Libtayo, Osteosarcoma and More: 5 Other ESMO 2026 Abstracts to Watch

Beyond the headline Presidential Symposium sessions, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026 includes late-breaking studies across skin, bone, breast, lung and stomach cancers. The meeting runs Oct. 23-27 in Madrid.

Here are five more studies to watch and why they matter for patients.

1. C-POST: Does Libtayo After Surgery Help People Live Longer?

Cancer type: High-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, a common skin cancer

In October 2025, the FDA approved Libtayo (cemiplimab-rwlc) for adults with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma at high risk of returning after surgery and radiation. The approval was based on the C-POST trial of 415 people, which showed that Libtayo lowered the risk of the cancer coming back.

At ESMO, Regeneron will present overall survival results after about 3.5 years of follow-up. These results will show whether keeping cancer from returning also helps people live longer.

“In the clinical trial, this therapy reduced the risk of recurrence by about 68%, which, in context, is as good as it gets in the adjuvant setting,” Dr. Vishal A. Patel, a Mohs surgeon and dermato-oncologist at George Washington University, told CURE after the approval.

2. ARTEMIS-011: A Rare Positive Trial in Relapsed Osteosarcoma

Presentation: Oct. 26

Osteosarcoma is a bone cancer that mostly affects children and young adults. When it returns, there is no clear standard treatment.

ARTEMIS-011 tested risvutatug rezetecan (Ris-Rez), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets a protein called B7-H3. It enrolled 117 people in China whose cancer had returned after at least two earlier treatments. Two of every three participants received Ris-Rez, and the rest received gemcitabine plus docetaxel chemotherapy.

The trial met its goal of lengthening progression-free survival, with similar early signals for overall survival. Analysts describe it as the first positive phase 3 trial in this disease in about a decade. The FDA has granted the drug Breakthrough Therapy designation for osteosarcoma.

3. PANKU-Breast01: A Dual-Target ADC for HR-Positive Breast Cancer

Presentation: Oct. 24

Izalontamab brengitecan (iza-bren) is an ADC that targets two proteins at once, EGFR and HER3. PANKU-Breast01 is a phase 3 trial in people with previously treated hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that has spread or cannot be removed with surgery. Dr. Dennis Slamon of UCLA will present the results.

The results have not been released. Earlier this year, though, a separate phase 3 trial of iza-bren in triple-negative breast cancer improved both progression-free and overall survival compared with chemotherapy. Researchers will be watching how iza-bren compares with the ADCs already used for HR-positive breast cancer.

4. SigVie-002: What a “Negative” Lung Cancer Trial Can Teach Us

Presentation: Oct. 25

Not every trial succeeds, and those results still matter. SigVie-002 compared sigvotatug vedotin, an ADC targeting a protein called integrin beta-6, with docetaxel chemotherapy. Participants had previously treated nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer.

Overall, the drug did not significantly improve survival compared with docetaxel. However, Pfizer reported a stronger trend in people who had received only one earlier treatment, a group that made up two-thirds of the trial. Side effects were described as manageable. Pfizer is now testing the drug earlier in treatment, combined with Keytruda (pembrolizumab).

5. G-HOPE-001: Another Claudin 18.2 ADC for Stomach Cancer

Presentation: Oct. 23

Arcotatug tavetecan (IBI343) is an ADC that targets claudin 18.2, a protein found on many stomach cancers. G-HOPE-001 enrolled people in China and Japan with claudin 18.2-positive, HER2-negative stomach or gastroesophageal junction cancer that had grown after at least two earlier treatments. It compared the drug with a treatment chosen by each person’s doctor.

The trial met its main goal at its first planned interim analysis, an early check of the results. In June, regulators in China accepted the drug’s application for priority review. Dr. Kohei Shitara of Japan’s National Cancer Center Hospital East will present the data.

What Should Patients Do With This Information?

Early announcements are only part of the story. Full results will show how much each treatment helped and what side effects people experienced. If you have one of these cancers, ask your care team whether these findings or a related clinical trial could apply to you, and follow CURE’s ESMO 2026 coverage for updates.

References

1. Regeneron to present late-breaking ESMO 2026 data on Libtayo in high-risk CSCC and cancer-associated thrombosis. Quiver Quantitative. October 2026. Accessed Oct. 12, 2026. https://www.quiverquant.com/news/Regeneron+to+Present+Late-Breaking+ESMO+2026+Data+on+Libtayo+in+High-Risk+CSCC+and+Cancer-Associated+Thrombosis
2. FDA approves cemiplimab-rwlc for adjuvant treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Oct. 8, 2025. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/fda-approves-cemiplimab-rwlc-adjuvant-treatment-cutaneous-squamous-cell-carcinoma
3. Feldman S. What Libtayo means for high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. CURE. Oct. 9, 2025. https://www.curetoday.com/view/what-libtayo-means-for-high-risk-cutaneous-squamous-cell-carcinoma
4. 12 APAC-originated programmes to watch at ESMO 2026. BioPharma APAC. Oct. 12, 2026. Accessed Oct. 12, 2026. https://biopharmaapac.com/news/31/8546/12-apac-originated-programmes-to-watch-at-esmo-2026.html
5. Pfizer advances today’s cancer care and tomorrow’s potential breakthroughs at ESMO. Pfizer. Sept. 28, 2026. Accessed Oct. 12, 2026. https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-advances-todays-cancer-care-and-tomorrows-potential
6. Pfizer announces topline phase 3 results for sigvotatug vedotin in previously treated metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. Pfizer. Accessed Oct. 12, 2026. https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-announces-topline-phase-3-results-sigvotatug-vedotin

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