As one of China's premier academic meetings in genitourinary oncology, the Pujiang Prostate Cancer Conference continues to serve as an important platform for integrating international advances with domestic clinical practice. This year's meeting featured a dedicated multidisciplinary session, bringing together leading Chinese experts to discuss emerging directions in prostate cancer management.Prof. Xiaojie Bian from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center was invited to deliver a presentation reviewing the latest advances in prostate cancer treatment presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. During the conference, UroStream interviewed Prof. Bian to discuss this year’s landmark developments in prostate cancer, strategies for translating international advances into Chinese clinical practice, and the development of original research programs tailored to China’s clinical needs.
UroStream:
What were the most important milestone advances in prostate cancer presented at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting that deserve particular attention?
Prof. Xiaojie Bian:
This year’s ASCO Annual Meeting brought several important breakthroughs in the medical treatment of prostate cancer.
One of the most highly anticipated Late-Breaking Abstract (LBA) presentations focused on a next-generation radioligand therapy. Previous lutetium-177 radiopharmaceuticals were primarily cleared through the kidneys. In contrast, this new agent adopts a design concept similar to that of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) by replacing the conventional PSMA-targeting peptide with a PSMA-targeting antibody, while being metabolized predominantly through the liver.
This represents a clinically meaningful advance. For patients with prostate cancer complicated by urinary tract obstruction, conventional radioligand therapies may accumulate because of impaired urinary clearance, potentially resulting in significant toxicity. Hepatic metabolism effectively avoids this problem, allowing these patients to receive radioligand therapy more safely.
Another notable presentation was the first Phase I clinical data for a STEAP1/PSMA bispecific ADC. Both PSMA and STEAP1 are highly expressed on the surface of prostate cancer cells. PSMA has already become an established target for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment, while clinical development of a STEAP1×CD3 bispecific T-cell engager (TCE) is also progressing. These emerging bispecific therapeutic platforms offer entirely new treatment opportunities for patients with advanced prostate cancer.
At the same meeting, results from a Phase III trial evaluating abiraterone plus olaparib were also reported. A clear trend toward improved survival was observed not only among patients harboring HRR or BRCA mutations but also in the overall study population.
In addition, B7-H3-targeted ADCs, such as YL201, demonstrated encouraging antitumor activity in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
Another particularly noteworthy trend at both the ASCO Annual Meeting and ASCO GU this year was the unprecedented emphasis placed on patient quality of life. Alongside updated standards for PSMA-based diagnosis and treatment, clinical care is increasingly focused not only on tumor control but also on long-term survivorship and quality-of-life outcomes. This reflects a more comprehensive and patient-centered treatment philosophy for prostate cancer.
UroStream:
One of the central themes of this conference is “Chinese Innovation, Global Collaboration.” Within a multidisciplinary care model, what adaptations are necessary before the new treatment strategies and concepts presented at ASCO can be implemented in Chinese clinical practice? How can international advances help further standardize prostate cancer care and benefit patients throughout China, including those treated in primary care settings?
Prof. Xiaojie Bian:
Over the past several years, the standard of prostate cancer care in China has improved tremendously.
Chinese investigators are now deeply involved in many international clinical studies, meaning that domestic clinical practice has become largely synchronized with global advances.
At the same time, prostate cancer in China still has unique epidemiological characteristics. For example, the proportion of patients presenting with advanced disease at diagnosis remains relatively high. Encouragingly, however, the widespread adoption of PSA screening has resulted in a steadily increasing proportion of patients being diagnosed at earlier stages.
Many recent perioperative and advanced disease clinical trials have enrolled substantial numbers of Chinese patients, allowing us to accumulate evidence specifically relevant to our own population.
Accordingly, this year’s CSCO, CACA, and CUA prostate cancer guidelines have formally incorporated these domestic clinical data.
In addition to adopting high-level evidence from Phase III clinical trials, these guidelines also include findings from Chinese Phase II studies and investigator-initiated trials (IITs). This provides clinicians with recommendations that better reflect real-world practice in China while facilitating the implementation of standardized care across primary healthcare institutions.
UroStream:
This conference also includes a dedicated session on translational research and innovation. After incorporating international advances, how should we develop research programs that better address China’s own clinical needs?
Prof. Xiaojie Bian:
Many unmet clinical needs still remain.
Large-scale clinical questions are generally addressed through studies sponsored by international pharmaceutical companies. However, many important questions encountered in routine clinical practice can only be answered through investigator-initiated trials (IITs) or by integrating translational laboratory research with clinical investigation.
For example, the team led by Prof. Yao Zhu at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, together with investigators at West China Hospital, has conducted IITs specifically targeting important clinical challenges.
These studies include investigations of radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy in selected patient populations, as well as research into treatment-induced neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). Although these patient subgroups represent a relatively small proportion of the overall prostate cancer population, China’s large patient population means that they are encountered frequently in clinical practice.
We can also build upon international experience in treating aggressive variant prostate cancer (AVPC), NEPC, and small-cell lung cancer to develop research strategies tailored to Chinese patients.
At the same time, precision patient stratification continues to evolve.
Previously, our focus was primarily on molecular stratification based on biomarkers such as HRR gene mutations. However, with the rapid development of ADCs, protein expression-based stratification has become equally important.
By identifying patients according to the expression of specific therapeutic targets, we can match them with the most appropriate treatments—even when these agents remain under clinical investigation or have only recently been approved for other malignancies.
Through well-designed investigator-initiated studies, we can not only address important unmet clinical needs but also generate original evidence originating from China, ultimately enabling more patients with prostate cancer to live longer and live better.
Prof. Xiaojie Bian
