Until recently, biliary tract cancers were relegated to orphan cancer status: rare cancers such as cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancers. These aggressive malignancies were lumped together, historic trials were small, and patients were stuck with gemcitabine-cisplatin chemotherapy as the only real option, a regimen that hadn't changed for almost a decade. Then two trials cracked the field open. BILCAP, reported in 2019, gave resected patients their first evidence-based reason to take adjuvant capecitabine, pushing median survival from around three years to over four. And in 2022, TOPAZ-1 became the first trial to prove immunotherapy has a place in biliary cancer. Durvalumab was added to standard chemo, and in the latest three-year follow-up, it cut the risk of death by over a quarter. Together, these two trials didn't just add drugs to a protocol; they turned biliary tract cancer from an afterthought into a disease with modern treatment pathways.

Trials Discussed on Today's Episode:

BILCAP

TOPAZ-1

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from our foundation partners Pfizer and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have access to the episode at the same time you do and have no editorial control over the content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's episode, we have a very special guest: Dr Kerry Jewell is a nuclear medicine physician, medical advocate and very good friend of the show, who recently published her debut novel A Little Unwell. Kerry is wonderfully eloquent doctor who frequently chooses violence when with dealing with Michael, whom she has known for his entire medical career. Today, Kerry discusses her book, working as a nuclear medicine physician, provides some of her amazing wisdom for our oncology colleagues and gets candid about a recent, heart-breaking diagnosis.

A Little Unwell available here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Little-Unwell-Kerry-Jewell/dp/0733653952

*This is not an affiliate link. We just think the book is great!

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from our foundation partners Pfizer and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have access to the episode at the same time you do and have no editorial control over the content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is the ASCO 2026 Plenary Episode. This week, all of the pivotal, game-changing, life-changing trials are discussed here. Some describe the plenary session as practice-changing, and we will always agree that better treatments with significant improvements in life expectancy and quality of life need their time in the spotlight.

Today, five trials are discussed, including SARC041, a liposarcoma study utilising the CDK 4/6 inhibigtor abemacicilib. Our second study is HARMONI-6, investigating whether ivonescimab plus chemotherapy is effective in patients with advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer. Our third, almost like something written for an opera (LIBRETTO0-432), a lung cancer trial looking at selpercatinib in those with RET fusion early-stage NSCLCa. PROTEUS emerges as our fourth trial, rising from the depths of the ocean to evaluate apalutamide in the perioperative prostate cancer space.

Finally, and most importantly in our opinion, is RASolute302, the pancreatic cancer trial, showing that even the most difficult mutation is now treatable. An incredible story of an exceptionally difficult cancer to treat, Daraxonrasib is the star of this year's ASCO.

Studies Discussed in this Episode

SARC041

HARMONI-6

LIBRETTO0-432

PROTEUS

RASolute302

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from our foundation partners Pfizer and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have access to the episode at the same time you do and have no editorial control over the content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Josh and Michael's ASCO 2026 coverage looks at "Agents of the Future", trials of intrigue, promise and potential beyond its status. This episode also sheds light on more orphan status cancers like head and neck cancer, basket cohort studies, resistant EGFR lung cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma.

One more episode left of this arc - The Plenary! Stay tuned.

Studies Discussed in this Episode

OrigAMI-4

WU-KONG28

A Phase 1/2 Study of JK06, a 5T4-Targeted Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC), In Patients with Unresectable Locally Advanced or Metastatic Cancer

ESANOA

ROSETTA Lung-02

Ivonescimab + FOLFOX

HERIZON-CRC01

CIRCULATE

EMERALD-3

BLUESTAR

GLP-1 agonist in breast cancer (Palleschi et al)

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from our foundation partners Pfizer and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have access to the episode at the same time you do and have no editorial control over the content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ASCO 2026 is done, and Michael and Josh have created a marathon episode for you all. This week we cover "Agents of the Present", where we summarise all the important trials with updates, overall survival and progression-free survival data that could influence your practice.

They cover immunotherapy, lifestyle interventions, pan-PI3K inhibitors, rare cancers (such as uveal melanoma), and antibody drug conjugates, to name a few. All the cancer types are covered, including genitourinary, gynaecological cancers, breast, colorectal, lung and lifestyle interventions!

Two more episodes to come!

Studies Discussed in this Episode

EV-302 Extended Follow-Up

ROSELLA (Ovarian Cancer)

RAMPART (Adjuvant RCC)

VIKTORIA-1 (HR +ve Breast Cancer)

OptimUM

OPTIMA (Breast Cancer)

Anbenitimab and Chemotherapy (HER2 +ve Breast Cancer)

TALAPRO-3 (Prostate Cancer)

GLP-1 in HR +ve Breast Cancer

Lifestyle Interventions in HR +ve Breast Cancer

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from our foundation partners Pfizer and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have access to the episode at the same time you do and have no editorial control over the content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we take a quick trip to Stockholm, Sweden, where ESTRO (European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology) took place several weeks ago. A/Prof Steven David digs deep into the latest updates in the breast cancer radiation space, including hyperfractionation of treatment, the utilisation of AI for radiation planning (Archery Trial), and the DBCG RT Natural Trial, which examined whether omitting partial breast irradiation (PBI) after breast-conserving surgery was safe in those over 60 (spoiler: you should still give PBI).

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from our foundation partners Pfizer and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have access to the episode at the same time you do and have no editorial control over the content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode tells the story of how one man, Jake Messier, who is living with metastatic male breast cancer, is challenging the stigma surrounding this disease, which affects 1% of all breast cancer patients. It's an important reminder that not all cancers are funded and researched equally, and that behind every statistic is a person trying to live a normal life.

Jake has used his lifelong PR skills to turn what is a diagnosis unlike any other into a conversation about equity, resilience and a deep societal stigma. This conversation should also serve as a reminder of how patients perceive the healthcare system and that communication is key when treating patients, many of whom are vulnerable.

A huge thank you to Jake for coming on the show. If you want more information, see Jake's website: https://www.theguywithstage4breastcancer.com/

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from our foundation partners Pfizer and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have access to the episode at the same time you do and have no editorial control over the content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we take a "back to the future" look at the early-stage pancreatic cancer phase, a relatively stagnant area in terms of pivotal trials. The two trials are the ESPAC4 trial, which examines doublet chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer, and Josh does a traditional deep dive into the world of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. He highlights ESPAC-5, PREOPANC-2, and the TAPS consortium, to name a few. A complicated but overall evolving field.

Studies discussed in this episode:

ESPAC-4

FOLFOXIRI

PREOPANC-2

ESPAC-5

TAPS (Trans-Atlantic Pancreatic Surgery (TAPS) Consortium Study)

For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.com

Please find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!

If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.com

Art courtesy of Taryn Silver

Music courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice.

Oncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from our foundation partners Pfizer and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have access to the episode at the same time you do and have no editorial control over the content.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.