From new drugs to artificial intelligence, the news in oncology

From the perspectives of antibody-drug conjugates to radiomics, from immunotherapy to the use of artificial intelligence in oncology, many innovative topics were addressed during the Joint International Conference 2025 “Innovation in Oncology – New Drugs and the Impact of Artificial Intelligence” organized by Gianni Bonadonna Foundation with Prada Group as supporting partner, the Michelangelo Foundation, and the European School of Oncology.

The challenges posed by antibody-drug conjugates were addressed. These drugs are more potent but not necessarily more tolerable than small molecules and should be developed in the future taking into account linker stability and its impact on toxicity. The increasingly clear importance of the intestinal microbiota and circadian rhythm in the response to immunotherapy was emphasized, suggesting a modulation of the microbiota and also an administration of the treatment in the morning for greater efficacy. Ample space was also given to “living therapies” with engineered T cells, both CAR-T and especially TCR-T, which have the potential to recognize antigens within cells and target solid tumors. Innovation in oncology was also discussed in terms of future diagnostic perspectives and the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence, with contributions highlighting the increasingly widespread use of ctDNA analysis for patient stratification and treatment decision-making. The new possibilities offered by radiomics and computational pathology were also discussed, allowing for a greater fusion of different diagnostic imaging techniques. International experts then emphasized the importance of extensive external validation of diagnostic models for clinical application, while also highlighting the high costs of some platforms, such as imaging mass cytometry, which are therefore more difficult to implement on a clinical large scale. The role of artificial intelligence was emphasized both in its positive features, including its increased ability to identify new therapeutic targets and new drugs, as well as in imaging interpretation, and in its critical aspects, including the use of AI to report scientific findings or diagnose patients who deviate from the average. Finally, the conference also discussed adaptive tumor responses and the potential of drug combinations to overcome resistance, as well as dose optimization to identify cases in which drugs could be reduced without losing efficacy but with the advantage of fewer side effects and greater savings.