Why should health plans follow ASCO and other major oncology meetings?
Major meetings such as ASCO present trial results that can change standards of care quickly. Some involve therapies already being prescribed off-label, and others are new drugs heading for FDA approval. Health plans need to judge which ones are becoming a new standard of care and are supported for coverage, so patients get timely access to treatments that improve outcomes.
Read: Translating ASCO 2026: What Matters Most for Managed Care
What did ASCO 2025 mean for payers?
Several trials pointed to new standards of care. SERENA-6 may set a precedent for approval based on molecular progression (an ESR1 mutation found in the blood) rather than progression on imaging, which would mean more frequent testing. ATOMIC showed adding atezolizumab to chemotherapy halved the risk of recurrence in resected stage III dMMR colon cancer, and MATTERHORN was the first positive perioperative immunotherapy trial in gastric cancer.
Read: Translating ASCO Insights Into Action: A Payer’s Guide to What’s Next in Oncology
What is new in treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer?
The FDA approved pembrolizumab with enfortumab vedotin around surgery for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who cannot receive cisplatin. In the EV-303/KEYNOTE-905 trial, two-year event-free survival was 74.7% versus 39.4% with surgery alone. The combination is also showing benefit in cisplatin-eligible patients, though it is not yet FDA approved or NCCN endorsed for that group.
Read: Innovations in Bladder Cancer Therapy: Implications for Managed Care
What does the What’s Next in Oncology eBook cover?
It looks at the clinical innovations, care delivery shifts and market forces shaping cancer treatment, including six pivotal drug approvals for 2026. It also covers precision medicine advances, AI-driven decision support and new care models that improve outcomes while addressing cost and access.
Read: What’s Next in Oncology: 6 Pivotal Drug Approvals for 2026
What are the first-line treatment options for CLL?
Options include continuous treatment with a covalent BTK inhibitor (ibrutinib, acalabrutinib or zanubrutinib), with or without obinutuzumab, or fixed-duration venetoclax with obinutuzumab. Newer fixed-duration and MRD-guided combinations of a BTK inhibitor with venetoclax are emerging, but most trials compared them with chemoimmunotherapy rather than today’s standard, so their added benefit is still unclear.
Read: Front-Line Covalent BTK Inhibitor + Venetoclax ± Obinutuzumab: A New Triple Threat?
Why was RAS called “undruggable”?
RAS mutations drive about 30% of human cancers, but for decades RAS proteins resisted drug design: they lacked obvious binding pockets and bind GTP very tightly. The first KRAS inhibitor, sotorasib, was approved in 2021, but it targets only the KRAS G12C mutation, which is found in just 2% to 3% of pancreatic cancers.
Read: The End of “Undruggable?”: Why RASolute-302 May Mark the Beginning of the Pan-RAS Era
What could pan-RAS inhibitors mean for health plan budgets?
Daraxonrasib could treat roughly five times as many patients as first-generation KRAS therapies, so even with familiar per-patient pricing, the overall budget impact would be much larger. Value goes beyond drug price: oral dosing and lower discontinuation rates can reduce other costs. Biomarker confirmation, indication-specific coverage and real-world monitoring are likely to shape coverage decisions.
Read: The End of “Undruggable?”: Why RASolute-302 May Mark the Beginning of the Pan-RAS Era
Is selpercatinib used after surgery for RET fusion-positive lung cancer?
Selpercatinib is FDA approved only for advanced or metastatic RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Based on the LIBRETTO-432 trial, NCCN guidelines now endorse its use after resection of earlier-stage disease, where it improved 24-month event-free survival to 91.5% from 61.1% in stage II–IIIA patients. It is another reason to test for biomarkers before early-stage treatment.
Read: Translating ASCO 2026: What Matters Most for Managed Care
What is daraxonrasib?
Daraxonrasib is a first-in-class oral pan-RAS inhibitor. Unlike earlier KRAS drugs that target one mutation, it blocks the active form of mutant and normal KRAS, NRAS and HRAS. In the phase 3 RASolute-302 trial in previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer, it doubled median overall survival compared with chemotherapy (13.2 vs 6.6 months). It is currently investigational.
Read: The End of “Undruggable?”: Why RASolute-302 May Mark the Beginning of the Pan-RAS Era