Highlights of the ESMO Asia Congress 2024

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia Congress 2024 was held in Singapore on December 6-8, 2024, served as a valuable platform for participants to exchange insights and discuss the latest research findings, clinical trials, and treatment strategies in multidisciplinary oncology within the Asian region. Asian perspectives on cutting-edge global trialsIn the ESMO 2024 Highlights section, researchers from the National University of Singapore presented insights from an Asian perspective regarding global landmark trials and their implications for Asian populations.Dr. Soo Chin Lee provided a comprehensive overview of the phase III KEYNOTE-522 study, indicating that data is practice changing and applicable to Asian patients with early-stage triple negative breast cancer-comparable event-free survival benefit of receiving pembrolizumab plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy were observed in Asian subgroup and the global population.Dr. Wen Chay Yee presented the Asian subgroup analyses data from the KEYNOTE-A18 study, showing that pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy for highrisk locally advanced cervical cancer achieved consistent progression-free survival and safety profile in both the East Asian population and the overall study population.However, she raised concerns regarding the costs and accessibility of these treatments in Asia and emphasized the importance of education, prevention, and collaboration across the region.