Evolving paradigms in digestive oncology: highlights and reflections from ASCO 2025
Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) versus ramucirumab (RAM) + paclitaxel (PTX) in second-line treatment of patients (pts) with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) unresectable/metastatic gastric cancer (GC) or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (GEJA): primary analysis of the randomized, phase 3 DESTINY-Gastric04 (DG04) study DG04, which evaluated T-DXd against the current standard of care combination of RAM […]
Personalised nutritional care in an integrated screening protocol: the green way of oncology nutrition in Portugal
Introduction Nutrition is critical to the management of cancer, and it is of utmost importance to identify clinical findings that may negatively impact tolerance to treatments, quality of life, and survival, e.g. malnutrition, sarcopenia (weight loss and depletion of muscle mass and function), physical function or cachexia (severe weight loss characterised by a persistent decline […]
Definition of therapeutic limits and do-not-resuscitate decision in Oncology: the perception of different healthcare professionals in a portuguese hospital
Introduction The definition of therapeutic limits and the establishment of do-not-resuscitate decisions are complex decisions that involve multidimensional assessments and the consideration of individual, prognostic, and ethical factors1,2. In cancer patients, they are often necessary in advanced stages of the disease, in the absence of therapeutic options, and in situations with a prognosis of short-term […]
Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia during adjuvant chemotherapy of breast cancer: a hidden complication of the prophylactic corticosteroids?
Introduction Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death among women in Europe1, despite recent declines in mortality rates. Over the last 5 years, most European countries have reported significant reductions in breast cancer mortality2, mainly attributed to advances in systemic treatment and, to a lesser extent, improvement in screening and diagnostic methods. Neoadjuvant […]
Highlights from the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual meeting: head-and-neck cancers
Introduction Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) represents a heterogenous group of diseases, and remains a major global health challenge, with survival rates for locally advanced disease showing limited improvement despite multimodal therapy strategies. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting is a premier global forum for presenting cutting-edge oncology research and […]
Molecularly targeted agents and tumor biology
Regarding the area of “Developmental Therapeutics Molecularly Targeted Agents and Tumor Biology,” the presentations selected were: – Abstract 3002 – Phase I study of iza-bren (BL-B01D1), an epidermal growth factor receptor × human epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (EGFR × HER3) bispecific antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), in patients (pts) with locally advanced or metastatic small cell […]
Highlights from the 2025 ASCO annual meeting: central nervous system
Stereotactic radiation versus hippocampal avoidance whole brain radiation in patients with 5-20 brain metastases: A multicenter, phase 3 randomized trial Prior trials have demonstrated that stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)/stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) yields better outcomes than traditional whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in patients with 1-4 brain metastases, and that hippocampal avoidance WBRT (HA-WBRT) is superior to traditional […]
Breast cancer panel: summary of 5 key studies
At the Best of ASCO 2025 meeting hosted by the Portuguese Society of Oncology, five studies were presented in the Breast Cancer panel, all considered relevant to present clinical practice. One focused on early-stage breast cancer (NeoCARHP), while the remaining studies addressed advanced breast cancer (aBC), including two on luminal human epidermal growth factor receptor […]
Best of ASCO 2025 narrative review article – Skin cancer
DREAMseq: A phase III trial of treatment sequences in BRAFV600-mutant (m) metastatic melanoma (MM) – Final clinical results BRAF is one of the most commonly mutated oncogenes in melanoma1. Patients with BRAF-mutant MM can be treated either with targeted therapy (TT) or with combined immunotherapy (IO)2–4 such as nivolumab and ipilimumab5 both of which have […]
Best of ASCO 2025 – Survivorship
Introduction For the section Survivorship and Symptom Control at the Sociedade Portuguesa de Oncologia (SPO) Best of ASCO 2025 – Official Licensed Annual Meeting, we aimed to select abstracts answering tangible questions regarding the management of frequent challenges encountered by oncologists on their daily routine. Evidence has shown that the development of optimized supportive care […]