October brought new cancer treatment approvals, mixed trial results and early signals in pancreatic cancer, alongside major radiopharmaceutical and drug development deals.
October’s oncology developments span treatment decisions that could affect current care and experimental approaches still years from clinical use. Among the month’s notable updates: expanded uses for three cancer medicines, a phase 3 radiopharmaceutical result without publicly disclosed efficacy details, and early evidence for a drug targeting a common pancreatic cancer mutation. Business deals also highlighted the importance of isotope supply and the push to develop therapies that act more selectively inside tumors.
This roundup covers nine developments reported since mid-September 2026. The strength of evidence varies widely: some updates draw on phase 3 trials, while others come from small patient groups or programs that have not yet entered clinical testing.
New treatment options, with trade-offs to weigh
Pfizer’s Tukysa (tucatinib) received approval on October 7 for use with trastuzumab and pertuzumab as maintenance therapy in advanced HER2-positive breast cancer. Tucatinib is an oral drug that blocks HER2, a protein that can help cancer cells grow. It had previously been approved for people whose advanced cancer had progressed after earlier treatment. The new use follows initial chemotherapy, with the aim of keeping disease under control without continuing chemotherapy.
The decision was based on a phase 3 trial of 654 patients. Published results found median progression-free survival of 24.9 months with the Tukysa combination, compared with 16.3 months with trastuzumab and pertuzumab alone. The combination reduced the risk of progression or death by 36%. That benefit came with more severe adverse events, particularly elevated liver enzymes and diarrhea. The results offer a meaningful comparison for this treatment setting, while also underscoring the need to weigh side effects alongside the delay in disease progression.
Another phase 3 result supports a new option after surgery for some people with colon cancer. Genentech’s Tecentriq (atezolizumab), a PD-L1 inhibitor, was approved with chemotherapy for stage 3 colon cancer with deficient mismatch repair, or dMMR. This type of tumor has impaired DNA repair. Immune checkpoint treatment is already used in advanced dMMR colorectal cancer; the new use extends that approach to treatment after surgery, when the goal is to lower the chance that cancer will return.
In the ATOMIC trial, 86.3% of patients given Tecentriq with chemotherapy were disease-free at three years, compared with 76.2% receiving chemotherapy alone. Severe adverse events were also more frequent with the combination: 84.1% versus 71.9%. Those figures make both sides of the decision clear. Roche is seeking to expand access in other markets, including Europe.
ImmunityBio’s Anktiva (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept) also received an expanded approval. The IL-15-based immunotherapy is given directly into the bladder with BCG, a treatment used in bladder cancer. It can now be used for high-grade papillary-only non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer that has not responded to BCG. Anktiva was approved in 2024 for bladder cancer in situ, with or without papillary tumors.
The evidence supporting the expansion requires careful interpretation. In the earlier QUILT-3.032 trial, 62% of patients with carcinoma in situ achieved a complete response. Those results were not collected in the newly included papillary-only group. The approval relied on the FDA’s assessment that the two disease forms were sufficiently similar to extend the existing evidence. The new use broadens nonsurgical treatment options, but the response rate from the earlier group should not be read as a result for patients with papillary-only disease.
Early clinical signals and a trial setback
Heidelberg Pharma has completed dose escalation in a phase 1 study of HDP-101, also called pamlectabart tismanitin, in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The antibody-drug conjugate targets BCMA, a protein found on myeloma cells, and carries amanitin, a toxin derived from the death cap mushroom. Amanitin blocks RNA polymerase 2, stopping cells from making RNA; the approach may affect cancer cells even when they are not actively dividing.
At the International Myeloma Society meeting in September, the company reported responses in 42% of 31 evaluable patients in higher-dose groups, including three stringent complete responses. This is an early result from a small group, not evidence of established benefit. A phase 2a expansion is underway to study the treatment in more people with heavily pretreated myeloma.
Verastem reported preliminary results for VS-7375, an oral drug designed to inhibit KRAS G12D in both its active and inactive states. The mutation is a common driver of pancreatic cancer, and no treatment specifically targeting it has been approved. In a phase 1/2 study, four of eight people receiving the drug as a second-line treatment for metastatic pancreatic cancer had confirmed tumor responses. Among 22 previously treated patients in a broader group, the response rate was 41%.
These findings are promising enough to support further study, but they remain preliminary: patient numbers are small and follow-up is limited. Verastem is preparing a phase 3 trial in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer and expects enrollment to begin before the end of 2026. The company said it agreed on the trial design with the FDA.
BioNTech reported a setback for BNT113, an experimental mRNA immunotherapy for HPV16-positive head and neck cancer. In a phase 2/3 trial, the treatment combined with Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) did not significantly improve progression-free survival compared with Keytruda alone. BNT113 is designed to prompt an immune response against the HPV16 proteins E6 and E7.
BioNTech has not released detailed efficacy figures. The trial will continue to assess overall survival, its other primary endpoint, so the full picture is not yet available. A survival benefit could still affect the trial’s eventual result, but the reported finding leaves the treatment’s clinical value uncertain.
Radiopharmaceutical progress and a supply-chain deal
Bristol Myers Squibb said its phase 3 ACTION-1 trial of RYZ101 met its primary endpoint in advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, or GEP-NETs. Developed by its subsidiary RayzeBio, RYZ101 targets somatostatin receptors found on many of these tumors and delivers radioactive actinium-225 to cancer cells. It is being studied in patients whose disease has progressed after lutetium-based treatment.
Unlike lutetium-177 therapies, which emit beta radiation, actinium-225 releases short-range, high-energy alpha particles that damage cancer-cell DNA. The company announced on October 12 that RYZ101 significantly improved progression-free survival against standard treatments. It has not yet disclosed how large the improvement was. The reported safety findings were consistent with the drug’s known profile. The company plans to discuss a potential submission with the FDA, and detailed results are expected at a future medical meeting.
Radiopharmaceutical development also depends on access to radioactive isotopes. Telix, an Australian company with imaging products on the market and cancer therapies in late-stage development, agreed on September 21 to combine with Germany’s ITM Isotope Technologies Munich. ITM manufactures therapeutic isotopes, including lutetium-177, and reported $273 million in revenue in 2025. Bringing the businesses together would give Telix more control over a supply chain needed to produce and deliver radiopharmaceutical treatments.
The proposed deal also adds ITM’s lead drug candidate, ITM-11, a lutetium-177 treatment for GEP-NETs with positive phase 3 results. Telix agreed to pay $1.65 billion upfront, with up to $700 million in additional payments tied to future approvals and sales milestones for ITM-11. The companies expect the deal to close by the end of 2026.
A tumor-activated approach at the discovery stage
Vir Biotechnology signed a licensing agreement with Gilead covering three experimental T-cell engagers for solid tumors. The molecules are part of Vir’s PRO-XTEN platform, which uses protective masks intended to be removed by enzymes in the tumor environment. The idea is to make the drugs active mainly inside tumors and potentially limit the toxicity that has challenged T-cell engager development in solid cancers.
Gilead will lead clinical development and commercialization if the programs advance; Vir will conduct initial discovery work. The deal includes $90 million upfront, including a $25 million equity investment, and up to $1.79 billion in milestone payments. The three programs remain at the discovery stage, and their targets have not been disclosed. The size of the agreement reflects the potential scope of the programs, but it does not establish that any of them will work in patients.
Taken together, October’s updates show why cancer news needs to be read at the level of each study. Phase 3 findings can clarify possible benefits and harms in defined patient groups, while small early studies offer signals that need confirmation. For patients and families, the practical relevance depends on the cancer type, treatment history, and local availability of each option; a doctor or pharmacist can help explain how established treatments compare with emerging approaches.
