ESMO 2026 Preview: Seven of Twelve Presidential Abstracts Have Already Claimed a Survival Win
Sponsors have announced the direction of ten of the twelve Presidential readouts at ESMO 2026, seven of them on overall survival, and released no hazard ratio for any. Madrid will settle the size of each win, and whether antibody–drug conjugates can turn progression into survival.
The programme in four numbers
For ten of the twelve abstracts in ESMO’s three Presidential Symposia, the sponsor has already said by press release that the trial met its primary endpoint. Seven of those announcements name overall survival. That changes what the sessions are for: direction is largely known, size is not. Every hazard ratio and survival curve behind the ten announcements stays under embargo until the slide goes up.
Beyond the Presidential programme, the meeting belongs to antibody–drug conjugates: fourteen Phase 3 trials with an ADC in the experimental arm among more than ninety late-breakers. Four have declared a survival benefit, one has missed it, and the rest have announced progression, response or nothing.
At WCLC last month that distinction decided the verdict. B7-H3 conjugates cut the risk of death by more than half in relapsed small cell lung cancer, while two first-line conjugates raised response rates without improving survival. ESMO runs the same test across more tumours and targets.
The twelve Presidential abstracts at ESMO 2026
| LBA | Trial · regimen | Setting · comparator | Declared before Madrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presidential Symposium I · Sat 24 Oct · 16:30–18:15 · Alicante Auditorium, Hall 6 | |||
| LBA1 | INTerpath-001intismeran autogene + pembrolizumab | Resected stage IIB–IV melanoma, adjuvantvs pembrolizumab · n=1,137 | RFS and DMFS met at interim. First positive Phase 3 for an individualised neoantigen therapy. |
| LBA2 | VOLGAdurvalumab ± tremelimumab + neoadjuvant enfortumab vedotin | MIBC, cisplatin-ineligible or decliningvs cystectomy ± adjuvant therapy | EFS and OS met with durvalumab + EV; triplet met EFS, OS trend. US Priority Review. |
| LBA3 | DeLLphi-305tarlatamab + durvalumab | Extensive-stage SCLC, first-line maintenancevs durvalumab · n=563 | OS met at interim; PFS and ORR also significant. |
| LBA4 | DASL-HiCaPdarolutamide + ADT + radiotherapy | Very high-risk localised prostate cancervs placebo · n=1,106 | No topline announced. Investigator-led (ANZUP); interim analysis. |
| Presidential Symposium II · Sun 25 Oct · 16:30–18:15 · Alicante Auditorium, Hall 6 | |||
| LBA5 | Krascendo 1divarasib | Previously treated KRAS G12C NSCLCvs sotorasib or adagrasib · n=338 | PFS met; OS met at interim. Head to head against both approved G12C inhibitors. |
| LBA6 | SAFFRONosimertinib + savolitinib | EGFRm NSCLC with MET overexpression or amplification, after osimertinibvs platinum–pemetrexed · n=338 | PFS and OS met. All-oral and chemotherapy-free. US NDA submitted. |
| LBA7 | CLARITY-Gastric 01sonesitatug vedotin, a CLDN18.2 ADC | CLDN18.2-positive gastric, GEJ or oesophageal adenocarcinoma, 2L+vs investigator’s choice | OS met in 3L+ and 2L+. PFS, the other dual primary, not significant. |
| LBA8 | HARMONi-GI1ivonescimab + chemotherapy | Advanced biliary tract cancer, first line, Chinavs durvalumab + chemo · n=682 | OS met at interim; PFS and ORR met. |
| Presidential Symposium III · Mon 26 Oct · 16:30–18:15 · Alicante Auditorium, Hall 6 | |||
| LBA9 | ARTEMIS-011risvutatug rezetecan, a B7-H3 ADC | Relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma after 2+ lines, Chinavs gemcitabine + docetaxel · n=117 | PFS met. Benefit described as consistent on secondary endpoints, including OS. |
| LBA10 | MOIOreduced-frequency checkpoint inhibitors | Patients responding to immunotherapy for advanced cancernon-inferiority vs standard schedule | No topline announced. Academic trial; interim analyses. |
| LBA11 | TroFuse-005sacituzumab tirumotecan, a TROP2 ADC | Endometrial cancer after platinum and anti-PD-(L)1vs doxorubicin or paclitaxel · n=776 | OS and PFS met (dual primary); ORR met. |
| LBA12 | KEYNOTE-C93pembrolizumab monotherapy | dMMR advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, first linevs carboplatin + paclitaxel · n=299 | PFS met. OS trend favourable but immature. |
Status reflects sponsor announcements as of 9 October 2026. “Declared” means the sponsor stated that an endpoint was met with statistical significance. No efficacy magnitude has been released for any Presidential abstract. All times are Madrid local. OS, overall survival; PFS, EFS, RFS, DMFS: progression-, event-, recurrence- and distant metastasis-free survival; ORR, objective response rate; MIBC, muscle-invasive bladder cancer; EV, enfortumab vedotin; GEJ, gastro-oesophageal junction.
Three wins short of survival, two nobody has called
The three wins that stop short of survival are not alike. INTerpath-001 is adjuvant, where recurrence-free survival is the registration endpoint and survival takes years; read its distant-metastasis result beside it. KEYNOTE-C93’s survival trend is immature, and patients who start on chemotherapy usually receive immunotherapy later. ARTEMIS-011 is a 117-patient trial in a disease with no effective later-line standard.
DASL-HiCaP and MOIO are the only Presidential readouts with no announced direction, and both are academic. MOIO sits apart from the drug story and may outlast it: if dosing checkpoint inhibitors less often in responders proves non-inferior, every health system that pays for them saves, across tumour types, without a new molecule.
From the full report: the ADC ledger (page 05) and the Friday-to-Monday session planner (page 08).
Five questions only the slides can answer
How big are the seven survival wins?
No hazard ratio has been released for any of them. Start with HARMONi-GI1: ivonescimab beat durvalumab plus chemotherapy on survival at interim, in a China-only trial. Its size and transferability set its reach.
Does OptiTROP-Lung06 convert to survival?
Progression-free survival is declared; survival shows only a positive trend. With pembrolizumab in both arms, read the survival curve and post-progression therapy. DESTINY-Lung04 had the same profile and returned 1.15.
How did CLARITY-Gastric 01 win survival without PFS?
Sonesitatug vedotin met overall survival while its co-primary progression endpoint missed. Hear why before comparing it with G-HOPE-001, the other CLDN18.2 conjugate, which won on progression and presents Friday.
Can MOIO make immunotherapy cheaper?
The one Presidential readout that could cut spending. If giving responders checkpoint inhibitors less often is non-inferior, the saving spans tumour types. Check the margin, and who counted as a responder.
Does B7-H3 work outside the lung?
Two B7-H3 conjugates more than halved the risk of death in relapsed SCLC at WCLC. Outside the lung they have won on progression in osteosarcoma and response in nasopharyngeal cancer, not yet survival.
The headline will be seven survival wins. The number to keep: four of fourteen conjugate trials have claimed survival. Count how many join them by Tuesday.
- The ledger: fourteen ADC trials and the endpoint each one has won
- The WCLC survival read-across, and what it means for Madrid
- Friday to Monday: every confirmed late-breaking session, by day and hall
- The late-breaking programme, sponsor by sponsor