Sian Dobbs shares her experience of ESMO 2025
I attended the ESMO 2025 Congress in Berlin with support from the Salivary Gland Cancer UK travel grant. This meeting provided exposure to cutting-edge oncology research, clinical advances and international collaboration. The scale of the congress allowed learning across multiple tumour groups, with direct relevance to salivary gland cancer in addition to wider translational research.
I focused my time on three areas. First was the dedicated salivary gland cancer session. This covered genomic profiling, patterns of recurrence, systemic treatment strategies and the early data on targeted agents. The session provided clear evidence that rare cancer research is progressing through international consortia, pooled datasets and more structured molecular classification. A key message was the importance of centralised pathology, standardised reporting and early referral into research pathways. The requirement for multidisciplinary research collaborations integrated throughout clinical networks was emphasised throughout.
The second area was cancer associated macrophages. This was a strong theme across immuno-oncology sessions. New single cell datasets showed how macrophage subsets shape tumour behaviour, treatment response and metastatic patterns. Groups reported efforts to target macrophage recruitment, macrophage reprogramming and myeloid-directed combination therapy. These findings link closely to tumour microenvironment questions in salivary gland cancer, where immune infiltration patterns remain poorly defined. This session will support discussions on microenvironment analysis within our own existing projects in Manchester.
The third focus was the poster section. I presented our lab’s work examining extracellular matrix composition in adenoid cystic carcinoma and received feedback from the ESMO research community. These conversations provided immediate ideas for method refinement, opportunities for shared protocols and suggestions on how to position results towards future multicentre studies. Presenting also highlighted the profile of UK activity in salivary gland cancer research.
Networking was a major benefit. I met researchers not only from the head and neck community, but also across diverse oncology teams. These interactions highlighted how techniques from other fields can be applied to salivary gland cancer, including spatial transcriptomics, liquid biopsy analysis and new trial models for rare tumours. I also connected with investigators working on macrophage biology and discussed the possibility for collaboration on myeloid profiling workstreams.
My reflection is that attending ESMO provided value beyond the direct scientific content. It reinforced the need for cross-disciplinary engagement, early collaboration and active participation in rare cancer networks. It strengthened my understanding of current evidence, expanded future collaboration routes and will influence the direction of my ongoing work in salivary gland cancer. Many thanks to Salivary Gland Cancer UK for supporting this opportunity.
December 2025