As we head to Chicago for ASCO 2026, the most critical questions go beyond which trials met their primary endpoints. They are about what happens next in the clinic, in the market, and in the minds of the physicians who must translate this data into practice.

Here are three things I’ll be watching:

1. The De-escalation Dilemma: When Does “Less” Become Enough?

For decades, the oncology default has been “more is more.”  We’ve been conditioned to believe that undertreatment has visible, catastrophic consequences. Now, as de-escalation data accumulates across tumor types and modalities, I am genuinely curious about what it will take to prompt an oncologist to trust and act on “less-is-more” data.

I suspect the answer depends on which “Tumor World” they are standing in because the disease context shapes trust in de-escalation as much as the data itself does. For brands whose standard of care is suddenly under de-escalation pressure, the challenge isn’t just clinical, it’s psychological.  The real question is whether the physician is emotionally ready to act on de-escalation data, and whether your brand has a plan for when they are.

2. The ADC “Perception-Print”: Differentiation in a Crowded Market

The ADC market is crowded, and the categorization challenge that it creates cannot be solved by clinical differentiation alone. An oncologist doesn’t encounter your ADC in a vacuum. They bring every prior ADC experience with them, whether a previous agent felt precisely targeted, like chemo repackaged, or like the best of both worlds.

Those prior experiences, across the spectrum of tumor types they treat, create something like a personal ADC perception-print. Where a new agent lands on that spectrum is shaped as much by what came before it as by its own profile. [LR1] Understanding that perception-print, not just the clinical data, is what defines the positioning.

Before you spend another dollar on differentiation messaging, it’s worth asking: “Differentiated from what, in whose mind, based on which prior experiences?” The answer isn’t in your label. It’s in the perception-print your category already left behind.

3. The Uninvited Guest: How GLP-1s are Reshaping the Oncology Map

It’s possible that the most significant shift in cancer incidence over the next decade won’t come from anything in the plenary hall. Multiple sessions at ASCO 2026 will examine GLP-1 associations with cancer incidence, survival outcomes, and immune interactions, with emerging evidence for meaningful reductions across a variety of obesity-associated tumor types at a population level.

The forecast models being built right now almost certainly don’t have a GLP-1 assumption in them. The patients who would have entered your addressable market in 2032 may already be on a GLP-1. That is a gap worth closing.

I’ll be in Chicago and will be posting from the meeting. Would love to hear what others are watching and what questions you’re bringing to ASCO this year.

About BioVid’s Oncology Center of Excellence

We embed oncology expertise at every stage of commercial strategy — from early asset positioning through launch and beyond. Our CoE brings together tumor-specific scientific depth, physician behavioral research, and market analytics to help oncology brands make faster, sharper decisions in a rapidly evolving landscape. Contact mjacobetz@biovid.com to learn more.