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Olubukola Ayodele: What this week at ASCO25 has meant, not just as an Oncologist, but as a human being

Olubukola Ayodele/LinkedIn

Jun 4, 2025, 11:10

Olubukola Ayodele: What this week at ASCO25 has meant, not just as an Oncologist, but as a human being

Olubukola Ayodele, Consultant Medical Oncologist at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“As I prepare to leave Chicago, I’m taking a quiet moment to absorb what this week at ASCO25 has meant, not just as an oncologist, but as a human being.

This year’s meeting reminded me of three core truths:

That science is accelerating fast.

From DESTINY-Breast09 redefining first-line HER2+ mBC, to ASCENT-04 bringing real promise and a chemo-free future to mTNBC. SERENA-6 showing us how to act on molecular resistance before radiographic progression, to INAVO120 offering survival gains in PIK3CA-mutant HR+ disease, it’s clear we are entering a new age of targeted, smarter care.

Science alone is not enough.

The session on financial toxicity made it painfully clear: innovation without access is exclusion. Cancer patients are being forced to choose between health and housing, drugs and dignity. As oncologists, we must not only know what to prescribe but understand what it cost in every sense.

Equity isn’t a side note, it’s the main story.

The AORTIC global oncology session reaffirmed this: we need trials in Africa. However, this is not just about Africa. We need datasets that reflect everyone, not just the privileged. And we need to dismantle systemic barriers in screening, access, and follow-up that leave too many behind.

I leave ASCO this year with data in my mind, but stories in my heart.

Many who cannot afford to stop working while on cancer treatment.

Black patients excluded from pivotal trials now receiving drugs with uncertain benefit.

Clinicians in Africa doing world-class work with a fraction of the resources.

What gives me hope?

The people. The community. The fact that more of us are speaking not just about tumour response rates but about humanity, healing and justice.

So, I move forward not just with new data, but with renewed purpose.

I leave you with my ASCO selfie collection.

Also, today is my birthday!!! Happy Birthday to me.”

Olubukola Ayodele shared key reflections from ASCO 2025, emphasizing groundbreaking trial data, the urgent need to address financial and systemic inequities, and the power of community in advancing justice in cancer care.

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#cancer patients Africa AORTIC ASCENT-04 ASCO ASCO2025 cancer Chicago DESTINY-Breast09 fight against cancer Global fight against cancer HER2 INAVO120 mTNBC NHS Trust Olubukola Ayodele OncoDaily Oncology PIK3CA SERENA-6 University Hospitals of Leicester

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