The Future of Cancer Care, According to the Experts

Our panel of experts shares its opinions on the future of oncology and breakthroughs in cancer treatment.

What are the most significant recent breakthroughs in cancer treatment?

For me, a true breakthrough has to fundamentally change the outlook for people living with cancer, enabling them to live better and longer lives. One of the biggest breakthroughs in cancer has been the introduction and the evolution of next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). While the first ADC came to market in 2000, advances over the last decade have pushed the field forward. Pfizer is at the forefront of this innovation, after our 2023 acquisition of Seagen, pioneers of ADC technology. Today, about half of ADCs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) come from Pfizer or use our technology, and we’re using our deep expertise and experience to bring forward the most extensive and exciting ADC portfolio in the industry.

ADCs work by specifically targeting cancer cells while aiming to limit harm to healthy ones. They are like a guided missile that can zero in on cancer cells to deliver a powerful drug, such as chemotherapy, directly inside a cell without hitting nearby healthy cells. They have shown great promise, alone or in combination with other therapies, across several cancer types, including recent breakthroughs in bladder cancer. Pfizer’s ADC, in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor, more than doubled lifespan (overall survival) for people with advanced bladder cancer in a pivotal clinical trial — among the most significant advancements in the field for decades. This is just the beginning — we’re exploring how ADCs can help engage the body’s immune system to address cancer, which could transform the ADC field even further if successful.

What barriers limit patient access to new therapies, and how can they be overcome?

The progress the oncology community has made in recent decades is incredible. Thanks to scientific and technological advances, we believe that we’re truly on the cusp of a new era in cancer care — but breakthroughs only matter if they reach those who need them most. We know many patient populations, including people of color, and communities, such as those with lower socioeconomic status or people living in more rural areas, have limited access to quality healthcare, impacting their ability to detect cancer early and access standard-of-care treatments. 

These are significant challenges that can only be overcome through collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem. At Pfizer, we have a long history of partnering with advocacy organizations and other stakeholders with the goal of identifying and removing barriers to care. One example I’m particularly proud of is our work with the American Cancer Society (ACS) to support its Change the Odds™ initiative. Change the Odds aims to improve health outcomes in underserved communities across the United States by enhancing awareness of and access to cancer screenings, clinical trial opportunities, patient support, and comprehensive navigation. In its first year alone, the initiative reached over 16 million people, with nearly 3,000 partner organizations engaged and tens of thousands of resources distributed. By working together to reach patients along every touchpoint in their cancer journey, we can make a real difference and drive toward a more equitable future for cancer care.

What are the most significant upcoming breakthroughs in cancer treatment?

The convergence of multiomics and AI is transforming how we understand, diagnose, and treat cancer. When harnessed effectively, these technologies can support the development of more precise, personalized therapies by integrating molecular, immune, and spatial data. 

BostonGene’s computational models provide a deeper view of tumor biology and the immune system, going beyond isolated biomarkers, enabling adaptive clinical trial design and improved patient stratification. This approach significantly accelerates drug development timelines and enhances treatment effectiveness, paving the way for therapies tailored to each individual’s unique cancer profile.

How is precision medicine changing diagnosis and care?

Precision medicine is transforming patient care by replacing broad, population-based decisions with approaches tailored to each individual. Instead of relying on single biomarkers or limited clinical indicators, today’s models integrate a wide range of data, including genomic, transcriptomic, immune, clinical, and imaging information. Advanced computational tools, including AI and digital twin technology, synthesize these inputs to reveal the unique biology of each patient’s disease. BostonGene’s proprietary platform leverages this multi-modal data to deliver more accurate diagnoses and more effective treatment selection, ultimately improving outcomes and quality of life for patients. 

What barriers limit patient access to new therapies, and how can they be overcome?

Barriers to accessing precision therapies include high costs, complex diagnostics, and limited trial access. Addressing these challenges requires simplifying testing workflows, expanding access to advanced profiling, and designing smarter, more inclusive, and more efficient clinical trials. BostonGene supports these goals by embedding AI-driven, multiomic diagnostics into clinical practice, helping providers make timely and informed decisions. This approach can narrow disparities, improve trial enrollment, and make precision oncology more accessible to diverse patient populations.

Why are awareness, funding, and collaboration key to advancing research?

Realizing the clinical promise of scientific advances requires more than discovery; it requires delivery. Awareness connects patients and clinicians to innovation, funding fuels exploration, and collaboration bridges the gap between research and care. Today, the path to bringing a new cancer drug to market is long and costly, averaging 10.5 years, over $2.5 billion in investment, and a success rate of just 8%. At BostonGene, we partner across pharma, academia, industry, and healthcare systems to reduce R&D spend and shorten timelines. By aligning scientific innovation with clinical application, we help translate scientific advances into improved patient outcomes, delivering both clinical and economic value.

What are the most significant breakthroughs in cancer treatment?

• Immunotherapy: Harnessing the immune system to fight cancer. This includes CAR-T therapy and checkpoint inhibitors.
• Targeted therapy: Drugs that block specific mutations or pathways in cancer cells (e.g., EGFR inhibitors, PARP inhibitors, HER-2 inhibitors).
• Bispecific antibodies: These target cancer cells with greater precision.
• Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs): These deliver potent treatment directly to cancer cells.
• Genomic insights & AI: These are optimizing patient selection for personalized therapies.
• Liquid biopsies
• Tumor-agnostic therapies treat cancers based on genetic mutations, not location.
• MRNA cancer vaccines show promise.

How is precision medicine changing diagnosis and care?

We learned many lessons from the treatment of HIV, where approximately 600,000 patient genotypes were analyzed for resistance. This showed us how to tailor combination therapies for optimal outcomes and invent new medicines where we were able to cover resistant strains and match the right patient to the right medicine. These lessons have been very useful for inspiring breakthroughs in oncology. 

It’s exciting to see where the new technology is headed. Technology companies, like Tempus and Foundation Medicine, are advancing precision medicine by providing AI-enabled solutions to physicians for personalized patient care and through the practical application of genetic analysis of tumors. These tools will not only improve patient care but also facilitate the next wave of breakthroughs in discovery.

Why are awareness, funding, and collaboration key to advancing research?

Each of these factors can accelerate medical advances, thereby improving patient outcomes and public health. Awareness can help engage the public and policymakers, and drive advocacy toward advancing research. Funding is also key, especially since many national health institutes have been under significant financial challenges, putting pressure on research activities. Collaborations between the government, academic institutions, hospitals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies can also lead to better outcomes in advancing research and treatments for patients. 

What are the most significant upcoming breakthroughs in cancer treatment?

Immunotherapy has emerged as a cornerstone of modern cancer treatment, revolutionizing the way medical professionals approach disease. Biomarker-targeted therapy in oncology is now in its third wave: Starting with small molecules, advancing to immunotherapy (checkpoint inhibitors), and now evolving to antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and radioimmunotherapy. An increase in clinical trials with bi-specific and tri-specific antibody drugs, cell therapies, and a combination of immunotherapy with ADCs underscores the dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape of cancer treatment. These biomarker-enabled innovative therapeutics offer great potential for more effective treatments for patients and advancements in the fight against cancer.

How is precision medicine changing diagnosis and care?

Precision medicine has revolutionized cancer treatment by customizing therapies to a patient’s unique disease, making treatments more effective and potentially reducing side effects. This approach helps to ensure that the right treatment is selected for the right patient at the right time. Diagnostic tests play a crucial role in this process by identifying specific molecular profiles or biomarkers in a patient’s cancer. These profiles indicate whether a patient is likely to respond to a particular drug, leading to more personalized and effective treatment plans. As a result, patients may experience fewer side effects, improved quality of life, and better overall outcomes. 

Additionally, digital pathology is further enhancing the precision of cancer diagnosis and care. By improving the reproducibility and accuracy of diagnostic interpretations, digital pathology can help ensure that the selection of the right patients for specific treatments is even more accurate and reliable. 

What barriers limit patient access to new therapies, and how can they be overcome?

Novel therapies offer tremendous benefits but require greater focus on healthcare provider awareness, reimbursement, and streamlined regulatory pathways for the therapeutics and associated testing. Educating healthcare providers and patients is paramount to enhancing access to advanced therapies for the right patient. Adequate reimbursement for testing in addition to the drug is necessary for the patients to receive testing that guides physicians on the best therapeutic for their disease. Geography can be a significant barrier, as rural populations or underserved areas often face challenges accessing advanced therapies. Decentralized testing and telemedicine can help mitigate these challenges by bringing advanced care closer to patients. Moreover, navigating the regulatory landscape can be complex. Collaborative efforts between industry and regulatory bodies are essential to streamline these processes and improve access. By working together, these entities can help ensure that innovative treatments are developed and made available to patients who need them, regardless of their geographic location. This comprehensive approach can help overcome barriers and ensure that advancements in cancer treatment benefit a broader population.  

Why are awareness, funding, and collaboration key to advancing research?

Awareness, funding, and collaboration are key to advancing cancer research for several reasons. Early detection of cancers is crucial for better patient outcomes, and raising awareness about the importance of early detection can lead to more timely diagnoses and treatments. International collaboration and knowledge sharing can significantly enhance cancer control efforts worldwide. Industry and academic partnerships can accelerate research and improve cancer outcomes by pooling resources, expertise, and data, as new therapies, technologies, and understanding of cancer biology often originate in academic labs. The development and approval of new drugs takes many years and requires significant funding and extensive collaboration between multiple companies with diverse expertise. This comprehensive approach of combining early detection, international partnerships, and rigorous development of new and innovative therapies ensures that advancements in cancer treatment can reach patients more effectively and improve outcomes on a global scale. 

What are the most significant recent breakthroughs in cancer treatment?

In recent years, some of the most significant breakthroughs have been treatments that demonstrated the ability to utilize our immune system to fight cancer. Our immune systems are designed to identify and kill cancer cells, but cancer can sometimes avoid detection by our immune system. Treatment that can activate your immune system to fight cancer is something I believe is just at the start of its potential.

We have also accepted severe side effects as a part of cancer treatment, and there are new therapies — like Tumor Treating Fields therapy — that are effective without the toxic side effects. This type of therapy has the potential to revolutionize what our expectations are when it comes to treatment.

I think we will also see advances driven by the combination of therapeutic modalities, for instance, the use of an immunotherapy and Tumor Treating Fields therapy, which allows us to attack cancer cells in multiple ways. Combining therapies can potentially result in a more effective treatment approach for patients.

What barriers limit patient access to new therapies, and how can they be overcome?

Patients can face multiple hurdles when they want to access newly approved treatments. This becomes especially concerning when a delay in starting treatment can result in a patient becoming sicker. This is a concern with therapies for aggressive cancers.

An example of this is that while Medicare typically covers drugs immediately after they are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, groundbreaking medical devices often experience significant delays, sometimes waiting years before becoming available to seniors in the Medicare program. Establishing a faster pathway to coverage once a medical device is approved would accelerate patient access to critical medical therapies, ultimately enhancing health outcomes for seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries.

Why are awareness, funding, and collaboration key to advancing research?

Scientific discovery and treatment advances are only possible when the larger community of people working to cure cancer are engaged in collaboration. For instance, a treatment can be discovered and developed at Novocure, but it takes awareness and understanding of our science to interest physicians and patients to participate in the clinical studies that prove if a treatment can work. Without collaboration across the healthcare industry, academia, government, advocacy, and with patients, it would be almost impossible to deliver new treatments for disease.