ESMO 2026 | Oligometastatic Cervical Cancer Study Reports Promising Results: QL1706 Plus Chemotherapy Followed by Definitive Radiotherapy Achieves an ORR of 90.91%

ESMO 2026 | Oligometastatic Cervical Cancer Study Reports Promising Results: QL1706 Plus Chemotherapy Followed by Definitive Radiotherapy Achieves an ORR of 90.91%

Patients with oligometastatic cervical cancer face a risk of systemic recurrence but may also benefit from aggressive local treatment. During ESMO 2026, results were reported from a Chinese single-arm Phase II study evaluating QL1706 plus chemotherapy, followed by definitive radiotherapy and continued immunotherapy maintenance. A total of 28 patients were enrolled. Among the 22 evaluable patients, the objective response rate (ORR) was 90.91%, and the disease control rate (DCR) was 100%. After a median follow-up of 8.25 months, median progression-free survival (PFS) had not yet been reached. Oncology Frontier invited Professor Peng Xie from Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, affiliated with Shandong First Medical University, to discuss the study design, efficacy findings, and safety management, and to share his perspectives on clinical practice.
ESMO LBA Insights | Pursuing Both Survival and Function: Professor Yue He Discusses the OPTIMAL Study

ESMO LBA Insights | Pursuing Both Survival and Function: Professor Yue He Discusses the OPTIMAL Study

In the treatment of head and neck cancers, particularly oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), clinicians have long faced a difficult trade-off: achieving radical tumor control often requires surgery that sacrifices critical anatomical structures, including the tongue, floor of the mouth, and jawbone, all of which are essential for speech, swallowing, and appearance. To further reduce the risk of local recurrence, postoperative radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy is frequently added. However, the resulting complications, such as trismus, xerostomia, dysphagia, and tissue fibrosis, can continue to impair patients' quality of life for years.
ESMO LBA Insights | Professor Jong Chul Park Discusses the HexAgon-HN Study

ESMO LBA Insights | Professor Jong Chul Park Discusses the HexAgon-HN Study

The 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress was held in Madrid, Spain. During the Head and Neck Cancer Oral Presentation Session, the Phase II results of the HexAgon-HN study (LBA42) were presented. The study evaluated the efficacy and safety of the hexavalent OX40 agonist INBRX-106 plus pembrolizumab (P) versus pembrolizumab monotherapy as first-line treatment for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) with a PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) ≥20. The results showed that the objective response rate (ORR) in the combination group reached 48.3%, representing an absolute improvement of 21.8 percentage points over the monotherapy group (26.5%). The benefit was particularly pronounced in the HPV-positive subgroup (80.0% vs. 33.3%). This also represents the first positive proof-of-concept result from a randomized controlled trial of an OX40 costimulatory pathway agonist in cancer immunotherapy.
ESMO China Voice | Professor Li Wenbin: Breaking the Blood-Brain Barrier — Novel Targeted and Chemotherapy Regimens Bring a Survival Breakthrough for Recurrent Glioma

ESMO China Voice | Professor Li Wenbin: Breaking the Blood-Brain Barrier — Novel Targeted and Chemotherapy Regimens Bring a Survival Breakthrough for Recurrent Glioma

Recurrent high-grade glioma (HGG) has an extremely poor prognosis, particularly in IDH-wildtype patients, with a median overall survival (OS) of only 6–10 months. Despite progress in targeted therapy, the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) tumors remains a significant challenge due to the physiological barrier of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). At the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, Professor Li Wenbin's team from the Neuro-Oncology Comprehensive Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Beijing Gaobo Hospital presented two research findings: a Phase I oral presentation on the novel BRAF inhibitor HSK42360 in recurrent glioma, and multicenter, large-sample prospective data on teniposide combined with platinum for recurrent HGG. On October 31, the 6th iHope Innovative Medicine Forum was held. With the construction of the ARO (Academic Research Organization) clinical research system as its core, the forum demonstrated Gaobo Hospital's strength in building a multinational, multicenter clinical research system and translating cutting-edge technologies. Oncology Frontier invited Professor Li Wenbin to interpret the breakthroughs in clinical translation of innovative drugs and the evolving landscape of neuro-oncology treatment from the perspectives of translational medicine and clinical research.
Professor Alberto Briganti: Evaluating the Value of Perioperative Intensification Against Surgery Alone — Study Design, Pathological Findings, and Patient Selection in the PROTEUS Subgroup Analysis

Professor Alberto Briganti: Evaluating the Value of Perioperative Intensification Against Surgery Alone — Study Design, Pathological Findings, and Patient Selection in the PROTEUS Subgroup Analysis

For patients with high-risk localized or locally advanced prostate cancer who are candidates for surgery, the clinical value of perioperative treatment intensification compared with surgery alone, as well as the identification of patients most likely to benefit, remain central questions in current clinical research. At the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, the PROTEUS subgroup analysis reported a direct comparison of perioperative apalutamide plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) followed by surgery versus surgery alone. Oncology Frontier – UroStream invited the study presenter, Professor Alberto Briganti of Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, Italy, to discuss the study design, pathological findings, and their potential relationship with long-term outcomes, as well as how further subgroup analyses and biomarker assessments may help identify patients most likely to benefit from treatment intensification.
4th One Health | Professor Patrick Harris: Clinical Trials for Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria—Current Landscape, Challenges, and Future Directions

4th One Health | Professor Patrick Harris: Clinical Trials for Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria—Current Landscape, Challenges, and Future Directions

Infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria have become a major threat to global public health, yet clinical research on the related antibacterial agents has long been confronted with challenges such as complex trial design, pronounced heterogeneity of resistance mechanisms, and unequal access to drugs. At the 4th One Health Conference of Antimicrobial Resistance Containment, Professor Patrick Harris of the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Australia, gave a dedicated presentation entitled "Clinical Trials in Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria — Where Are We? What Do We Need?" Infectious Disease Frontier invited Professor Patrick Harris for an in-depth dialogue on the difficulties of clinical trial design, progress in novel agents, international collaboration, and infection prevention and control.
ESMO 2026 LBA | EGFR×HER3 Bispecific ADC Iza-bren Reshapes the Treatment Landscape of Advanced HR+/HER2− Breast Cancer, Becoming the First Chinese Innovative Drug in Breast Cancer to Be Published in The Lancet

ESMO 2026 LBA | EGFR×HER3 Bispecific ADC Iza-bren Reshapes the Treatment Landscape of Advanced HR+/HER2− Breast Cancer, Becoming the First Chinese Innovative Drug in Breast Cancer to Be Published in The Lancet

From October 23 to 27, 2026, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress was held in Madrid, Spain. At the meeting, iza-bren (BL-B01D1), an innovative EGFR×HER3 bispecific antibody–drug conjugate (BsADC) independently developed by SystImmune, made a remarkable appearance with data from its pivotal Phase III PANKU-Breast01 study. As a first-in-class, new-concept therapeutic, the agent's prespecified interim analysis results were presented in full for the first time worldwide in a late-breaking abstract (LBA).