Pembrolizumab plus stereotactic RT: no EFS gain at interim

Editor's Pick: KEYNOTE-867: A Phase III, Randomized, Double-Blind Study of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy With Pembrolizumab for Unresected Stage I or II Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2026)
This AudioScholar briefing is generated by artificial intelligence for healthcare professionals and trainees. It is not medical advice.
Welcome to This Week in Oncology. This week we're covering 10 notable papers spanning the shifting boundaries of immunotherapy in early-stage disease, circulating tumour DNA as a tool for prognosis and de-escalation, and new targeted and supportive treatments in harder-to-treat cancers. Let's dive in.
This week's papers:
• KEYNOTE-867: A Phase III, Randomized, Double-Blind Study of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy With Pembrolizumab for Unresected Stage I or II Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. — Journal of Clinical Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42950173)
• Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy Versus Surgical Resection for Early-Stage Non-Small Lung Cancer: An Emulated Target Trial. — Journal of Clinical Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42970669)
• Benmelstobart With or Without Anlotinib After Chemoradiotherapy for Unresectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: The R-ALPS Randomized Clinical Trial. — JAMA Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42955021)
• Therapy for Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer With Driver Alterations: ASCO Living Guideline, Version 2026.3.4. — Journal of Clinical Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42956324)
• Immunochemotherapy for Borderline Resectable or Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial. — Journal of Clinical Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42970668)
• Neoadjuvant botensilimab with or without balstilimab in pMMR and dMMR colon cancer: the phase 2 UNICORN trial. — Nature Medicine 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42972108)
• 5-year outcomes of chemotherapy de-escalation in HER2-positive early breast cancer and exploratory circulating tumor DNA analyses from the randomized phase 2 PHERGain trial. — Nature Medicine 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42957778)
• Talazoparib plus enzalutamide versus placebo plus enzalutamide in metastatic androgen pathway modulator-resistant (castration-resistant) prostate cancer (TALAPRO-2): a biomarker analysis of circulating tumour DNA and cells for prognosis and molecular profiling. — The Lancet Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42950862)
• Darovasertib and Crizotinib First-Line Treatment for Metastatic Uveal Melanoma: Overall Survival, Efficacy, and Safety From the OptimUM-01 Study. — Journal of Clinical Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42950186)
• Methylphenidate for Hematologic Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Randomized Clinical Trial. — Journal of Clinical Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42962158)
Listen at AudioScholar (audioscholar.cc/episode/6qpud59pzc)