ESMO 2024
European Society of Medical Oncology Congress
From 13th to 17th September, researchers and representatives from across the MCRC made their way to Barcelona, Spain for the 2024 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress. The ESMO Congress is an oncology platform that is globally influential and a place for clinicians, researchers, patient advocates, journalists and healthcare industry representatives to enhance their knowledge.
The meeting boasted updates in the latest scientific advancements as well as addressing broader aspects of oncology, providing valuable insights and supporting a comprehensive approach to patient care.
This year, members of the MCRC Operations Team attended the conference to gain invaluable insight into the latest in medical oncology, as well as supporting attendees and speakers from across the partnership.
“I was delighted to see the depths and breadth of our Manchester clinical programming by our clinicians and researchers attending the ESMO 2024 congress. We had a great number of our researchers’ delivering oral presentations at this year’s meeting, and it is once again a testament to the research developments we are leading here in the field of medical oncology. A specific congratulations goes to our very own Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite who was appointed as the Investigational Immunotherapy Track Chair for ESMO 2024.”
~ Professor Robert Bristow | Director of the MCRC
This year ESMO boasted 34,000 participants; 598 speakers; 149 countries; 2,186 abstracts presented; 151 proffered papers; 208 mini orals; 1,828 posters; 208 sessions
From our Manchester cohort, this included:
- 7 proffered papers
- 6 mini-orals
- 40 posters (13 first or last author)
- 53 total research abstracts
In this blog, we’re going to delve into the key takeaways from the conference, ranging from the appointment of Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite as the ESMO 24 Investigational Immunotherapy Track Chair to our latest networking evening joint with The Christie School of Oncology.
Professor Fiona Blackhall presenting at the Proffered Paper session on Non-metastatic NSCLC at ESMO 2024
Picture credit Sally Best.
Dr Gerben Borst presenting on 'The role of alternating electric fields in the therapeutic management of patients with advanced NSCLC' at ESMO 2024
Picture credit Sally Best.
Rachel Chown outside the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB)
Picture credit Sally Best.
Inside the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB)
Picture credit Sally Best.
Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite chairing the Proffered paper session on Investigational Immunotherapy at ESMO 2024
Picture credit Sally Best.
Dr Colin Lindsay presenting on 'Non-G12C mutations: Future perspectives' at ESMO 2024
Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite’s appointment to Investigational Immunotherapy Track Chair
The highlight of ESMO 2024, was Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite’s appointment to Investigational Immunotherapy Track Chair, recognising her continuous commitment to previous ESMO Congresses as part of the subcommittee for Immunotherapy.
Fiona was responsible for reviewing and ranking nominated abstracts to determine proffered papers, mini orals or posters for the congress, as well acting as Chair on sessions such as the Proffered paper session on Investigational Immunotherapy.
You can read more about Fiona’s appointment to Investigational Immunotherapy Track Chair in this MCRC blog.
“Being Investigational Immunotherapy Track Chair for the ESMO Congress 2024 was a fantastic experience. It was an opportunity to be at the heart of shaping a cutting-edge immunotherapy programme including presentations of the latest clinical trials outputs and educational sessions on ‘hot topics’ at the largest cancer conference in Europe. It is always great to put Manchester on the map at this level and with delegates present from 150 different countries, ESMO congress really does provide a worldwide snapshot of the latest oncology developments.”
Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite | Consultant at The Christie Hospital and Honorary Senior Lecturer at The University of Manchester
ESMO talks from our Manchester Speakers
Dr Natalie Cook
Dr Natalie Cook discussed: ‘Dissecting cancer of unknown primary: Case presentation and expert insights’. She noted cancer of unknown primary (CUP) to be the global leading cause of cancer death and highlighted the lack of current treatment options. Her talk focussed on a case study of a ‘Patient with unfavourable visceral CUP’ and discussed the clinical trials at The Christie such as CUPISCO, that this patient was enrolled on, their radiotherapy and immunotherapy responsive disease and the need to access tissue of origin tests.
“ESMO 2024 was the first large scale international conference to have a focused session on cancer of unknown primary (CUP). This was an excellent opportunity to discuss the latest research in CUP, advances in genomic profiling, and also present interesting case studies in CUP. The case studies were two patients diagnosed with CUP that we had treated at The Christie, and it created a lot of discussion in the audience about what we should do next with these patients. Lots of food for thought! It was fantastic to get together with so many people from the world of CUP research, and I also managed to listen to some session on new drug developments and meet some former colleagues from Canada. There were a lot of Manchester speakers across the whole of ESMO, and it was lovely seeing many of our previous international clinical fellows, some presenting, and discuss future collaborations. I am already looking forward to ESMO 2025 in Germany!”
~ Dr Natalie Cook | Senior Clinical Lecturer in Experimental Cancer Medicine at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust/Division of Cancer Sciences, University of Manchester
Dr Colin Lindsay
Dr Colin Lindsay gave a talk in the session ‘Treating KRAS-mutated NSCLC’ on ‘Non-G12C mutations: Future perspectives.’ He noted the dominance of KRAS mutations in lung cancer, and that 30% of cancers are driven by KRAS. He discussed the translational ‘sweet spot’ and clinical considerations of RAS cycle biochemistry.
“More than ever I was overwhelmed by the next wave of drugs that are on their way for RAS precision medicine – some KRAS G12D inhibitors and pan-(K)RAS inhibitors are now in clinical trials, whilst KRAS G12C monotherapy and its combinations are being actively assessed still in phase III trials. All of these drugs could be of huge value to our Manchester and international cancer community, of whom >30% are affected by cancers with this genetic change. When I first began my post in Manchester six years ago, RAS was barely mentioned at lung cancer meetings – now is the time to translate these new opportunities into treatment benefits for patients.”
~ Dr Colin Lindsay | Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
MCRC – Christie ESMO 2024 Academic Reception
On Saturday 14th September, we held our second annual MCRC – Christie ESMO Academic Reception at Azimuth Rooftop Bar, Almanac in Barcelona. This beautiful event, situated with skyline views of Barcelona, was an opportunity for our representatives to connect with current and former colleagues from across The Christie and Manchester Cancer Research Centre. It also enabled attendees to catch-up with alumni from The Christie School of Oncology fellowship programmes and to network with some of our international colleagues.
We were delighted with the breadth of our attendees and were keen to hear much positive feedback. We look forward to returning next year in Berlin.
ESMO 2024
We speak to Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite, Investigational Immunotherapy Track Chair at ESMO 2024 and Dr Natalie Cook who spoke about the importance of attending conferences like ESMO, and discussed our ESMO 2024 MCRC-Christie Academic Reception in Barcelona. Watch this 2 min 54 second video.
“This was our second annual Academic Reception hosted between MCRC and The Christie at ESMO, in beautiful Barcelona! We were thrilled to connect and re-connect with colleagues from across the world at our event. It was fantastic to see and chat with our alumni and current trainees, as well as our various partners and friends including those from CRUK. We also got chance to chat to trainees who are considering applying to Christie fellowships which was excellent, and they got to hear from current staff and trainees on all the benefits and opportunities Manchester has to offer! We are already looking forward to Berlin in 2025.”
~ Rachel Chown | Associate Director of Integrated Research and Education Strategy at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
