Bringing another annual reunion of the global oncology community to a resounding close, the 34,000 attendees of the ESMO Congress 2024 had the opportunity to gather around to listen to the most important results presented in different tumour types and research areas. These included practice-changing data across the spectrum of oncological diseases and good news for patient populations with high unmet need, accompanied by in-depth discussions to contextualise new knowledge in an increasingly complex treatment landscape and ensure that participants from all over the world will have a clear idea of how to apply it in their clinics.
ESMO’s mission being not just to disseminate as widely as possible the latest scientific evidence impacting patient care, but to help oncology professionals prepare for the future, the 2024 edition of the Society’s flagship meeting also saw thought-provoking presentations including a unique presidential symposium dedicated to emerging topics in the field. Among the developments that will certainly shape cancer research and care in the medium or long term, applications of artificial intelligence, emerging diagnostic and preventive technologies, biomarkers predicting response or resistance to treatment, as well as innovative agents and potential therapeutic strategies such as tumour-agnostic precision medicine were taken under the microscope.
Progress in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of cancer is nothing without effective public health policy to make advances accessible to all and sustainable for healthcare systems around the world, so the Congress once again provided a platform for dialogue between the oncology and international cancer policy communities. Education and perspectives for collaboration ranged from understanding cancer epidemiological trends and the needs that will arise from growing numbers of young-onset cases or long-term survivors, to tackling the gap between current global healthcare spending patterns and the goal of universal health coverage. A special session on the public health implications of the ESMO Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (ESMO-MCBS) also explored necessary methodological developments to further enhance the tool’s value for both clinical decision-making and efficient public resource allocation.
Equally vital for the sustainability of cancer care, the need to address global shortages in the oncology workforce was highlighted on various occasions, including in a special open forum of the ESMO Resilience Task Force discussing ways to protect the health and wellbeing of oncology professionals and prevent them from leaving the workforce prematurely in a context of rising pressures.
For the ESMO community, the time in Barcelona offered countless possibilities for networking, mutual support and mentorship for professional growth. Opportunities to find inspiration and learn from current leaders in oncology were provided in a variety of sessions, designed to foster the skills and connections needed for effective career development.
With the insights and impressions of the ESMO Congress 2024 fresh on everyone’s minds, the Society will continue its work to turn these into lasting benefits for the oncology community: by helping doctors effectively leverage the expanding body of evidence to improve patient care, keeping them updated on the transformations of the field still to come, and ensuring their needs are prioritised as an essential condition for maintaining viable and equitable cancer services in the future.