Insight

Matthew Kurian: Day 1 at ASCO 2025 – Bringing the Voice of the Community Oncologist to the Table

Matthew Kurian/LinkedIn

Jun 1, 2025, 08:28

Matthew Kurian: Day 1 at ASCO 2025 – Bringing the Voice of the Community Oncologist to the Table

Matthew Kurian, Assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Day 1 at ASCO25 — What a start!

Yesterday, I was grateful and energized to kick off the meeting with a full slate of panel discussions, meaningful conversations, and insightful sessions.

Honored to bring the voice of the community oncologist to the table — while also representing as a subspecialist in breast and GU cancers. Bridging academic innovation with real-world practice is more than a talking point in the community it affects everyday lives.

Highlights from yesterday’s metastatic breast cancer data that stood out:

T-DXd re-challenge in a diverse, real-world population (Hope Rugo)

– Rechallenge after Grade 1 ILD showed no Grade 5 ILD events
– Median time to ILD: 5 months | Median duration on therapy: 215 days
– 61% had dose reductions, yet clinical benefit maintained
– A reminder: CT chest at 6 weeks, no longer than 9 weeks

OPTI-TROP5 (Sacituzumab Tirumotecan)

– Novel Trop-2–directed ADC with a belotecan-based topoisomerase I inhibitor payload
– In mTNBC (PD-L1–agnostic): ORR 45.4%, DCR 92%
– Median PFS: 6.7 mo vs 2.5 mo (HR 0.32) | OS not reached vs 9.4 mo (HR 0.53)
– Unique AEs: Cytopenias, stomatitis (10%), and rare but notable exophthalmia & blurred vision (3.1%)
– Manageable toxicity with promising durability and activity in a challenging population
– Question: How does it stack up against sacituzumab govitecan in this setting?

KAT6 inhibitor + fulvestrant (Patricia LoRusso, Yale Cancer Center):

– First-in-class, novel KAT6 inhibitor (PF-07248144) in Phase I dose escalation/expansion
– In ER+/HER2– MBC post-CDK4/6, combination showed:
→ ORR 37.2%, median PFS 10.7 months
– Safety: Dysgeusia (84.6%, mostly Grade 1); Grade ≥3 neutropenia ~37%
– Question: Where does this fit in with new oral SERDs?

From hallway chats to clinical deep-dives, the spirit of collaboration and shared purpose was everywhere. Whether you’re at a major academic center or, like me, in a community setting – we’re all pushing oncology forward, together.

Let’s keep the momentum going! If we met today – let’s keep in touch. If we haven’t yet – come find me!”

Matthew Kurian: Day 1 at ASCO 2025 – Bringing the Voice of the Community Oncologist to the Table