Welcome to OncoDaily Weekly, your all-in-one roundup of this week’s oncology news, policy shifts, scientific advances, leadership moves and insightful stories from February 16-22.
As the Winter Olympics capture global attention, OncoDaily’s week leaned into a familiar theme in oncology: resilience under pressure – whether it’s athletes returning to competition after cancer, clinicians translating new trial data into practice, or systems adapting to shifting regulatory and policy realities.
Winter Olympics Spotlight: Survivorship on the World Stage
OncoDaily’s special read this week followed Winter Olympians who have faced cancer and still returned to elite sport – stories that cut through statistics and land on the human truth of survivorship: treatment is not always an endpoint, and recovery is rarely linear.
FDA-Related Updates and Practice-Changing Evidence
Monthly RYBREVANT FASPRO (amivantamab) dosing: The FDA cleared a monthly formulation schedule, aiming to reduce infusion burden while maintaining a targeted option for EGFR-mutated NSCLC.
CHECKMATE 649 (5-year follow-up): Long-term results reinforced nivolumab + chemotherapy as a durable first-line standard in PD-L1 CPS ≥5, with a 5-year OS rate of 16% vs 6% for chemotherapy alone (HR 0.71), and no new safety signals with extended follow-up.
KEYNOTE-905 / EV-303 (perioperative EV + pembrolizumab in cisplatin-ineligible MIBC): The combination substantially improved outcomes versus surgery alone – 2-year EFS 74.7% vs 39.4%, 2-year OS 79.7% vs 63.1%, and pCR 57.1% vs 8.6% – while toxicity remained a meaningful tradeoff in this frail population.
PANORAMA (AI vs radiologists in pancreatic cancer detection): In a rigorous multicenter design, AI achieved AUROC 0.92 and outperformed pooled radiologists (AUROC 0.88), detecting 38% more cancers at matched specificity – pushing “opportunistic screening” from idea to a testable implementation question.
Elections and Role Changes
UICC: Nominations Open for 2026–2028 Board and President-Elect: UICC opened nominations for its 2026–2028 Board of Directors and President-elect. Fourteen Board members and one President-elect will be elected by UICC full members at the General Assembly on 20 October 2026, with nominations due Sunday, 5 April 2026.
ESTRO Elections 2026: Voting runs 7 April – 7 May 2026 to select the next President-Elect and Board members.
St. Jude leadership transition: St. Jude announced that James R. Downing will step down as president and CEO this year after 12 years; a global search is underway with an expected CEO announcement in summer 2026 and transition by end-2026, while Downing stays on in a faculty role supporting global pediatric medicine.
James R. Downing
Sanofi CEO change: Paul Hudson marked his last day at Sanofi, and the company appointed Belén Garijo as successor, framing her mandate around R&D productivity, governance, and innovation capacity.
Global Health and Policy
A caution on medical messaging from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “Listen to health experts, not influencers or political figures” landed as a clean takeaway in a week where public discourse continues to compete with evidence
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan: Stella Kyriakides highlighted the long arc of implementation – positioning the plan as a sustained, multi-year policy project rather than a single-cycle announcement. In her statement she emphasized that Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is going to be fully implemented in 2028 – 2034.
Radiopharmaceuticals market trajectory: An industry outlook projected the global radiopharmaceuticals market reaching $21.8B by 2033 (10.6% CAGR), reflecting both growing cancer demand and accelerating R&D interest.
Hope 4 Kids Albania: A newly launched nonprofit in Tirana is created to strengthen pediatric oncology/hematology services nationwide – supporting families from diagnosis through recovery with medical, psychosocial, and rights-based advocacy. It aims to promote European-aligned treatment protocols, research/innovation, and partnerships with national and international institutions to improve standards and access across Albania.
Behind the Scenes of The Breast Friends
OncoDaily interviewed Paolo Tarantino and Jason Mouabbi on launching The Breast Friends podcast – positioned as intentionally “off-script” breast oncology talk that focuses on how clinicians reason through messy, evolving data rather than reciting slide-deck conclusions.
OncoDaily Originals to Watch
JocOnDa Journal Club: OncoDaily launched its official virtual journal club, starting with a GI oncology edition led by Thiago Felismino, and set it up as a structured, evidence-first forum to translate pivotal trials into real clinical decisions.
