Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind

This week, Josh and Michael's ASCO 2026 coverage looks at "Agents of the Future", trials of intrigue, promise and potential beyond its status. This episode also sheds light on more orphan status cancers like head and neck cancer, basket cohort studies, resistant EGFR lung cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. One more episode left of this arc - The Plenary! Stay tuned....

ASCO 2026 is done, and Michael and Josh have created a marathon episode for you all. This week we cover "Agents of the Present", where we summarise all the important trials with updates, overall survival and progression-free survival data that could influence your practice. They cover immunotherapy, lifestyle interventions, pan-PI3K inhibitors, rare cancers (such as uveal melanoma), and antibody d...

This week, we take a quick trip to Stockholm, Sweden, where ESTRO (European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology) took place several weeks ago. A/Prof Steven David digs deep into the latest updates in the breast cancer radiation space, including hyperfractionation of treatment, the utilisation of AI for radiation planning (Archery Trial), and the DBCG RT Natural Trial, which examined whether omit...

This episode tells the story of how one man, Jake Messier, who is living with metastatic male breast cancer, is challenging the stigma surrounding this disease, which affects 1% of all breast cancer patients. It's an important reminder that not all cancers are funded and researched equally, and that behind every statistic is a person trying to live a normal life. Jake has used his lifelong PR skil...

This week, we take a "back to the future" look at the early-stage pancreatic cancer phase, a relatively stagnant area in terms of pivotal trials. The two trials are the ESPAC4 trial, which examines doublet chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer, and Josh does a traditional deep dive into the world of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. He highlights ESPAC-5, PREOPANC-2, and the TAPS consortium, to name a few. A...

Today, we accidentally skipped early pancreatic cancer and jumped straight to advanced pancreatic cancer. It was a sombre episode, with clinicians and advocates screaming for better treatment options for this cancer. While small incremental advances have been made, the holy grail remains elusive. Today our focus is on NAPOLI-3, the use of liposomal irinotecan (NALIRIFOX), and PANOVA-3, where TTFie...

On today's episode, Josh and Michael "advance" in their ongoing GI journey, as Michael continuously insists on saying, to discuss advanced gastric and GOJ cancer. Historically, an orphan disease with a very poor prognosis, perhaps the first rays of light are beginning to shine on this difficult-to-treat cancer type. Immunotherapy has been well established as standard of care, but are there any new...

This week, as we enter our 200th episode, Michael and Josh continue their journey through the alimentary canal, exploring the world of stomach cancer. Gastric cancer has been notoriously difficult to treat, with a thirty-year grace period of multiple trials seeking an appropriate regimen that reduces recurrences while remaining effective. This episode gives you all the answers, and just when we th...

Good therapeutic options for metastatic colorectal cancer are limited after the fluoropyrimidine-based options are exhausted. This week, we explore the role of trifluridine-tipiracil (Lonsurf) and bevacizumab (VEGF inhibitor), and a newish kid on the block, fruquitinib, an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor. While not perfect, they do represent later-lin...

Today's episode, like several of the greatest cult classics, comes a bit earlier than anticipated. Before we wrap up our epic recap of the colorectal space, we will give you a little taster of our UGI series with a look at early oesophageal cancer, focussing on the chemotherapy backbone and whether immunotherapy has any place in this space. Spoiler alert (as always): it does. Studies discussed in...

Metastatic Colorectal Cancer has a dearth of targetable mutations that have effective outcomes. This week, Michael and Josh see whether the wonder drug (trastruzumab deruxtecan) works in HER2-expressing colorectal cancer. Michael takes a more positive tone, with the recycling of aspirin to reduce recurrence risk for PI3K pathway cancers. Josh promised he will have the right audio this episode - th...

UPDATED WITH CORRECT AUDIO While Michael daydreams of getting a haircut, this week's topics are slightly more conventional as we explore the role of more targeted agents in metastatic colorectal cancer. KRAS and BRAF mutations in colorectal cancer were historically prognostic; this has now shifted with targeted therapies available for both. In the context of metastatic colorectal cancer, BRAF muta...

Historically, colorectal cancer treatment has been fairly standard, but this has shifted over the past decade with the introduction of targeted therapies. This week, our focus is on patients with microsatellite instability (dMMR) colorectal cancer, a small but meaningful cohort. This condition affects up to 15% of patients, many of whom carry germline mutations in the MLH1 and MSH2 genes, which si...

Metastatic colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths and among the most common types of cancer worldwide. Chemotherapy remains the main treatment, but the question is: how can we make it more effective without increasing toxicity?   This week, we explore the intensification of chemotherapy in an effort to improve overall survival. The second topic involves the us...

Professor Jonathan E. Rosenberg, MD, serves as the Chief of the Genitourinary Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC). He is a prolific researcher and author, holding multiple titles including Attending Physician at MSKCC, Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, and the Enno W. Ercklentz Chair in Genitourinary Oncology. Today, Jonathan explores metastatic...

The DYNAMIC duo are back, with Michael climbing the "Everest" of oncology and exploring the role of CTDNA in stage two colorectal cancer. Josh has the easier job of exploring neoadjuvant immunotherapy (ipilimumab and nivolumab) in dMMR advanced colorectal cancer. Both are excellent trials, and a worthy addition to your reading list. Don't forget to check us out on YouTube if that's your thing! Stu...

This week, we explore early colorectal cancer. Maybe it’s just this week, but there were plenty of “IDEAS” around. Michael highlights the importance of choosing an appropriate adjuvant regimen, whether that be FOLFOX or CAPOX. Josh digs a bit deeper and, as the name suggests, looks at whether patients with liver metastases can be cured with chemotherapy and a liver transplant. Studies discussed in...

Mesothelioma can strike at any time, but it most commonly affects those in their 70s, with cases continuing well into the 2030s. The time from exposure to diagnosis can be up to 60 years. This week, we explore treatment options for pleural mesothelioma, including ipilimumab and nivolumab, and consider whether chemotherapy and bevacizumab work for mesothelioma as well. The MAPS trial was published...

This week, we return to our regular programming with a back-to-basics exploration of extensive small-cell lung cancer. A notorious killer and an aggressive type of lung cancer, it has seen new treatments developed at a faster rate than in the last twenty years combined. We explore tarlatamab, a bispecific delta-like ligand 3-directed T cell engager. The results show that, in the second-line settin...

Today, our guest is a transformative figure in bowel cancer treatment. Professor Jenny Seligmann, a Consultant Medical Oncologist and Professor of Gastrointestinal and Translational Oncology at the University of Leeds, is renowned for leading the groundbreaking FOxTROT and ARIEL trials. These studies challenged traditional practices by demonstrating the advantages of administering chemotherapy&nbs...

In our final take on ESMO 2025, we talk about Genitourinary Cancers. This was a dense area with numerous trials. Today we explore distimiab vedotin in those with advanced bladder cancer, the role of combining lutetium with an ARPI in advanced prostate cancer, whether de-escalation of docetaxel in high volume prostate cancer was just as efficacious as the regular six cycles, immunotherpay plus bCG...

ESMO Episode 6 is here! The longest award ceremony in the world continues. This episode covers colorectal cancer, a cancer stream that has relied heavily on the same three drugs for the past twenty-five years. We cover the golden pinnacle of real-world use cases for CTDNA, neoadjuvant immunotherapy in those with proficient MMR colorectal cancer, whether Zanzalimab helps in refractory colorectal ca...

We're back, baby! Michael and Josh predicted their ESMO journey would have eons to run, and they weren't wrong! For our first episode back in 2026, we revisit the important coverage of ESMO 2025, highlighting advances in upper gastrointestinal tract and hepatobiliary cancers. This episode covers FGFR inhibitors (Bemartizumab), updates on the MATTERHORN trial, the use of immunotherapy with trastuzu...

This week, we discuss neuroendocrine tumours and melanoma as our ESMO 25 journey continues. Trials for neuroendocrine cancers include HIF-2 alpha inhibitors, targeted alpha therapy, and a classic anti-PD-1/TIGIT bispecific antibody combined with standard etoposide and cisplatin chemotherapies. Melanoma is once again seeking that elusive breakthrough: the second-line therapy that demonstrates immun...

For our third instalment of ESMO 2025, we explore lung cancer in all its glory, including small cell, mesothelioma and non-small cell lung cancer. Studies: DeLLphi-303 SOHO-01 ALBATROS PAULIEN DREAM3R OptiTROP-Lung04 For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc! If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at...