BOSTON, October 20, 2026 – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers will present findings at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Madrid, Spain. The studies, including a lung cancer clinical trial featured in the Presidential Symposium, will be presented both in-person and online from October 23 to October 27.
Additional studies with compelling results span multiple cancer types, including prostate, breast, and kidney.
Access a full list of Dana-Farber Presentations at the 2026 ESMO Congress.
Access a full list of Dana-Farber Poster Presentations at the 2026 ESMO Congress.
ESMO Presidential Symposium
DeLLphi-305 (Lung): Jacob Sands, MD , Associate Chief of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology at Dana-Farber , presents LBA3, "Tarlatamab plus durvalumab (durva) vs durva as first-line (1L) maintenance (1LM) therapy following durva, platinum, and etoposide (1L durva + EP) in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC): Primary analysis of the phase 3 DeLLphi-305 trial," in the Presidential Symposium I on Saturday, October 24, 2026; 4:30-6:15pm CEST.
Dr. Sands will participate in ESMO Press Briefing I - Saturday, October 24, 2026, 1:00-1:45pm CEST.
ESMO Late-Breaking Prostate Cancer Abstract
Proteus Substudy (Prostate): Mary-Ellen Taplin, MD , of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber , is the senior author of LBA53, "Perioperative apalutamide (APA) plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with radical prostatectomy plus pelvic lymph node dissection (RP + PLND) vs RP + PLND alone in patients with high-risk localized or locally advanced prostate cancer (HR LPC/LAPC): PROTEUS Substudy," which will be presented in Proffered paper: Genitourinary tumours, prostate, penile and testis session on Saturday, October 24, 2026; 10:15-11:45am CEST.
Dana-Farber Discussant on Key Endometrial Cancer Research
Phase 3 TroFuse-005/ENGOT-en23/GOG-3095 Study (Endometrial Cancer): Joyce Liu, MD, MPH , associate chief and clinical research director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Dana-Farber, is the discussant on LBA11, "Sacituzumab Tirumotecan in Previously Treated Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Cancer: Results from the Phase 3 TroFuse-005/ENGOT-en23/GOG-3095 Study," which will be presented in the Presidential Symposium III on Monday, October 26, 2026; 4:30-6:15pm CET.
Dr. Liu will participate in ESMO Press Briefing III - Monday, October 26, 2026, 1:00-1:45pm CET.
Cancer Vaccines: Special ESMO Sessions
Dana-Farber experts will lead 3 special sessions focusing on cancer vaccine research, including research into mRNA vaccines.
Patrick Ott, MD, PhD, Clinical Director, Melanoma Disease Center at Dana-Farber, presents, "Personalizing vaccines using peptides, DNA, mRNA and more," in the Special Symposium - Melanoma: From standard fit to bespoke care, on Friday, October 23, 2026, 2:10-2:30pm CEST. Dr. Ott also presents, "Personalized Cancer Vaccines," in the Education Session: All About Cancer Vaccines, on Sunday, October 25, 2026, 8:45-9:00am CET.
Toni Choueiri, MD , director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber presents, "What oncologists should know about mRNA vaccines: Perspectives from the medical oncologist," in the Special Session - What oncologists should know about mRNA vaccines, on Friday, October 23, 2026, 3:35-3:55pm CEST.
Next-generation cell cycle inhibitor safe and effective for HR+/HER2- breast cancer patients in first randomized study
An investigational drug called atirmociclib, administered with endocrine therapy (ET), outperformed the standard of care in patients with HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer who previously progressed on CDK4/6 inhibitors, finds Antonio Giordano, MD, PhD , breast medical oncologist and interim director of the Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation at Dana-Farber . FOURLIGHT-1, an open-label, multicenter, phase II study of 263 patients, is the first randomized trial of atirmociclib, a next-generation cell cycle inhibitor selective for CDK4, with ET. CDK4/6 inhibitors plus ET have historically been the first-line treatment for HR+/HER2- patients, but tumors eventually acquire resistance. For patients who received atirmociclib+ET in this study, median progression-free survival was 9.4 months, compared to 6.6 in the standard of care group. Atirmociclib was well-tolerated and improved progression-free survival in patients with visceral and nonvisceral metastases. It is the first next-generation selective CDK4 inhibitor found to be both safe and effective in patients who previously responded to CDK4/6 inhibitors, making it a promising intervention for continued study.
- Study Title: Efficacy and safety of atirmociclib + fulvestrant in patients with HR+/HER2– advanced/metastatic breast cancer who progressed on prior CDK4/6 inhibitor in a randomized phase 2 study (FOURLIGHT-1) (1842O)
- Proffered paper 2: Breast cancer, early and advanced stage on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 2:50am ET (8:50am CEST)
- Presenting Author: Antonio Giordano, MD, PhD
New oral therapy combination benefits ER+/HER2- breast cancer patients regardless of tumor genomic variants and biomarkers
Patients with ER+, HER2- advanced breast cancer previously treated with CDK4/6 inhibitors benefitted from combination treatment with giredestrant (GIRE), a novel, next-generation selective ER degrader and full antagonist (SERD), and everolimus (E), regardless of their tumor's genomic alterations and the presence of certain biomarkers, according to data that will be presented by Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH , chief of the Division of Breast Oncology at Dana-Farber. At the outset of evERA Breast Cancer, a phase III trial investigating GIRE + E compared to the standard of care, researchers assessed the presence of genomic alterations, numbers and types of ESR1 mutations, and amount of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in 373 patients. This provided a rich basis of data for a retrospective analysis. GIRE + E extended progression-free survival even for those with alterations such as TP53, GATA3, and RB1, multiple ESR1 mutations, and higher levels of ctDNA – underscoring the combination treatment's promise across a variety of ER+, HER2- patients with prior CDK4/6 treatment.
- Study Title: Retrospective exploratory biomarker (BM) analyses from evERA Breast Cancer (BC): A Phase III trial of giredestrant (GIRE) + everolimus (E) in patients (pts) with oestrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced BC (ER+, HER2– aBC) in the post-CDK4/6 inhibitor (i) setting (2RO)
- Rapid oral 1: Breast cancer, advanced stage on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 4:20am ET (10:20am CEST)
- Presenting Author: Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH
Standard of care regimen remains most effective for advanced kidney cancer
Toni Choueiri, MD , director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Cancer at Dana-Farber, presents findings from a phase 3 three-arm LITESPARK-012 clinical trial showing that neither the addition of a HIF-2α inhibitor or a CTLA-4 inhibitor to standard of care regimen pembrolizumab and lenvatinib improved efficacy for patients with untreated advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma. In the study, 1,688 patients were randomized to receive either belzutifan with the standard of care or MK-1308A, a coformulation of quavonlimab, a CTLA-4 inhibitor, and pembrolizumab, plus lenvatinib, or standard of care. Patients taking either triplet therapy had greater adverse effects where 51.6 percent of patients with belzutifan and 51.4 percent of patients with MK-1308A withdrew from the regimen compared to 36.2 percent of patients with the standard of care over 108 weeks. Neither additional regimen to the standard of care improved efficacy, suggesting the standard of care drug regimen remains most effective for patients with advanced RCC. Although the study did not meet its objectives, these findings will help inform the design of future studies for advanced kidney cancer.
- Study Title: First-line pembrolizumab + lenvatinib + belzutifan or MK-1308A + lenvatinib in advanced RCC: randomized open-label phase 3 LITESPARK-012 study (3586O)
- Proffered paper 2: Genitourinary tumours, renal and urothelial on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 3:30am ET (8:30am CET)
- Presenting Author: Toni Choueiri, MD
KIM-1 informs treatment decisions for advanced kidney cancer
Wenxin (Vincent) Xu, MD , of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Cancer at Dana-Farber, will present an analysis of the COSMIC-313 randomized phase III clinical trial data finding that KIM-1 levels inform treatment selection for patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (cRCC), a form of kidney cancer. The previously reported COSMIC-313 trial showed that immunotherapy (nivolumab plus ipilimumab) plus cabozantinib improves progression-free survival as first-line therapy in patients with advanced kidney cancer compared to immunotherapy alone. However, some patients do very well on immunotherapy alone. Previous research by Xu identified KIM-1 as an early biomarker predicting which patients were likely to do well on immunotherapy alone, showing that early KIM-1 drops differentiate patients who might benefit from continued immunotherapy alone from those who might benefit from a treatment change.
This new analysis of data from COSMIC-313 validates those findings. Further investigation of patients receiving immunotherapy alone showed that reductions in KIM-1 occurred in patients with immune-inflamed tumors that might be more responsive to immunotherapy, while patients who did not experience reductions in KIM-1 were found to have immune-depleted tumors. A model was created based on pre-treatment tumor transcriptomics to predict KIM-1 response after immunotherapy. Patients predicted to have poor KIM-1 response to immunotherapy, based on this model, had more benefit from the addition of cabozantinib.
- Study title: Plasma Kidney Injury Molecule-1 (KIM-1) Dynamics During First-Line Immunotherapy With or Without Cabozantinib in Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma (aRCC) (3593RO)
- Rapid oral 2: Genitourinary tumours, renal and urothelial on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 10:39am ET (3:39pm CET)
- Presenting Author: Wenxin (Vincent) Xu, MD
About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a global leader in cancer research and care, with a mission to reduce the burden of cancer through scientific discovery, clinical excellence, education, community engagement and advocacy. Dana-Farber is dedicated to a unique and equal balance of cancer research and care, offering more than 1,200 clinical trials and translating the results of discovery into new treatments for patients locally and around the world. U.S. News & World Report recognized Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center as the Best Hospital for Cancer in Massachusetts and number three in the nation, and Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center as the Best Children's Hospital for Cancer in the country, making Dana-Farber the only hospital in the country among the top three for both adult and pediatric cancer care. It is a federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
