Biomedical Data Analytics News

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, held in Chicago from 29 May to 2 June 2026, hosted an estimated 40,000 oncology professionals, making it the largest international conference dedicated to oncology research in the world. This provided us with a unique opportunity to interact with industry experts and clinicians as well as learn about cutting-edge research in the field.

A major focus of this year's meeting was the presentation of results from numerous clinical trials across a wide range of cancer types. These included studies spanning immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and emerging precision medicine approaches, reflecting continued progress in improving outcomes for patients. The breadth of clinical trial activity highlighted the rapid pace of innovation in oncology and the increasing role of biomarker-driven and data-informed treatment strategies.

The scale of the event was also reflected in the strong presence of major organisations and pharmaceutical companies, including MD Anderson Cancer Center, Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Pfizer, GSK, and others. A particular focus across many presentations was the growing importance of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) technologies and their integration into clinical trial design, where they are increasingly being used to support patient stratification, monitor treatment response, detect minimal residual disease, and inform more personalised treatment strategies.

TIA Centre Contributions

The TIA Centre was proud to contribute to this year's programme with two poster presentations showcasing the potential of artificial intelligence in colorectal cancer research with a particular focus on Whole Slide Image analysis:

• Piotr Keller presented his work on inferring molecular signatures in colorectal cancer directly from routine whole-slide images, demonstrating the versatility of standard pathology slides as well as discovering various histological footprints these signatures can leave on the tissue. Such work can help us to understand these signatures but also discover biomarkers for treatment planning and patient stratification.
• Fayyaz Minhas (on Mark Eastwood's behalf) presented HistoChrome: Virtual multiplex immunohistochemistry from routine H&E in colorectal cancer, highlighting a novel generative approach for virtual multiplex immunohistochemistry using only routine H&E-stained tissue samples, enabling richer biological insights without additional laboratory assays.

Both projects attracted strong interest from clinicians, researchers, and industry experts. These resulted in insightful discussions that are paving the way for promising opportunities for future collaboration for the TIA centre. These also reinforce the growing interest in Computational Pathology tools within the oncology community.

Alongside the scientific programme, the conference also provided an opportunity to experience the vibrant city of Chicago. Highlights included sampling local favourites such as deep-dish pizza (which resembled more a tasty pie than a pizza) and Chicago-style hot dogs. On top of this, we visited the Art Institute of Chicago, viewing iconic artworks such as Self-Portrait (1887) by Vincent van Gogh and The Red Armchair (1931) by Pablo Picasso. These cultural experiences offered a welcome contrast to the intensity of the conference programme.

ASCO remains one of the most influential events in the oncology calendar, and it was exciting to see the growing impact of computational pathology approaches in supporting precision medicine and improving patient outcomes worldwide.

Contributions from the TIA Centre:

Piotr Keller [Poster Presentation]: Inferring molecular signatures in colorectal cancer directly from routine whole-slide images. https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2026.44.16_suppl.3522 

Mark Eastwood [Poster Presentation]: HistoChrome: Virtual multiplex immunohistochemistry from routine H&E in colorectal cancer. https://www.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/267782 

By Piotr Keller