Upper-GI highlights from ASCO and ASCO-GI 2023 meetings: changing paradigm in treatment sequence

The annual meeting of the American Society of Medical Oncology (ASCO) was held as usual in Chicago, while the meeting focused on gastrointestinal tumors, ASCO-GI, was held in San Francisco. In particular, ASCO-GI included many phase III trials, the data of which have the potential to change the practice in the near future for tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract (upper-GI), including tumors of the esophagus, gastroesophageal junction, stomach, and pancreas. Interestingly, ASCO and also the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) offer the virtual plenary sessions under the motto “Today’s Science Can Wait.” As more physicians and scientists become comfortable with online tools in the post-pandemic era, presenting potential practice-changing data outside of annual meetings appears feasible. Here we present a summary of upper-GI tumor abstracts from two major ASCO meetings including virtual plenary series.