Benjamin Walbaum, Medical Oncologist at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, shared on LinkedIn:
“ESMO Special Edition| My Weekly Take 19–25 October 2026
REAL-WORLD DATA
1. Neoadjuvant Chemo-Immunotherapy Yields Survival Comparable to Upfront Surgery in Metaplastic Breast Cancer: A National Cancer Database Analysis (Ann Surg Oncol)
- In metaplastic TNBC, adding IO raised pCR and closed the survival gap seen with chemotherapy alone.
RCTs / CLINICAL TRIALS
2. Overall Survival with Adjuvant Ribociclib Plus Nonsteroidal Aromatase Inhibitor in High-Risk HR+/HER2− Early Breast Cancer: Six-Year Follow-up of NATALEE (Ann Oncol)
- 2.1% absolute 6-year OS gain (HR 0.81), with iDFS benefit widening to 5.3%.
3. Pembrolizumab Plus Chemotherapy for PD-L1-Positive HR+/HER2− Advanced Breast Cancer: Final Analysis of KEYNOTE-B49 (Ann Oncol)
- Modest PFS gain (HR 0.74), no OS benefit.
4. Atirmociclib and Fulvestrant After Progression on a Prior CDK4/6 Inhibitor: FourLight-1 (Ann Oncol)
- Selective CDK4 inhibition: PFS 9.4 vs 6.6 mo (HR 0.60) after CDK4/6i.
5. Overall Survival from postMONARCH: Abemaciclib Plus Fulvestrant After Prior CDK4/6 Inhibitor (Ann Oncol)
- OS 32.1 vs 24.6 mo, but not statistically significant (HR 0.80).
6. Trastuzumab Rezetecan in ERBB2-Low Advanced Breast Cancer: HORIZON-Breast06 (JAMA)
- PFS 16.4 vs 6.8 mo (HR 0.27) in HER2-low, with heavy hematologic toxicity.
7. Anbenitamab Plus HB1801 for HER2-Positive Advanced Breast Cancer: HEALER (NEJM)
- Biparatopic antibody beats THP first line (HR 0.46; 24-mo PFS 58.5% vs 34.4%).
8. Sacituzumab Tirumotecan vs Chemotherapy in Previously Treated mTNBC: Final OS of OptiTROP-Breast01 (Ann Oncol)
- OS 14.7 vs 9.9 mo (HR 0.60), robust to crossover adjustment.
9. Izalontamab Brengitecan for HR+/HER2− Breast Cancer in China: PANKU-Breast01 (Lancet)
- EGFR/HER3 bispecific ADC doubles PFS (8.2 vs 4.0 mo), at a high hematologic cost.
10. Addition of Tucatinib to Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab After Local Therapy for Isolated Intracranial Progression: BRIDGET (ESMO Open)
- 12-month intracranial PFS of 64% after SRS while keeping the HP backbone.
11. Paxalisib with Trastuzumab for HER2+ MBC with Active Brain Metastases: Phase II with Plasma and CSF ctDNA (Cancer Res Commun)
- No CNS responses, but CSF beats plasma for CNS monitoring.
Translational Science & Biomarkers
12. Association of Circulating Eosinophils with Systemic Immune Activation and Reduced Recurrence in HR+/HER2− Breast Cancer (JCO)
- A routine blood count adds prognostic value beyond RS; the CDK4/6i signal is hypothesis-generating.
13. Ultra-sensitive MRD Assessment in Long-term Complete Responders to Anti-HER2 Therapy: Initial Results from HER2-CR (ESMO Open)
- 86% of long-term HER2+ metastatic responders were ctDNA-negative at final assessment; ctDNA separates indolent from active residual disease.
Advanced bc / Guidelines / Reviews
14. Targeting HER2 — A Triumph of Science (NEJM Editorial)
- First-line HER2+ now has several winners; the next step is predictive biomarkers (e.g., HER2DX).”
You can also read: 25 Posts Not to Miss from ESMO Congress 2026: Day 5
