4 Lung Cancer Results From ESMO 2026 Patients Should Know

Lung cancer was one of the biggest stories at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026, held Oct. 23-27 in Madrid. Phase 3 trials, the large studies that can change how cancer is treated, tested new options for people with small cell lung cancer and for non-small cell lung cancer driven by specific gene changes. Here are four results people with lung cancer and their caregivers should know about.

1. Small Cell Lung Cancer: Imdelltra Added to Maintenance Treatment

In the DeLLphi-305 trial, 563 people with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer whose disease had not grown after first-line chemotherapy and Imfinzi (durvalumab) received Imfinzi alone or Imfinzi plus Imdelltra (tarlatamab). Patients on the combination lived a median of 21.1 months, compared with 12.7 months on Imfinzi alone, a 58% lower risk of death. About half of patients on Imdelltra had cytokine release syndrome, an immune reaction that can cause fever and low blood pressure, though almost all cases were mild or moderate. Imdelltra is approved for small cell lung cancer that has grown after platinum chemotherapy, but not yet for this earlier use.

2. EGFR Lung Cancer: A Two-Pill Option When MET Drives Resistance to Tagrisso

When EGFR-mutated lung cancer grows on Tagrisso (osimertinib), changes in a gene called MET are one common reason. The SAFFRON trial compared Orpathys (savolitinib) plus Tagrisso with chemotherapy in 338 people whose tumors showed high levels of MET. Patients who took the two pills lived a median of 17.8 months, compared with 12.9 months with chemotherapy, a 32% lower risk of death. At one year, 36% of patients on the pills were alive without their cancer growing, compared with 10% on chemotherapy.

Serious side effects were similar in both groups, at 64% and 63%. Orpathys is not approved in the United States, and its developer has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

3. KRAS G12C Lung Cancer: A Newer Pill Beat the Approved Drugs

The Krascendo 1 trial compared the investigational pill divarasib with Lumakras (sotorasib) or Krazati (adagrasib) in 338 people with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer driven by the KRAS G12C gene change. Patients on divarasib lived a median of 17.7 months, compared with 12.0 months, a 44% lower risk of death. Serious treatment-related side effects were also less common with divarasib (7.8% vs. 15.2%), with diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and liver changes on blood tests among the most common. Divarasib is not approved and is available only in clinical trials. CURE has more on what the new KRAS data mean for patients.

4. Immunotherapy Every 12 Weeks Fell Short

Not every ESMO result was a win, and this one matters for many people on immunotherapy. The MOIO trial asked whether 340 people whose advanced cancer was responding after six months of an immune checkpoint inhibitor, most with lung, bladder or kidney cancer, could receive the same dose every 12 weeks instead of on the standard schedule. Patients on the standard schedule went a median of 25.0 months before their cancer grew, compared with 21.9 months for those given less frequent doses, and the trial did not show that spacing out doses works as well. Spacing out doses also did not meaningfully lower serious side effects.

These results have been presented but not yet published in a journal. If immunotherapy is working for you, keep the schedule your oncologist prescribed and do not space out doses on your own.

What's Still Unknown

Several of these results come from early looks at the data, called interim analyses, and longer follow-up will show how lasting the benefits are and whether new side effects appear over time. The MOIO results have been presented at the meeting but not yet published in a medical journal, where other experts review the full data. It is also not yet clear how some of these treatments compare with other newer options, or the best order in which to use them.

Most of these treatments still need FDA review for these uses. Orpathys is not approved in the United States, divarasib is available only in clinical trials, and Imdelltra is not yet approved as a maintenance treatment, so it is not known when, or whether, patients will be able to get them outside of a study.

What It Means for You

Many of these results apply only to people whose tumors have specific gene changes, such as EGFR, MET or KRAS G12C. Biomarker testing, done on a tumor sample or a blood sample (sometimes called a liquid biopsy), shows which of these changes a cancer has. If you have lung cancer, ask whether your tumor has been fully tested, and whether it should be tested again if your cancer grows, because changes such as high MET levels can show up after treatment.

If you are on immunotherapy and it is working, the MOIO results support staying on the schedule your oncologist prescribed. And if one of these treatments is not yet available, ask your care team whether a clinical trial might be an option for you.

References

1. "Imdelltra in Combination With Imfinzi Reduced Risk of Death by an Unprecedented 58% in First-Line Extensive Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer." Amgen. Oct. 24, 2026.
2. "HUTCHMED Highlights SAFFRON Global Phase III Data Presented at ESMO Congress 2026 and Simultaneously Published in The New England Journal of Medicine." HUTCHMED. Oct. 25, 2026.
3. "Roche’s divarasib demonstrated best-in-class efficacy, advancing the standard of care in previously treated KRAS G12C-mutated lung cancer." Roche. Oct. 25, 2026.
4. "Standard immunotherapy by checkpoint inhibitors vs. reduced dose intensity in responding patients with metastatic cancer: the MOIO randomized phase III trial." Abstract LBA10, Presidential Symposium III. ESMO Congress 2026. October 2026.

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