Today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2025 meeting researchers revealed strong results from the INAVO120 study. The trial focused on women with hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative breast cancer that harboured PIK3CA mutations. Those cancers are among the most common, yet difficult to treat when resistant to standard therapy.

The trial compared two regimens. One included inavolisib, palbociclib, and fulvestrant. The other was the existing combination of palbociclib plus fulvestrant. Both arms were for patients who had already shown disease progression under prior hormonal therapies.

What stood out was that adding inavolisib significantly improved overall survival. On average patients on the triple-drug regimen lived seven months longer than those on the standard double-drug therapy. In addition to living longer, they delayed needing further chemotherapy, which often brings more side effects.

Side effect profiles were acceptable. As expected, some patients experienced issues related to low blood counts and other known toxicities of these classes of drugs but nothing unexpected or unmanageable was reported in the triple therapy arm.

These findings are promising because they may help shift treatment for PIK3CA-mutated HR+/HER2- breast cancer. At present many patients progress after endocrine therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitors, leaving limited options. A therapy that both extends life and delays pushing patients into chemotherapy could improve quality of life for many.

Another study from the same meeting also caught attention. ImPact Biotech presented interim results from their Phase 3 ENLIGHTED trial of padeliporfin vascular targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP) in patients with low-grade upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC). In the induction treatment phase nearly 73% of evaluable patients achieved a complete response. The treatment was well tolerated and showed safety consistent with earlier studies. Enrollment is ongoing, with topline data expected by the end of the year.

Both studies reflect growing momentum toward more precise and targeted cancer treatments. They also show how combining novel agents with established therapies, and using photodynamic approaches, may broaden options for patients whose cancers are difficult to treat.

If these results continue to hold up in further trials, we may see changes to standard of care in both PIK3CA-mutated breast cancer and low-grade UTUC. More updates are expected later this year as follow up data matures and additional endpoints are reported.