ASCO 2025: Key Takeaways From The American Society Of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting

By Elias Pittos, PharmD, BCOP, CSP, medical director, cell, gene & advanced therapies, McKesson

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in 2025 showcased significant advancements in cell and gene therapy (CGT) for cancer care. Breakthroughs in cell therapy for solid tumors, including tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, and T-cell receptor-engineered (TCR) therapy, demonstrate promising results in challenging cancers like melanoma, gastric cancer, and glioblastoma. Additionally, CAR T-cell therapies continue to expand their reach in hematologic disorders, showing durable remissions in multiple myeloma and promising responses in large B-cell lymphoma and AL amyloidosis.

While scientific progress is evident, the discussions at ASCO 2025 also highlighted the critical need for broader implementation strategies that address access, safety, and scalability. Managing immunotherapy toxicities, both acute and late, requires early intervention, careful patient selection, and ongoing collaboration between specialists and local oncologists. The emerging promise of Natural Killer (NK) cell therapies was also a key takeaway, offering a potentially more scalable and safer alternative to traditional CAR T-cell therapies due to their allogeneic nature and favorable safety profile.

Read the full article for an in-depth look at these advancements, challenges, and the future directions shaping cell and gene therapy in cancer care.