ESMO 2026 Congress highlights new cancer treatment trials

At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026 in Madrid, several phase 3 clinical trials presented new therapeutic options for various cancers.

In the field of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the DeLLphi-305 trial demonstrated that adding Imdelltra (tarlatamab) to maintenance Imfinzi (durvalumab) significantly improved survival. Patients receiving the combination reached a median survival of 21.1 months, compared to 12.7 months for those on Imfinzi alone, representing a 58% reduction in the risk of death.

Discussions also compared the CASPIAN and IMpower133 trials, which established checkpoint inhibitors as frontline therapies for SCLC. While these trials showed modest improvements in overall survival—such as durvalumab increasing median survival from approximately 10.3 to 13 months—they provided clinicians with flexibility regarding chemotherapy backbones, including the use of carboplatin or cisplatin paired with etoposide.