Mass General Brigham Ventures LLC
05/22/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/22/2026 06:09
Mass General Brigham Researchers Present Key Findings at ASCO
Researchers from Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute will present research discoveries and outcomes from clinical trials in cancer at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, held May 29 - June 2, in Chicago.
ASCO brings together leading experts in clinical oncology to share the latest breakthroughs in cancer research, science and medicine. Presentations from Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute investigators include a study evaluating the outcomes of patients admitted to a dedicated oncology service within a multisite home hospital program; the results of a late-breaking plenary session on prostate cancer; efficacy and safety of a lung cancer drug; the efficacy of an app to support the psychosocial needs of patients with multiple myeloma; the creation of an electronic frailty index to inform risk ahead of CAR-T cell therapy treatments, and more.
Below are a few highlights from this year's presentations. All times are Central Time (CT).
ALKOVE-1: Efficacy and safety of neladalkib in patients with advanced ALK+ NSCLC
When: Friday, May 29, 2:12-2:24 p.m.
Who: Jessica J. Lin, MD, Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute
What: Dr. Lin and her team evaluated an experimental targeted lung cancer therapy, neladalkib, in patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer, including many whose cancer had already become resistant to other ALK-directed therapies. The team found that the drug showed strong activity even in difficult-to-treat cases, including those involving brain metastases and drug-resistant mutations such as G1202R. In patients who had never received an ALK-targeted therapy, tumors shrank in 86% of cases and responses appeared durable. Investigators found that side effects were generally manageable, with few patients needing to stop treatment or reduce dose.
When: Friday, May 29, 2:45-2:51 p.m.
Who: Areej El-Jawahri, MD, Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute
What: Patients living with multiple myeloma (MM) struggle with considerable quality of life (QOL) impairments, fatigue and psychological distress throughout their illness course. However, few accessible and scalable interventions provide the supportive care needs of these patients. To address this, the team assessed the efficacy of a self-guided psychosocial digital application called THRIVE-MM, for improving QOL, fatigue and psychological distress in patients living with MM. They found that THRIVE-MM decreased fatigue and depression symptoms but not QOL among this patient population.
Electronic frailty index used to identify high-risk older adults receiving CAR-T therapy
When: Saturday, May 30, 3:00-3:06 p.m.
Who: Patrick Connor Johnson, MD, Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute
What: Frailty, which is a measure of a patient's overall vulnerability and resilience, is known to affect health outcomes in older adults but is often difficult to assess in everyday clinical practice. Dr. Johnson and his team evaluated whether an electronic frailty index (eFI), calculated from routine health record data, can predict outcomes for older adults undergoing CAR-T cell therapy for blood cancers. The study included 260 patients aged 65 years and older (median age 73), with most classified as frail (28%) or very frail (37%). Very frail patients had significantly poorer outcomes, including a 60% higher risk of death, and about double the risk of disease progression or need for additional treatment. Both frail and very frail patients were also more likely to experience serious side effects, including severe inflammatory and neurologic toxicities, with occurrences more than threefold and nearly fivefold higher, respectively. The findings suggest the eFI could serve as a practical, automated tool to identify higher-risk patients before CAR-T cell therapy.
When: Sunday, May 31, 1:05-1:17 p.m.
Who: Senior Author, Adam Kibel, MD, Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute
What: This late-breaking abstract is embargoed until 8 a.m. on May 31, 2026.
When: Monday, June 1, 4:12-4:24 p.m.
Who: Thomas Roberts, MD, MBA, Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute
What: Home hospital programs deliver acute, inpatient-level care in patients' homes, and many health systems have adopted these programs after CMS granted a waiver for acute hospital care at home in November 2020. These programs may offer advantages for patients with cancer, including reduced exposure to hospital-associated complications and increased time at home. However, evidence describing outcomes for patients with cancer admitted to home hospital programs remains limited. In March 2025, Mass General Brigham launched an oncology service within the system's multisite home hospital program.
This retrospective cohort study evaluated outcomes for cancer patients admitted to the home hospital program at Mass General Brigham between March 2025 and January 2026, compared to outcomes admitted to a brick-and-mortar oncology service. Among 151 patients, common admission diagnoses included sepsis, infections, and renal/electrolyte disorders, with a median total length of stay of 8 days and a relatively low escalation rate back to traditional inpatient care (10.8%). Compared with a matched cohort treated on a traditional brick-and-mortar oncology service, patients managed through the home hospital program had shorter length of stay in brick-and-mortar hospitals and significantly lower 30-day readmission rates. These findings suggest that home hospital care is a feasible and promising model for delivering acute oncology care at home while potentially reducing rehospitalizations.
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