ASCO20 Preview: Unite & Conquer – Accelerating Progress Together

Leading up to the kickoff of Cancer Immunotherapy Month in June, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) will host its 2020 annual meeting virtually from Friday, May 29 – Sunday, May 31.

Beginning Friday, talks and posters will be available on demand. Particularly relevant at this moment will be the session covering cancer care in the time of COVID. In addition to a talk on COVID-19’s impact on cancer patients, Norman E. Sharpless, MD, the director of the National Cancer Institute, will speak about efforts to ensure the continued progress of cancer research under these challenging circumstances.

Live presentations start with Saturday morning’s opening session. Soon after, the first day’s focus will shift to novel immunotherapy approaches beyond checkpoint inhibitors, including genetically engineered T cell therapies in patients with advanced solid cancers and a bispecific antibody in multiple myeloma. The role of genomics in improving care for patients with rare cancers will also be discussed, specifically whether it can help doctors pair patients with appropriate treatments, including immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy will also be featured during Sunday’s plenary session, as results from trials in bladder cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer will be unveiled. Additionally, throughout Saturday and Sunday there will be live sessions highlighting the most important advances relating to more than a dozen types of cancer.

For coverage of the latest news coming out of ASCO20, be sure to follow our blog for daily recaps of Saturday and Sunday’s talks, and check out our exciting lineup of Cancer Immunotherapy Month events in June.