in China. Most patients are diagnosed at an unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic stage. Approximately 85% of patients have HER2-negative disease. Although first-line immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy has significantly improved outcomes for patients with advanced HER2-negative gastric cancer, the benefits of this approach are beginning to reach a plateau, highlighting the urgent need for new treatment strategies.

Advances in modern oncology have introduced a range of groundbreaking treatment approaches for lung cancer, making it one of the fastest-evolving solid tumors. To help clinicians gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of major developments in this field, Oncology Frontier has partnered with Professor Hua Zhong, Director of the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Shanghai Chest Hospital, and Professor Baohui Han to launch a series of clinical updates titled “Zhong” Voice, “Hui” Insights. Through expert interpretations of high-quality clinical studies in lung cancer, the series aims to promote improvements in clinical practice and patient care.

Autumn skies over Beijing welcomed distinguished experts from across the field. From September 11 to 13, 2026, the 20th Gastric Cancer Academic Conference of the Gastric Cancer Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association (CGCC 2026) was held in Beijing. Under the theme “Inheritance, Innovation, Standardization, and Improvement,” the conference continued its founding mission of providing a multidisciplinary academic exchange platform for the gastric cancer community. Through keynote presentations, thematic sessions, international exchange forums, clinical research discussions, and multidisciplinary team (MDT) sessions, the meeting focused on the latest advances in gastric cancer research, promoted standardized diagnosis and treatment, fostered interdisciplinary integration, and advanced translational research bridging basic science and clinical practice.

Patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) inevitably face the challenge of acquired resistance after first-line treatment with third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Currently, there is no universally established standard of care following resistance. Options such as platinum-based chemotherapy, EGFR-TKI combination regimens, antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), and novel targeted agents remain under investigation. For these patients, balancing antitumor activity, intracranial disease control, and long-term treatment tolerability remains a major clinical challenge.

Numerous anti-HER2 antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are now available in clinical practice. Based on their payload mechanisms, they can be broadly classified into topoisomerase I inhibitor (TOP1i)-based ADCs and microtubule inhibitor-based ADCs. These two classes differ in their mechanisms of action, resistance profiles, and risks of cross-resistance. Bodutuzumab, a microtubule inhibitor-based ADC featuring the novel payload Duostatin-5 and a distinctive mechanism of action, has demonstrated differentiated advantages in patients who have progressed after tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy or who have received or developed resistance to TOP1i-based ADCs. In the KL166-III-06 study, a head-to-head comparison of bodutuzumab with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) also demonstrated significant improvements in progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR), with adverse events that were manageable, preventable, and reversible.