ASCO 2025 guide: breaking news and key themes
The world’s largest clinical oncology conference, the ASCO Annual Meeting (May 30–June 3, IL, USA), begins in just a few days. Featuring over 6,000 groundbreaking abstracts including potentially-practice changing research, it is a momentous meeting to navigate.
To help you maximise your experience at ASCO, we have compiled breaking news headlines and key conference themes in one handy article. Read on to stay ahead of the latest developments from ASCO 2025.
Presidential theme
During a press briefing, current ASCO President Robin Zon (Cincinnati Cancer Advisors, OH, USA) set a powerful tone for this year’s meeting emphasizing how the initial research releases align perfectly with the conference theme: “Driving Knowledge to Action: Building a Better Future.”
Drawing from her experience as a community oncologist, Zon emphasized that while knowledge is crucial, it must be actively applied to make real progress against cancer. She underscored the importance of staying ahead of emerging technologies, empowering advocacy and embracing community as key strategies to transform knowledge into meaningful action.
She concluded with a rallying call to the cancer community, asserting that unity in the fight against cancer makes the community stronger than the disease itself.
ASCO and Google Cloud collaboration announcement
It was also announced that ASCO and Google Cloud have partnered to launch an AI-powered ASCO Guidelines Assistant, to improve access to trustworthy, actionable knowledge.
Built on Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform and utilizing Gemini models, this innovative tool provides ASCO members with rapid, interactive access to the organization’s comprehensive library of evidence-based clinical guidelines.
As highlighted by ASCO CEO Dr. Clifford Hudis, this collaboration effectively “unlocks the value of ASCO’s trusted guidelines knowledge” and marks a significant milestone in ASCO’s commitment to responsible AI implementation in cancer care.
Breaking news
Sacituzumab govitecan shows superiority over standard of care for PD-L1 positive TNBC
Data from the ASCENT-04/KEYNOTE-D19 Phase III trial reveals the superiority of combining sacituzumab govitecan and pembrolizumab as a first-line treatment option for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer over the current standard of care. This combination therapy offers patients within this population the opportunity to live longer without cancer progression, helping to address an unmet need in first-line treatment options.
Can AI assist in identifying HER2-low and HER2-ultralow breast cancers?
Research being presented at ASCO has revealed that artificial intelligence can assist in classifying breast cancers with low levels of HER2 protein expression, reducing the risk of misclassification and allowing more patients to choose HER2-targeted treatments.
Inavolisib-palbociclib-fulvestrant improves overall survival for advanced breast cancer
Data from the INAVO120 trial has revealed that combining inavolisib with palbociclib and fulvestrant improves survival rates in advanced breast cancer patients. This treatment regimen offers new hope for those with PIK3CA-mutated, HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer – a challenging subtype that has historically had limited treatment options.
Lurbinectedin-atezolizumab combination boosts survival for some ESCLC patients
The IMforte trial has highlighted increases in long term survival for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer patients on combined maintenance therapy consisting of lurbinectedin and atezolizumab compared to atezolizumab alone.
GLP-1 agonists show potential in reducing obesity-related cancer risk
A collaborative team of researchers from institutions throughout the USA has discovered that GLP-1 receptor agonists, a widely used diabetes treatment, may reduce the risk of developing obesity-related cancer. This exciting finding represents a crucial first step towards the discovery of treatments that may lower the risk of cancers caused by obesity, for which there are currently none.
BREAKWATER trial shifts standard of care for aggressive metastatic colorectal cancer
The Phase III BREAKWATER trial has demonstrated that a targeted therapy combination of encorafemib, cetuximab with chemotherapy, extends survival for BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer patients, compared to the current standard-of-care treatment of chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab. The trial findings establish frontline encorafemib, cetuximab and FOLFOX as the new standard of care for this patient group.
Social Media Highlights
My Top 10 Breast Cancer Abstracts list at #ASCO25 👇 pic.twitter.com/yxZVWobLqS
— Yakup Ergün (@dr_yakupergun) May 2, 2025
< 2 wks to #ASCO25, here is a📝 of 🔑abstracts for general onc that could guide our SoC!
– #ATOMIC
– #MATTERHORN
– #SERENA6
– #ASCENT04
– #DestinyBreast09
– #IMforte & #Dellphi304
– Updates: #CM816 & #NIAGARA
– #NIVOPOSTOP
– #VERIFY #OncTwitter @ASCO @OncoAlert pic.twitter.com/s6EWz5I8i9— Oncology Brothers (@OncBrothers) May 17, 2025
ADCs are poised to reshape standards of care across several diseases. At #ASCO25, we’ll see results from highly awaited trials in breast, gastric, lung, GU oncology and beyond. Here’s a list of 10 ADC presentations not to miss at the conference, curated by @raffcolo and myself. pic.twitter.com/op5RdqUeqr
— Paolo Tarantino (@PTarantinoMD) May 27, 2025