Amanda Pullinger, CEO of Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer, shared on LinkedIn:
“After a quick turnaround following the Seoul trip, I headed to Austin, Texas, to represent Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer at the inaugural Texas Gastrointestinal Cancer Conference.
On Day 1, there were numerous sessions on the latest in stomach and GI cancer treatments and research. Welcome and opening remarks were delivered by Conference Co-Chairs Yelena Janjigian and Scott Paulson.
Session 1 focused on advances in early-stage upper GI cancers, including esophageal, gastroesophageal junction and gastric cancers:
- Daniel Ahn – Adjuvant treatment
- Samuel Cytryn -Neoadjuvant treatment
- Ryan Moy -Management of oligometastatic disease
- Grace Seung Eun Lee -Endoscopic management of upper GI cancers
Session 2 focused on advances in late-stage upper GI cancers, chaired by Samuel Klempner, with presentations on:
- Darshil Shah – Selecting the optimal first-line target: HER2, PD-L1, CLDN18.2 and FGFR2
- Nataliya Uboha – Biomarkers and patient selection for immunotherapy
- Rutika Mehta -Second-line treatment options
- Steven Maron – Applying NGS to the clinical management of upper GI cancers
Once again, in both early-stage and late-stage stomach/GI cancer, we are hearing encouraging news that will give patients more options and better outcomes.
The day concluded with an inspirational keynote from Alex Sheen, founder of the because I said I would. movement.”
About the Texas Gastrointestinal Cancer Conference
The inaugural Texas Gastrointestinal Cancer Conference was held November 5–7, 2026, at ACL Live at The Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. Co-chaired by Yelena Janjigian and Scott Paulson, the CE-accredited meeting brought together more than 40 faculty members across academic and community oncology.
The programme covered early- and late-stage upper GI cancers, colorectal cancer, liver and biliary cancers, pancreatic cancer, rare GI tumors and genetic insights in GI oncology.
Key learning objectives included applying biomarker testing for HER2, PD-L1, CLDN18.2 and FGFR2, using NGS to guide treatment, and selecting immunotherapy and targeted therapies based on molecular profiles.
These biomarkers are increasingly central to treatment selection in gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers, with HER2, PD-L1 and CLDN18.2 already incorporated into contemporary treatment frameworks and FGFR2b continuing to emerge as an investigational target.
Read more articles about Gastric Cancer on OncoDaily.
