RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute to Present Practice-Changing Research at 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting

Expert-led studies will highlight advances across multiple cancer types and examine real-world insights shaping the future of personalized oncology care

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinicians and scientists from RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute will share new findings and lead discussions at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, showcasing advances from their cutting-edge cancer research program. The meeting will be held in Chicago (and online) from May 30-June 3. Through 45 accepted abstracts and presentations, the institutions will highlight innovative oncology research across a range of tumor types and specialties, including two oral sessions featuring a multisite randomized trial focused on psychosocial support for young adults with cancer, and new findings from a study evaluating pathologic complete response in HER2-positive breast cancer using clinicopathologic variables and the HER2DX pCR score.

"As New Jersey's only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health are advancing cancer care through the work of our world-class team of researchers and clinicians, whose groundbreaking studies and collaborative innovation continue to shape the future of oncology," said Steven K. Libutti, MD, FACS, William N. Hait Director, Rutgers Cancer Institute and Senior Vice President, Oncology Services, RWJBarnabas Health. "Our presence at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting underscores our unwavering commitment to confronting cancer on every front, from prevention and early detection to the development of novel therapies that improve outcomes for patients. With the recent opening of the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, New Jersey's first freestanding cancer hospital, we're excited to mark a new chapter in our mission to transform cancer care and research, expanding our ability to deliver cutting-edge treatments and patient-centric care throughout the region and beyond."

The research accepted for presentation at ASCO includes four oral sessions, in addition to numerous poster sessions and publication-only abstracts, all highlighting data across a range of cancers, including breast, colorectal and gastrointestinal.

Highlights of the accepted abstracts include the following:

• Results from a multisite randomized trial of Bright IDEAS-Young Adults, a problem-solving skills training intervention, showed statistically and clinically significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and health-related quality of life compared to enhanced usual care among young adults newly diagnosed with cancer. Improvements were attributed to increased problem-solving ability, particularly in reducing the tendency to view problems as significant threats and doubt one's ability to successfully solve problems.
• A national analysis, which found that living in a food desert, clinical trial desert, or area with high transportation vulnerability was independently associated with significantly lower odds of breast cancer clinical trial participation. Patients living in both a food and clinical trial desert had a 27% decreased likelihood of enrollment, highlighting the compounded impact of geographic and socioeconomic barriers such as neighborhood transportation barriers, clinical trial deserts, and food deserts.
• Secondary results from the EA1181/CompassHER2 pCR trial, which showed that neoadjuvant THP led to pathologic complete response (pCR) in 64% of HER2+/ER- and 32% of HER2+/ER+ breast cancers. The HER2DX pCR score significantly predicted pCR regardless of ER status, and lower ER expression and higher grade were associated with higher pCR rates.
• A single center study evaluated whether requiring tumor biopsies (Bx) in phase I cancer trials affects patient enrollment and participation. Of the 146 patients enrolled across 25 trials, 42.4% underwent at least one study-specific biopsy, most commonly of the liver and lung. Patients who had a biopsy experienced a statistically significant delay—median of 6 days—in initiating treatment and had a shorter average duration on study. Findings suggest that further review is needed to understand factors contributing to shorter study duration among patients who underwent trial-related biopsies.
• A review of 283 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) enrolled in phase I trials across two institutions found an overall survival of 8.6 months and a clinical benefit rate of 38.1%, comparable to standard third-line therapies. No significant differences in outcomes were observed across racial or ethnic groups. Most patients had multiple sites of metastases and had received a median of three prior therapies. A non-significant trend suggested that overall survival decreased as the number of prior therapies increased.
• A large analysis of over 13,000 patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) found that 29% had potentially targetable genetic alterations identified through liquid biopsy. Common mutations included TP53, KRAS, PIK3CA and EGFR. This study is the first to show that liquid biopsy can identify targetable mutations in nearly 30% of CUP patients at a scale comparable to tissue testing. While these findings support its use, further trials are needed to confirm the effectiveness of matched therapies.

The full list of presentations at this year's 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting can be found here.

About Rutgers Cancer Institute
As New Jersey's only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute, together with RWJBarnabas Health, offers the most advanced cancer treatment options, including bone marrow transplantation, proton therapy, CAR T-cell therapy and complex surgical procedures. Along with clinical trials and novel therapeutics such as precision medicine and immunotherapy – many of which are not widely available – patients have access to these cutting-edge therapies at Rutgers Cancer Institute in New Brunswick, Rutgers Cancer Institute at University Hospital in Newark, as well as through RWJBarnabas Health facilities.

For journalists – contact:
Krista Didzbalis 
Corporate Communications Specialist, Strategic Communications, RWJBarnabas Health
732.507.8307
[email protected]

For patient appointments/inquiries – contact:
844-CANCERNJ (844-226-2376)

SOURCE Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health