ESMO 2026 Policy Session: Personalised Oncology Across Health Systems
A full-day ESMO-side session in Madrid focused on how personalised oncology can move from molecular insight to measurable patient access. The meeting will examine whether health systems can identify the right patient, deliver the right test, interpret the result, act on eligibility and measure whether access has improved.
Event details
Event type
Congress-Side Session
Format
Full-day ESMO-side scientific-policy and implementation session, with a morning programme on the implementation backbone for personalised oncology and an afternoon programme applying the access agenda to priority cancer areas.
Audience
Oncologists, pathologists, molecular diagnostics leaders, cancer researchers, patient advocates, policymakers, payers, HTA stakeholders, data and AI experts, clinical trial leaders, prevention and supportive-care experts, industry partners and implementation specialists.
Why this event matters
Personalised oncology is no longer defined only by scientific discovery. It is increasingly defined by whether health systems can identify the right patient, deliver the right test, interpret the result, act on eligibility and measure whether access has improved.
Across Europe, patients can still be lost between early diagnosis, biomarker testing, molecular interpretation, treatment access, clinical trial referral, reimbursement, supportive care and outcomes measurement. This ESMO-side session will focus on the implementation conditions needed to make personalised oncology available, measurable and equitable across health systems.
Strategic frame
The meeting is structured around one pathway: Identify → Test → Interpret → Act → Measure.
The morning programme will build the implementation backbone for personalised oncology by connecting synthetic data, biomarker validation, molecular diagnostics, prevention, supportive care, patient engagement and health-system readiness. The afternoon programme will then apply this implementation agenda to priority cancer areas, including biomarker testing and liquid biopsy, pancreatic cancer, lung and breast cancer, and multiple myeloma.
The purpose is not to describe innovation again. The purpose is to define what health systems must build so that molecular or clinical eligibility leads to timely, equitable and measurable access.
Core question
How can health systems ensure that molecular or clinical eligibility triggers timely, equitable patient access?
Agenda snapshot
Opening (08:30–08:50)
“You Have Cancer.” What Happens Next?
Three perspectives on the first effective treatment decision and what patients should expect within 24 hours, 7 days and 1 month. Speakers include Núria Malats, Jose Martin Moreno and Denis Horgan.
Session 1 (08:50–10:20)
Find It. Diagnose It. Characterise It
Explore early detection, pathology, next-generation sequencing (NGS), liquid biopsy and clinical utility, with health-system perspectives from Japan, Brazil and Türkiye. Discussions cover artificial intelligence, longitudinal testing, precision oncology and diagnostic uptake.
Coffee Break (10:20–10:35)
Networking and Informal Discussion
A short break providing participants with an opportunity to connect and exchange perspectives.
Session 2 (10:35–12:00)
Who Builds the Pathway?
Examine public–private responsibilities for digital pathology, liquid biopsy, minimal residual disease (MRD) and national networks, focusing on ownership, evidence, financing and implementation.
Break (12:00–13:30)
Lunch and Networking
A programme break for participants to network and exchange perspectives before the afternoon sessions.
Session 3 (13:30–15:00)
The Result Is Back. Can Claudia Actually Receive the Treatment?
Explore seven cancer pathways to assess whether molecular eligibility translates into timely treatment or clinical trial access. Discuss diagnostic readiness, delivery capacity, evidence-generating access, reimbursement and a potential Innovation & Access Fund.
Coffee Break (15:00–15:15)
Networking and Informal Discussion
A short afternoon break before the session on translating European research into routine patient care.
Session 4 (15:15–16:45)
Research Has to Reach Claudia: From European Projects to a Working Patient Pathway
Assess five European initiatives to identify what changes for patients and what must happen next to bring those changes into routine care. The session includes project representatives and international implementation perspectives.
Closing (16:45–17:00)
The IAPM Personalised Oncology Implementation Agenda
Reflect on patient experiences, clinical innovation, health-system implementation and next steps. Commit to publishing the Implementation Compact, defining patient-pathway guarantees and translating the day's decisions into the IAPM Personalised Oncology Implementation Agenda.
Tracks, labs or working groups
Implementation Backbone for Personalised Oncology
This track focuses on the infrastructure needed to make personalised oncology available, measurable and equitable. It connects synthetic data, biomarker validation, molecular diagnostics, prevention, supportive care, patient engagement, payer evidence and health-system readiness.
Expected output:
Cross-project implementation priorities and common barriers to inform post-ESMO follow-up with SYNTHIA, BRECISE, SPARC, ON-COME and iBeChange.
Biomarker Testing and Liquid Biopsy
This track examines biomarker testing and liquid biopsy as the diagnostic gateway to personalised oncology. It focuses on NGS, comprehensive genomic profiling, liquid biopsy, reimbursement, laboratory capacity, quality assurance, molecular tumour boards, digital pathology and equitable access to diagnostic expertise.
Expected output:
Implementation priorities for making biomarker testing, liquid biopsy and molecular interpretation part of routine cancer pathways.
Priority Cancer Pathways
This track applies the personalised oncology access agenda to pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and multiple myeloma. It examines earlier diagnosis, molecular stratification, treatment access, trial access, MRD, real-world evidence, patient-centred outcomes and equity across countries and centres.
Expected output:
Cancer pathway priorities feeding into the ESMO Personalised Oncology Access Statement and eligibility-to-access pathway map.
Eligibility to Measurable Access
This track brings together the meeting’s central pathway: Identify → Test → Interpret → Act → Measure. It asks how health systems can ensure that molecular or clinical eligibility leads to timely access, appropriate treatment, trial referral, reimbursement, supportive care and measurable patient benefit.
Expected output:
Eligibility-to-access pathway map and five to seven implementation priorities across diagnostics, treatment access, reimbursement, data, prevention, supportive care and equity.
People and contributors
Denis Horgan
Expected outputs
This activity is designed to produce practical outputs that can support follow-up after the meeting. Depending on the format, outputs may include a public statement, implementation brief, consensus note, pathway prototype, readiness map, roadmap or stakeholder summary.
ESMO Personalised Oncology Access Statement
Eligibility-to-Access Pathway Map
Post-ESMO Implementation Priorities
Post-ESMO Policy Communiqué
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Join us at ESMO 2026 Personalised Oncology Session
23 October 2026 | 20:00 - 21:00
Room « A4.2 » at Mezzanine Level, IFEMA, Held alongside ESMO Congress 2026, Madrid, Spain, Madrid, Spain • Europe / Global
Interested in this event?
IPM Alliance welcomes engagement from policymakers, scientific experts, patient organisations, health-system leaders, industry partners and implementation actors.