Specialised cancer conferences are happening all the time. But there are three major conferences annually which are particularly important. These are AACR (American Association of Cancer Research), ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncologists) and ESMO (European Society of Medical Oncologists). In amongst all the detail, these conferences give a good indication of where the latest excitement is.

The 2023 AACR conference was held in Orlando, Florida during April. The main excitement continues to be in the area of Immune Oncology (IO). Two areas in particular continue to dominate the headlines[i]:

1.       The Moderna mRNA cancer vaccine which, when used in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, helps to improve the treatment response rate[ii], (note though that this vaccine technology is only expected to be available in the clinic toward the end of the decade[iii]) and

2.       The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in earlier-stage cancers[iv] (this is the subject of our next blog).

In addition to these, our eyes were caught by a special, plenary session to consider the latest thinking in the early detection of cancer. It is worth the read[v]. Of particular note:

·       The session covered both the early detection, and the interception, of cancer. This highlights the need not only for detection, but also the if, when and how to intervene.

·       Also included was a presentation headed SOMATIC MUTATIONS DURING AGING: NOT ALL MUTATIONS ARE HARMFUL. As we age, all tissues in the body gather mutations. But most of these are not cancerous. Indeed, some are even beneficial, as they can outcompete and control (in the evolutionary sense) cancerous mutations. The presenter then proposed a model whereby the overall mutational landscape determines cancer risk based on the number of “good mutations” and “bad mutations” one carries. And sometimes it is better not to intervene. A very interesting paper.