Every year, doctors and scientists from around the world meet in the United States for the largest global cancer event: the ASCO Congress (Acronym for the American Society of Clinical Oncology). This is where the latest findings on how to prevent, diagnose, and treat the most diverse cancer types are shared.
Asco is the most important medical society of oncology in the world. Its annual congress acts as a showcase for everything that is working in the area: new medications, more effective ways to diagnose tumors, blood tests that detect cancer earlier, technologies that help customize treatment, among others.
In 2025, the meeting took place in Chicago between May 30 and June 3. Thousands of studies have been presented, many of them with encouraging results that are already beginning to change the lives of cancer patients. In this article, you will understand the main highlights – focusing on the digestive tract tumors – as well as other advances that interest everyone who fights against this disease.
Promising news in the treatment of digestive tract tumors
Colorectal cancer with braf mutation: combination increases survival
Patients with advanced bowel cancer that have a specific mutation (called Braf V600E) now have a new hope. A study called Breakwater showed that the combination of three medications (encouragenib, cetuximab and chemotherapy) almost doubled the survival of patients compared to standard treatment.
This mutation is associated with more aggressive forms of bowel cancer. Having a specific treatment greatly improves the chances of disease control.
Operable gastric cancer: immunotherapy before surgery helps control the disease
In the Matterhorn study, patients with stomach cancer or the junction between esophagus and stomach who received the drug Durvalumabe along with standard chemotherapy before and after surgery had a greater chance of being free from the disease longer.
Adding immunotherapy to conventional treatment is changing the way we treat this type of tumor more effectively and without major increases in side effects.
Cell Therapy (Car-T) in digestive tumors
Although better known for treating leukemias, so-called Car-T therapy begins to be tested in solid tumors such as stomach and intestine. In 2025, preliminary data showed that this technique – which reprogram cells from the patient’s own immune system – can help control cancer even at advanced stages. This is the first time this therapy has been promising outside blood disease. These are still initial studies, but they point to the future.
Blood tests to detect and accompany cancer
Advances in the so -called liquid biopsies – tests that detect tumor DNA circulating in the blood – were highlighted. One study showed that by detecting specific blood mutations, it was possible to change treatment early and prevent cancer from spreading, even before symptoms or changes in image exams appear. This allows faster interventions, with less suffering and greater chances of success.
Other important news for all types of cancer
In addition to digestive tumors, other discoveries also caught the attention of the public and the medical community:
- Breast cancer: liquid biopsy guiding treatment
One of the most talked about studies has shown that by detecting a mutation called ESR1 in the blood of women with metastatic breast cancer, it was possible to change medication before the disease worsening – with much better results.
- Glioblastoma (aggressive brain tumor): promising genetic therapy
Scientists presented data from a new genetic therapy that extended the lives of glyoblastoma patients, an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer.
- Artificial Intelligence in Oncology
Advanced artificial intelligence -based software is helping to predict the best treatment for each patient by analyzing thousands of clinical and genetic information in seconds.
A new era in the fight against cancer
Medical science has never advanced as much as now. What a few years ago seemed science fiction – how to use the immune system to destroy tumors, edit cancer DNA, or discover a tumor for a simple blood test – today is reality in many hospitals around the world.
The ASCO 2025 Congress made a clear message: we are overcoming cancer with intelligence, technology and compassion. Each year, more lives are saved. And with each new study, we take a firmer step towards a future in which cancer will be a treatable, controllable and, in many cases, curable disease.
Antonio Couceiro Lopes (CRM 100656 SP | RQE 26013)
Digestive Surgeon and Member of Brazil Health
