This Week in Oncology — Sep 30, 2026

Editor's Pick: Hypofractionated versus conventional fractionated postmastectomy radiotherapy for patients with high-risk breast cancer (CHN HYPOPMRT): 10-year outcomes from a randomised, non-inferiority, open-label, phase 3 trial (The Lancet 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 local therapy de-escalation and delivery in breast and brain disease, immunotherapy biomarkers and combinations, and a set of population-level studies on prevention, screening intensity, and how we report what treatment costs patients. Let's dive in.
This week's papers:
• Hypofractionated versus conventional fractionated postmastectomy radiotherapy for patients with high-risk breast cancer (CHN HYPOPMRT): 10-year outcomes from a randomised, non-inferiority, open-label, phase 3 trial. — The Lancet Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42805199)
• Surgery and tile-based radiation therapy versus surgery and stereotactic radiation for newly diagnosed brain metastases (ROADS): a randomized, open-label, phase 3 trial. — Journal of Clinical Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42804720)
• Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients Presenting With Locally Advanced Breast Cancer. — Journal of Clinical Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42809799)
• Final results and predictive biomarkers of response and long-term outcomes with first-line pembrolizumab monotherapy in advanced renal cell carcinoma in the phase II KEYNOTE-427 study. — Annals of Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42810586)
• Pembrolizumab and Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy for Patients with Metastatic Well-Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors. — Clinical Cancer Research 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42803639)
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and immune checkpoint blockade in solid tumors: A target trial emulation with pan-cancer transcriptomic analyses. — PLOS Medicine 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42809593)
• Global burden of cancer attributable to infections in 2024: a worldwide incidence analysis. — The Lancet Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42805198)
• Prostate Cancer Screening and Likelihood of Benefit in Veterans Affairs and Fee-for-Service Medicare. — JAMA Internal Medicine 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42804174)
• Facilitated Cascade Genetic Testing for Relatives of Individuals With BRCA1/2 Pathogenic Variants: A Randomized Controlled Trial. — Journal of Clinical Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42809807)
• Reporting health-related quality of life in randomised clinical trials evaluating adjuvant systemic therapy: recommendations of Common-Sense Oncology and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer. — The Lancet Oncology 2026 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42810369)
Listen at AudioScholar (audioscholar.cc/episode/maee6de3gc)