VJOncology Podcast

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, as part of Oesophageal Cancer Awareness Month in the UK, we are pleased to bring you the latest advances shaping the treatment landscape for oesophageal and gastroesophageal cancers. Join leading experts Yelena Janjigian, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Berend van der Wilk, MD, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Kohei Shitara, MD, National Cancer Center Hospital East, and Ian Chau, MD, Royal Marsden Hospital, as they discuss pivotal data from key clinical trials across the disease spectrum. Our expert panel highlights how these data are refining first-line strategies, informing organ-preserving approaches, and advancing biomarker-driven therapies in oesophageal and gastroesophageal cancers.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, we are delighted to bring you the latest advances in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-informed monitoring and follow-up strategies in breast cancer. Join leading experts Wolfgang Janni, MD, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany, Arielle Medford, MD, Massachusetts General Cancer Center, Boston, MA, Seth Wander, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, and Rinath Jeselsohn, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, as they explore cutting-edge data from key studies including SURVIVE, LEADER, a Phase I/II trial of vepdegestrant, and PACE. Together, they discuss the evolving role of circulating tumor DNA in detecting molecular relapse, guiding early intervention strategies, monitoring treatment response, and predicting resistance across early and advanced ER+/HER2-negative and HR+/HER2-negative breast cancer settings.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, we bring you key updates on the evolving landscape of checkpoint inhibition beyond PD-1 and PD-L1 across solid tumors. Join leading experts Jesus Fuentes-Antras, MD, NEXT Oncology Madrid, Madrid, Spain, Laurence Buisseret, MD, PhD, Institute Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium, and Yuxiang Ma, MD, PhD, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China, as they discuss novel bispecific and bifunctional immunotherapy strategies, first-in-human and early-phase clinical data, and emerging checkpoint inhibitor–ADC combinations shaping treatment paradigms in breast cancer, urothelial carcinoma, and other advanced malignancies.

In recognition of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, this episode of VJOncology podcasts explores advances in cervical cancer prevention and treatment. We hear from three leading experts who discuss pivotal developments shaping clinical practice. Dr Domenica Lorusso from Fondazione IRCCS National Cancer Institute of Milan examines the breakthrough combination of immunotherapy and radiotherapy in locally advanced disease, highlighting practice-changing data from the KEYNOTE-A18 trial that established pembrolizumab plus chemoradiotherapy as the new standard of care for stage 3 cervical cancer. Dr Amanda Psyrri from National Kapodistrian University of Athens underscores the critical role of HPV vaccination in preventing not only cervical cancer but also HPV-associated oropharyngeal malignancies, particularly those caused by high-risk subtypes 16 and 18. Finally, Dr Alberto Farolfi from IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori shares real-world evidence on the addition of bevacizumab to pembrolizumab-chemotherapy regimens in advanced cervical cancer, demonstrating survival benefits without increased serious adverse events. This episode offers essential insights into the evolving landscape of cervical cancer management from prevention through advanced disease.

This podcast is available on the GI Cancer Channel on VJOncology, an independent medical education platform, which is supported by Takeda (Gold) and Gilead Sciences (Silver). Supporters have no influence over the production of content. The levels of sponsorship listed are reflective of the amount of funding given. This VJOncology podcast explores the evolving landscape of immunotherapy in gastrointestinal malignancies, spanning from perioperative to adjuvant settings across multiple tumor types. Findings from the Phase II KEYSTEP-008 platform trial are presented, focusing on optimizing pembrolizumab-based combinations in MSI-high, mismatch repair deficient metastatic colorectal cancer. In addition, emerging biomarkers for immunotherapy beyond microsatellite instability in colorectal cancer are explored, including results from the TAPUR trial evaluating dual checkpoint inhibition in patients with BRCA1/2 alterations. The historically challenging adjuvant setting in hepatocellular carcinoma is examined through insights from the KEYNOTE-937 trial evaluating immunotherapy after curative-intent treatment. Finally, experts discuss the NEOSUMMIT-01 trial and how perioperative immunotherapy is transforming treatment strategies for locally advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers. Together, these perspectives highlight immunotherapy's expanding therapeutic potential across the GI cancer spectrum.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, we bring you key developments in novel approaches in immunotherapy refractory head and neck cancer. Join head and neck cancer expert Amanda Psyrri, MD, PhD, FACP, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece, as she discusses on mechanisms of resistance to checkpoint inhibitors, strategies to overcome resistance such as antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and tumor vaccines, as well as the trials assessing anti-TIGIT inhibitors.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, the first of 2026, we bring you key updates in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in oncology and how it will impact clinicians and patients alike. Join renowned experts Anita Grigoriadis, PhD, King’s College London, London, UK, Rosalind Picard, ScD, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA, Jana Lipkova, PhD, University of California, Irvine, CA, and Roberto Salgado, MD, PhD, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia as they comment on how to increase AI literacy for oncologists, identifying patients with high-risk lobular breast cancer with AI, and more.

In this episode of the VJOncology Podcast, we bring you key highlights from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025 (SABCS 2025). This curated episode features expert insights into practice-changing data across HER2-positive metastatic disease, hormone receptor–positive early breast cancer, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in risk stratification. Leading investigators discuss advances in targeted therapies, endocrine treatment optimization, and AI-driven tools that may refine prognostic assessment and clinical decision-making in breast cancer.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, we will be covering highlights from ESMO 2025 in Berlin, Germany. Gain expert insights in the field of genitourinary cancers, including highly-anticipated trial results, emerging biomarkers in kidney cancer, and the evolving role of radionuclides in  prostate cancer. Join renowned speakers Andrea Necchi, MD, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital and Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, Sara Coca Membribes, MD, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK, Scott Tagawa, MD, MS, FACP, Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY, Paul Nguyen, MD, MBA, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, as they discuss trials such as GDFather-NEO, CALYPSO, and more.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, we have the pleasure to bring you key updates in gastrointestinal cancer at ESMO 2025, which we attended live in Berlin. Join esteemed experts Kohei Shitara, MD, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan, Michele Reni, MD, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, Stephen Lam Chan, MD, FRCP, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, and Anwaar Saeed, MD, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, as they discuss ground-breaking trials such as FORTITUDE-101, CASSANDRA, STELLAR-303, and more.

In this episode of the VJOncology Podcast, we bring you four standout interviews from ESMO 2025 that are reshaping the way we think about lung cancer. From antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific T-cell engagers through novel HER2-targeted TKIs to tumour-immune microenvironment biomarkers, the treatment paradigm is evolving rapidly. Join us as we explore findings from the Phase III OptiTROP-Lung04 study of sacituzumab tirumotecan in EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) post-TKI progression, safety analysis of DeLLphi-304: tarlatamab vs standard chemo in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), the first-line Beamion LUNG-1 experience of zongertinib in advanced HER2-mutant NSCLC and biomarker insights from the ImmunoDriver-2 analysis. We’ll weave together how these advances hint at a future where molecular and immunologic profiling come together: identifying patients who will benefit most, integrating new treatment classes, and navigating safety/survivorship in more complex regimens. 

In this week’s podcast from VJOncology, leading experts share key insights from the 44th Congress of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO 44), held in Gothenburg, Sweden. The meeting brought together global specialists to discuss innovations in cancer surgery, including artificial intelligence, robotics, and fluorescence imaging. Beate Rau, MD, PhD, highlights advances across gastrointestinal and rectal cancers, as well as the role of intraperitoneal chemotherapy in gastric cancer. Marco Fiore, MD, discusses the evolving surgical approach to retroperitoneal sarcoma, while Piotr Rutkowski, MD, explores progress in melanoma management, from gene expression profiling to new targeted treatments. Gabrielle van Ramshorst, MD, outlines the essential skills for the next generation of colorectal surgeons, and Domenico D’Ugo, MD, reflects on the concept of the mesogastrium and its implications for radical gastric cancer surgery.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, leading experts share the latest updates in ADCs in HER2-positive and metastatic breast cancer in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Charles Geyer, MD, discusses pivotal results from the Phase III DESTINY-Breast05 trial, where trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) significantly improved invasive disease-free and disease-free survival versus trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in high-risk HER2-positive early breast cancer, reducing the risk of brain metastases. Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH, highlights the practice-changing reduction in recurrence risk with T-DXd and comments on the expanding role of antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) in earlier lines of therapy across breast cancer subtypes, referencing data from DESTINY-Breast09 and ASCENT-03. Finally, Erika Hamilton, MD, reviews the advancement of ADCs into the curative setting through DESTINY-Breast11 and discusses emerging combination strategies and first-line use in triple-negative breast cancer, emphasizing the growing importance of ADCs in modern breast cancer care.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, leading experts share key updates presented at the ESMO 2025 Congress in Berlin, Germany. Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH, highlights the expanding role of ADCs in earlier lines of metastatic breast cancer, presenting data from the DESTINY-Breast09 and ASCENT-03 trials, and discusses results from DESTINY-Breast05, where trastuzumab deruxtecan demonstrated superior outcomes to trastuzumab emtansine in high-risk HER2-positive early breast cancer. Scott Tagawa, MD, reports findings from the PSMAddition trial of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, showing improved radiographic progression-free survival. Antonio Passaro, MD, PhD, outlines data from the OptiTROP-Lung04 study of sacituzumab tirumotecan in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, establishing a new benchmark for TROP2-directed ADCs. Andrea Necchi, MD, discusses interim results from the RC48-C016 trial supporting disitamab vedotin plus toripalimab in HER2-expressing urothelial carcinoma, and Sapna Patel, MD, shares encouraging early findings on PRAME-directed TCR therapy in uveal melanoma.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, leading experts share the latest updates in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in recognition of Liver Cancer Awareness Month. Stephen Lam Chan, MD, FRCP, discusses emerging immunotherapy and targeted approaches, including novel TIM3 and TIGIT inhibitors, and findings from the SIERRA study of durvalumab and tremelimumab in advanced HCC. Lorenza Rimassa, MD, reviews the CheckMate 9DW trial establishing nivolumab plus ipilimumab as a new standard of care, while Qi Cheng, PhD, highlights promising results from a Phase II study of irpagratinib plus atezolizumab in FGF19-positive HCC. Ciro Celsa, MD, PhD, shares real-world data from the DT-REAL study evaluating durvalumab with or without tremelimumab in unresectable HCC, confirming the regimen’s effectiveness in clinical practice. Finally, Marina Baretti, MD, presents encouraging findings from a Phase I study of a peptide vaccine targeting the DNAJB1-PRKACA fusion in fibrolamellar HCC.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, we are joined by brain tumor experts Stephen Bagley, MD, MSCE, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, and Cecile Riviere-Cazaux, PhD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, as they discuss the latest updates in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) liquid biopsies in brain tumors. They will comment on the rationale and challenges in CSF liquid biopsies in this space, current research in their clinical utility and what the future holds for this area.

In this week’s exclusive VJOncology podcast, we are joined by Javier Martín-Broto, MD, PhD, Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain, who shares expert insights on the evolving role of immunotherapy in sarcoma. He discusses the unique immunosensitivity of alveolar soft part sarcoma, the potential of combining checkpoint inhibitors with anti-angiogenic or anti-CTLA-4 agents, and encouraging results with TCR-T cell therapy in synovial sarcoma and myxoid liposarcoma. The role of biomarkers such as tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) is also highlighted as a predictor of response to immunotherapy.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, we have the pleasure to bring you key updates in lung cancer at IASLC 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), which we attended live in Barcelona, Spain. Join experts John Varlotto, MD, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, Alessio Cortellini, MD, Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy, Ana Baramidze, MD, PhD, Todua Clinic, Tbilisi, Georgia, Nicolas Girard, MD, Institut Curie, Paris, France, and Kenneth O'Byrne, MD, MB, BCh, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, as they discuss pivotal trials in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) such as the FLAURA2, and ACROSS 2 trials, developments in mesothelioma, and practice-changing data in small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

In this week’s podcast from VJOncology, three leading experts provide insights into the latest advances in precision medicine for head and neck cancer. Luigi Lorini of Humanitas Research Hospital discusses the evolving treatment landscape of immunotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Danny Rischin of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre presents findings from a Phase II trial evaluating fianlimab plus cemiplimab in patients with recurrent or metastatic PD-L1–expressing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Finally, Jun Ma from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center explores the future of immunotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma beyond PD-1 and shares results from the Phase III DIAMOND trial of toripalimab with induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy, with or without concurrent cisplatin, in locoregionally advanced disease.

In this week’s VJOncology podcast, we will be joined by Rupert Bartsch, MD, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, as he outlines current and emerging strategies for managing HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer after antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) therapy, with a focus on trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd). He discusses the use of tucatinib-based regimens, mechanisms of resistance to agents such as trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), and approaches to treating brain metastases, drawing on evidence from trials. The importance of individualized treatment is highlighted, particularly in hormone receptor–positive disease, where CDK4/6 inhibitors may provide added benefit.