Laurence Buisseret, Director of the Medical Oncology Department at Institut Jules Bordet, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“‘Are ADCs immunotherapies?’
At ESMOImmuno25, I had the opportunity to present an overview of ADC plus ICI combinations.
Why do they make sense, and what have we learned so far from clinical trials?
ADC plus ICI is clearly more than ‘chemotherapy plus immunotherapy.’
Biology matters.
As highlighted by Raffaele Colombo, ADCs can induce immune activation through immunogenic cell death, beyond pure cytotoxicity.
This synergy may expand the benefit of ICIs to less immunogenic tumors, overcome resistance to ADCs, and address tumor heterogeneity.
Clinical momentum is strong.
With a 40-year journey, ADCs have already transformed cancer treatment, outperforming standard therapies in multiple tumor types (reviewed by Elizabeth Nally).
ADC plus ICI combinations show encouraging safety (minimal or no overlapping toxicities) and efficacy, with deeper and more durable responses than ADCs alone.
A survival benefit has already been demonstrated in urothelial carcinoma and TNBC, with one approval in advanced urothelial carcinoma and many ongoing phase III trials across solid tumors.
What’s next?
As discussed by Hong I. Wan, next-generation ADCs, bispecifics, and novel combinations—especially ADC designed for immunomodulation, not just cytotoxicity—will further strengthen this strategy.
Moving forward, we need rationally designed trials, optimized partners, doses and sequencing, and the integration of immune and multimodal biomarkers to better select patients.
Thank you to the speakers for this special session with the industry and the interesting discussion!”
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