On October 19, 2025, during the ESMO Congress in Berlin, OncoDaily hosted a special live program — OncoDaily Grand Rounds: GI Edition with Dr. Yelena Janjigian and Friends — an evening that captured what makes the oncology community thrive: science, dialogue, and connection.
Chaired by Dr. Yelena Janjigian, Chief of the GI Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, the session gathered an outstanding international faculty — Dr. Filippo Pietrantonio (Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan), Dr. Samuel J. Klempner (Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School), and Dr. Elena Elimova (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto). Each brought a distinct perspective to a shared goal — making complex ESMO data understandable, relevant, and ready for real-world application.
The event stood out not only for its top-tier faculty but for its dynamic, interactive format. Rather than a typical lecture series, the Grand Rounds adopted a discussion-based approach — experts exchanging views, challenging each other’s interpretations, and responding directly to audience questions. It felt more like an academic roundtable than a congress session — lively, spontaneous, and grounded in daily clinical realities.
Over two hours, the panel walked through some of the most talked-about GI studies of ESMO 2025 — from peri-operative advances such as MATTERHORN, PHERFLOT to ARMANI, and to the latest insights in HER2-directed therapy, ctDNA-guided approaches, and novel immunotherapy combinations. The conversation touched on practice-changing moments from trials like CheckMate 8HW, DESTINY-CRC02, and SKYSCRAPER, while also reflecting on what these data mean for the broader evolution of gastrointestinal oncology.
What truly defined the OncoDaily Ground Rounds evening, however, was its community energy.From residents, fellows to attendees and researchers, everyone came not just to listen, but to engage. Between the science came the stories — of mentorship, global collaboration, and the shared ambition to make cancer care smarter and more equitable.
Dr. Janjigian framed the landscape of novel immunotherapies—TIGIT and LAG-3 inhibitors, next-generation PD-1/PD-L1 agents such as tislelizumab—and previewed what to watch in the 2025 Presidential Sessions. Dr. Pietrantonio emphasized the role of academic trials, novel designs and biomarker guided treatments. Dr. Klempner brought a precision-oncology lens, connecting data to evolving treatment paradigms and navigating different drugs with similar mechanis. Dr. Elimova highlighted the rapid expansion of HER2-targeted and antibody–drug conjugate strategies and their impact on patient quality of life. Together, they created a conversation that was scientific, inspiring, and deeply human.
By the end, it was clear that OncoDaily Grand Rounds had become more than just a meeting — it was a forum for collective reflection on the most meaningful advances of ESMO 2025. It showed how education can be both rigorous and personal, how expert exchange can feel informal yet impactful, and how, in the fast-moving world of oncology, community remains the strongest driver of progress.
As ESMO drew to a close, this session reminded everyone that the value of a congress lies not only in the data presented but in how we come together to interpret, discuss, and apply it.
OncoDaily is proud to have hosted this unique gathering — an evening of science, insight, and shared passion for improving cancer care worldwide.
This event was supported by an independent medical education grant from BeOne Medicines.
