4 Long-Term Survival Results From ESMO 2026 Patients Should Know

When a cancer treatment is first approved, patients often have only a year or two of results to go on. At the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, held Oct. 23–27 in Madrid, researchers shared much longer follow-up for four treatments that are already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In each case, the benefit seen early on held up over time. Here is what patients and caregivers should know.

1. Early Breast Cancer: Kisqali Helped More Patients Live Longer at 6 Years

The phase 3 NATALEE trial enrolled 5,101 adults with stage 2 or 3 hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer, including some people with no cancer in the lymph nodes. Half took Kisqali (ribociclib), a pill that blocks proteins called CDK4/6 that help cancer cells divide, for three years along with hormone (endocrine) therapy; the other half took hormone therapy alone. In six-year results reported by Novartis on Oct. 23, 2026, adding Kisqali lowered the risk of death by about 19%. About 91.9% of patients who took Kisqali were alive at six years, compared with 89.7% of those on hormone therapy alone. About 83.2% versus 77.9% were alive without the cancer coming back, and the gap between the groups grew between years five and six even though most patients had stopped Kisqali about three years earlier.

No new safety concerns appeared with longer follow-up, and new second cancers were similar in both groups (3.0% vs. 3.3%). Kisqali has been FDA approved with an aromatase inhibitor for stage 2 and 3 HR-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence since September 2024. Read more about what the Kisqali approval means for early breast cancer.

2. Kidney Cancer: Keytruda After Surgery Still Helped at 7 Years

The phase 3 KEYNOTE-564 trial included 994 people with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (the most common type of kidney cancer) who had surgery but faced a higher risk of the cancer returning. Patients received the immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) or a placebo for about a year. In the final planned analysis, with a median follow-up of about seven years, 82.3% of patients who received Keytruda were alive compared with 76.6% of those given placebo, a 30% lower risk of death. At seven years, 57.2% versus 44.6% were alive without the cancer coming back.

Researchers reported no new serious treatment-related side effects with the extra follow-up. Keytruda has been approved for this use since November 2021, and the investigators said it remains a standard option after surgery for people at increased risk of recurrence.

3. Colorectal Cancer: Opdivo Plus Yervoy Showed Lasting Survival in MSI-H Disease

The phase 3 CheckMate 8HW trial tested the immunotherapy combination Opdivo (nivolumab) plus Yervoy (ipilimumab) in metastatic colorectal cancer that is microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair deficient (MSI-H/dMMR), a subtype found through tumor testing. In final survival results with more than five years of follow-up, 77% of patients who received the combination as their first treatment were alive at five years, compared with 46% of those who received chemotherapy. Across all lines of treatment, the combination also beat Opdivo alone (74% vs. 62% alive at five years). When researchers looked only at first-line patients, the combination's edge over Opdivo alone (77% vs. 66%) did not meet the trial's bar for statistical proof.

Serious (grade 3 or 4) treatment-related side effects occurred in 22% of patients on the combination, 14% on Opdivo alone and 51% on chemotherapy. The combination is FDA approved for unresectable or metastatic MSI-H/dMMR colorectal cancer. CURE has covered earlier long-term CheckMate 8HW results.

4. Stomach and Esophageal Cancer: Ziihera Combinations Held Their Survival Gain at 3 Years

The phase 3 HERIZON-GEA-01 trial enrolled 914 people with newly diagnosed advanced HER2-positive gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, which includes cancers of the stomach, the area where the esophagus meets the stomach, and the esophagus. Patients received chemotherapy with either Ziihera (zanidatamab-hrii), Ziihera plus the immunotherapy Tevimbra (tislelizumab), or the long-standing standard Herceptin (trastuzumab). In the final formal survival analysis, presented Oct. 23, 2026, people lived a median of 27.0 months with Ziihera, Tevimbra and chemotherapy, 22.9 months with Ziihera and chemotherapy, and 19.6 months with Herceptin and chemotherapy. At three years, an estimated 39.8%, 31.5% and 22.9% were alive.

Diarrhea was the most common side effect, affecting 83% of patients on the three-drug regimen and 79% on Ziihera plus chemotherapy, and the label carries a boxed warning for diarrhea. The FDA approved both Ziihera combinations for first-line HER2-positive gastroesophageal cancer on Aug. 25, 2026 (the version with Tevimbra covers a broader group of HER2-positive tumors).

What's Still Unknown

These results were presented at a medical meeting and have not yet been published in full in a peer-reviewed journal. In several of the trials, the absolute survival difference is a few percentage points, and researchers are still studying which patients gain the most, such as by risk level or tumor subtype. Longer-term side effects, such as effects on the heart, bones or fertility, also continue to be tracked.

What It Means for You

If you are taking or have finished one of these treatments, these updates are reassuring: the benefit did not fade with time, and no new safety problems appeared. If you are newly diagnosed with one of these cancers, these results give you and your care team more years of information to weigh when choosing a plan.

References

1. "Kisqali® shows clinically meaningful overall survival in broadest HR+/HER2- early breast cancer population at high risk of recurrence." Novartis. Oct. 23, 2026.
2. "Overall survival in the final protocol-prespecified analysis of KEYNOTE-564: adjuvant pembrolizumab vs placebo in clear cell renal cell carcinoma" (abstract 3589RO). Presented at the ESMO Congress 2026. October 2026.
3. "Final overall survival with nivolumab plus ipilimumab in MSI-H/dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer: CheckMate 8HW" (LBA32). Presented at the ESMO Congress 2026. October 2026.
4. "Ziihera® (zanidatamab-hrii) Combinations Demonstrate Sustained Survival at Three Years in First-Line HER2+ Advanced Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma at ESMO 2026." Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Oct. 23, 2026.

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