ASCO 2026 Spotlights Unmet Needs Across Cancer Care

At the 2026 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), clinicians across oncology subspecialties converged on Chicago, Illinois, to assess progress and define the obstacles that still stand between patients and cures. Interview perspectives captured at the meeting revealed consistent themes, including a proliferation of treatment options outpacing the tools to select among them, persistent gaps in patient-clinician communication, and an ongoing struggle to translate laboratory promise into durable outcomes.

In prostate cancer, Alicia Morgans, MD, MPH, genitourinary medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, described a landscape growing more crowded but not necessarily clearer in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®). With multiple therapies poised to compete for the same patient populations, Morgans emphasized the need for biomarker-driven subgroup data to identify who benefits most from which agent and to anticipate toxicity profiles before treatment begins. Patient preferences, comorbidities, and quality-of-life priorities, she explains, are equally essential inputs in shared decision-making.

In brain oncology, Jeffrey Weinberg, MD, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, explained in an interview with AJMC that the central challenge remains prevention of metastatic spread rather than treatment after the fact. Weinberg acknowledged surgery and stereotactic radiosurgery as effective for established lesions but noted that primary malignant brain tumors continue to resist the targeted and viral therapies showing early signals in preclinical models.

In breast cancer, Iain MacPherson, PhD, professor of breast oncology at University of Glasgow, addressed 2 intertwined unmet needs: optimizing complex adjuvant regimens, a key focus of the OPTIMA trial, and developing better therapies for patients who progress to incurable metastatic disease. Abemaciclib was cited as a meaningful addition to the adjuvant toolkit, with calls for expanded investigation in neoadjuvant settings.

Cutting across tumor types, Biren Saraiya, MD, medical oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute, spoke about the emotional barrier that limits honest patient-clinician dialogue in an interview with AJMC. Patients may conceal symptoms for fear of losing access to treatment, while oncologists may avoid difficult conversations to spare patients distress. Clinicians at ASCO 2026 framed improving that dynamic as an unmet need as pressing as any drug development gap.