Learn what was important to HCPs at ASCO 2022

Between 03 – 07 June 2022, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting returned in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, with healthcare professionals (HCPs) and scientific experts from around the world gathering in Chicago, United States for the event. The conference was also accessible virtually, with full online access to the programme including both live and on-demand sessions. As one of the largest medical conferences in the world, ASCO provides a great platform for HCPs to hear about the latest developments in the oncology space, as well as connect and learn from their peers.

Using CREATION Pinpoint^® to isolate the voice of healthcare professionals online, we explored the social media conversations of HCPs globally during the conference. HCPs welcomed one another to the event, celebrating this year’s theme of ‘Advancing Equitable Cancer Care Through Innovation’. The overall volume of conversation among HCPs was comparable to that of the virtual ASCO meeting of 2021, dropping by around 2% but still attracting much attention with over 26,000 HCP social media posts over the five day conference. 

📣 WELCOME BACK @ASCO #ASCO22 after 2 years !
Advancing equitable cancer care through innovation & looking beyond the pandemic @OncoAlert pic.twitter.com/JG7gGFyweI

— Vivek Subbiah, MD (@VivekSubbiah) June 2, 2022

Lung, breast and bowel cancer were the focus for HCPs at ASCO 2022

Throughout the conference, recent developments in different areas of oncology were highlighted, with the main focus being the release and presentation of new trial data. The three cancer types most frequently discussed by HCPs were lung cancer, breast cancer and bowel/colorectal cancer.

The largest spike in the above conversation was driven by the DESTINY-Breast04 trial, investigating Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca’s trastuzumab deruxtecan compared with treatment of physician’s choice in patients with HER2-low metastatic breast cancer. The results attracted the attention of many HCPs, who called the results ‘unprecedented’, ‘practice changing’, and an ‘important moment in the history of this disease’. HCPs celebrated both the efficacy of the drug with a significant increase in survival rates, and its manageable safety profile.

Finally it’s time for the #DESTINYbreast04 trial at #ASCO22 plenary session: so excited to be in the 2nd row of this big room to see such unprecedented results in the #BreastCancer field…this will remain one of the most important moment in the history of this disease@OncoAlert pic.twitter.com/VlV2bJUxEF

— Matteo Lambertini, MD PhD (@matteolambe) June 5, 2022

Within the lung cancer conversation, several trials piqued the interest of HCPs, including the NADIM-2 trial investigating Bristol Myers Squibb’s neoadjuvant nivolumab with chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer. The drug achieved positive response rates, and HCPs say it could become a new standard of care for patients. 

HCPs also reacted to trials which did not demonstrate as positive an outcome as hoped for, including the SKYSCRAPER-02 trial in which Roche’s tiragolumab in combination with atezolizumab did not display any benefits in survival rates compared with current treatment options. 

#ASCO22
Lung oral session

Skyscraper-02 study tiragolumab (TIGIT) + atezo + plt doublet Chemo v Chemo+ atezo:
– no benefit in PFS
– no benefit in interim OS
– no new safety signals

Unf it looks unlikely that TIGIT is going to make it to primetime in sclc @ASCO @OncoAlert pic.twitter.com/7iTGmaENtx

— Jarushka Naidoo (@DrJNaidoo) June 5, 2022

Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca’s trastuzumab deruxtecan the most discussed product at ASCO 2022

Unsurprisingly with the success of the DESTINY-Breast04 trial, we can see that trastuzumab deruxtecan was the most frequently discussed product among HCPs throughout the entire congress. BMS’s nivolumab came in third, with HCPs talking about the product in the context of many different lung cancer studies including NADIM-2 as well as others.

The second most mentioned product was dostarlimab from GSK, mentioned in the context of a small scale rectal cancer study in which 100% of patients achieved a clinically complete response with this single agent alone. The publication of the study in the New England Journal of Medicine was the most shared resource among HCPs during ASCO 2022. HCPs were thrilled to see the effectiveness of dostarlimab in this area, with Gastrointestinal oncologist Mark Lewis describing the outcome as ‘absolutely incredible’. 

This is absolutely incredible: using single-agent PD-1 blockade (dostarlimab) to treat locally advanced MSI-H rectal cancer –> CCR –> close obs WITHOUT chemoXRT or surgery! #crcsm

From the concurrent @nejm publication in concert with #ASCO22: https://t.co/QZBppf0m1f pic.twitter.com/kMFc8Hvh5U

— Mark Lewis (@marklewismd) June 5, 2022

Four HCPs drive discussions at ASCO 2022

During ASCO 2022, there were four individuals who were particularly active on social media, posting over 400 times each over the five day window. While volume of posts is only one metric related to HCP influence on social media, these HCPs were key in driving discussions among their peers and reacting to data as it was presented. They are highlighted below:

Each author displayed their own content preferences and digital behaviours throughout the conference. Psycho-oncologist Cristiane Bergerot took a general approach to the conference covering all cancer types, and often chose to share abstracts from the ASCO program guide. Whereas Thoracic oncologist Dipesh Uprety focused on the lung cancer features of the congress, and preferred to give his own thoughts using images from the presentations.

Turning up the heat… Excellent presentation by @ShirishGadgeel on Novel IO combns — LAG-3, TIGIT, adenosine pathway, 4-1BB #LCSM @OncoAlert #ASCO22 pic.twitter.com/2sRBkWgmpw

— Dipesh Uprety MD FACP (@DipeshUpretyMD) June 4, 2022

Listen to customers at your next congress

Tracking congress discussions and identifying your Digital Opinion Leaders (DOLs) who are active during congress meetings provides insight into how these individuals are influencing the conversation and therefore how to approach opportunities for engagement. If you would like to learn more about the needs, opinions and digital behaviours of HCPs online and how to build long-term meaningful relationships with them, then do register for our monthly eJournal or alternatively contact us if you have a specific query – we’d love to help.