ESMO Congress 2026

Within the landscape of Latin American oncology research, LACOG's multicenter network and its track record in phase III trials form the basis for understanding lidERA. The network's scale can be seen in a survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on oncology clinical research: 90 research centers participated, 70 of them in Brazil, and the survey also noted the importance of clinical trials for Latin American patients' access to novel therapies ^[3]. On the phase III evidence front, LACOG participated in the ROSELLA trial (GOG-3073/ENGOT-ov72/APGOT-Ov10, LACOG-0223) in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, where relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel showed significant improvement in progression-free survival, with the final overall survival analysis published in the Lancet in 2026 ^[4]; its single-arm phase 2 HERCULES trial (LACOG 0218) in advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma also reflects its capacity to independently conduct prospective studies ^[5].

The posts from ESMO 2026 in Madrid conveyed two things at once: first, alongside research presentations, the LACOG team and investigators are participating in a series of meetings on clinical trials and new cancer research initiatives; second, and central, on October 23, LACOG investigator Dr. Gustavo Werutsky presented patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from the phase III lidERA trial, highlighting quality of life and treatment tolerability in early breast cancer. The posts did not disclose the PRO instruments used, assessment timepoints, or any numerical results.

Relative to existing knowledge, this readout advances the picture on two ends—endpoint dimension and disease setting: ROSELLA presented efficacy endpoints (progression-free survival and final overall survival analysis) from a phase III trial with LACOG participation in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer ^[4], whereas lidERA, presented by a LACOG investigator, turns the focus to early breast cancer with PROs as the reporting centerpiece, offering a patient-experience and tolerability perspective beyond efficacy numbers; given that regional surveys have repeatedly emphasized treatment access and research-operations strain ^[3], such patient-centered data are directly relevant in the Latin American context.

The limitations are equally clear: the posts only confirm the fact that PRO results were presented at the meeting; lidERA's design details, control arm, and the specific magnitude of the PRO results were not disclosed and await confirmation from conference materials or subsequent publications; and the overall survival data from ROSELLA come from an ovarian cancer population ^[4] and cannot be extrapolated to early breast cancer.