ASCO 2026 Highlights: Breast & Lung Cancer Advances With Ajaz Khan, MD

At the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, Ajaz Khan, MD, of City of Hope, highlighted several significant developments across breast and lung cancer that are poised to shape clinical practice.

In breast cancer, one emerging theme is the reassessment of low-dose tamoxifen for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ and precursor lesions. New data presented at the meeting demonstrated a reduction in recurrence risk and invasive breast cancer, reinforcing findings previously reported in 2023.

Among the most practice-changing data in early-stage breast cancer is the lidERA trial, a study enrolling more than 4000 pre- and postmenopausal patients with estrogen receptor-positive disease. The trial evaluated giredestrant, an oral selective estrogen receptor downregulator (SERD), and demonstrated improvements in both disease-free survival and recurrence rates compared to standard of care—marking one of the first such agents studied in the early-stage setting.

In lung cancer, Dr Khan spotlighted the LBA4 abstract examining selpercatinib (Retevmo) in RET mutation-positive patients with stage Ib to IIIa disease. In a 400-patient evaluation, the agent showed meaningful improvements in metastasis-free and disease-free survival following initial resection, compared to placebo.

Also generating significant attention is the HARMONi-6 trial, which assessed ivonescimab, a bispecific antibody targeting both the immune checkpoint pathway and VEGF, against immunotherapy alone in the first-line metastatic setting. Results showed a statistically significant benefit in overall response and progression-free survival, with the data set to be featured at the plenary session.

Looking ahead, Dr Khan identified several trends to watch: the potential FDA approval of oral SERDs in both the adjuvant and metastatic breast cancer settings, the expanding role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in disease monitoring, and the growing integration of artificial intelligence to guide treatment decisions and refine patient prognostics.