A. Enguita PhD

Congress highlights 2022

In line with the tradition, the BMUC scientific committee asked a urologist, a radiation oncologist, and a medical oncologist to summarise the top stories presented during the large urology and oncology meetings of the past year.

Neoadjuvant and adjuvant systemic therapy in bladder cancer

In recent years, researchers have evaluated the integration of immunotherapy in the perioperative management of patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), with mixed results. During BMUC 2022, Professor Richard Cathomas (Division of Oncolgy, Cantonal Hospital Graubünden, Switzerland, and University of Zurich, Switzerland) provided an overview of these advances.

Molecular tests in oncology

Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) significantly changed cancer management, allowing the identification of different oncogenic drivers and the subsequent approval of many targeted agents. An overview of the Belgian reimbursement situation and drug access in this setting was given during the molecular tests in oncology session of the Belgian Society of Medical Oncology (BSMO) annual meeting. First, Prof. Brigitte Maes (Jessa Hospital, Hasselt) walked us through the current NGS situation in
Belgium with a discussion of the achievements and challenges of the BALLETT study. Subsequently, Dr. Kevin Punie (Leuven University Hospital, Leuven) discussed the current strategy, tasks and challenges of the molecular tumour board (MTB). Finally, Pr. Lore Decoster (University Hospital Brussel), Dr. Wim Demey (Klina General Hospital, Brasschaat) and Dr. Joëlle Collignon (CHU de Liège, Liège) addressed the reimbursements of drugs in lung, gastro-oesophageal, biliary and pancreatic cancer.

Highlights in gynaecological oncology

The 2021 annual ESMO meeting featured several presentations with the potential to shift the standard of care in gynaecological cancers. In cervical cancer, Keynote-826 identified pembrolizumab + chemotherapy (with or without bevacizumab) as a potential new standard of care for patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer. In addition, also the antibody drug conjugate tisotumab vedotin showed encouraging and durable anti-tumour activity in this setting. In the field of the ovarian cancer, PARP inhibition again walked away with most of the attention, but also the glucocorticoid receptor modulator relacorilant and combination therapy with the immune checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab and bevacizumab yielded interesting data. Also for patients with advanced endometrial cancer, ESMO 2021 proved to be of interest, with important updates on the use of pembrolizumab in this setting.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2021;15(8):428–35)