ELCC 2026: 8 Abstracts You Can’t Miss in Copenhagen

The European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC) has always been a reliable bellwether for practice-changing data, and 2026 promises to be no different. With thoracic oncology in the middle of a combinatorial revolution—EGFR-targeted doublets and triplets, a maturing antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) pipeline, next-generation small cell lung cancer (SCLC) bispecifics, and newly approved HER2-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs)—the program in Copenhagen arrives at a moment of genuine clinical decision-making complexity. Below is a curated preview of the abstracts and trial readouts most likely to command attention on the conference floor.

ADCs: The Pipeline Matures

408O: Phase 2 study of iza-bren (BL-B01D1) in combination with serplulimab in patients with SCLC

Initially slated to be presented at the 2025 ESMO Congress, data from this phase 2 study will be featured in the proffered paper session on Wednesday, March 25^th. The study investigates the novel ADC izalontamab brengitecan (iza-bren) targeting EGFR/HER3 combined with the PD-1–targeting immunotherapy serplulimab.

In August 2025, the FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation to iza-bren in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R substitution mutations whose disease has progressed after treatment with an EGFR TKI and platinum-based chemotherapy.¹ The readout of this data in SCLC continues to cement iza-bren as an agent to watch across lung cancer.

LBA4: Sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT) in patients with previously treated advanced EGFR-mutated NSCLC: Final overall survival (OS) analysis from the randomized OptiTROP-Lung03 study

Data from OptiTROP-Lung03 (NCT05631262) were read out at last year’s ASCO Meeting and showed that the ADC sac-TMT yielded improved responses and survival compared with docetaxel along with a manageable safety profile in patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC.² This final overall survival analysis at ELCC is expected to confirm sac-TMT’s benefit.

145TiP: TROPION-Lung17: A randomized phase 3 study of datopotamab deruxtecan vs docetaxel in patients with previously treated TROP2 NMR positive advanced/metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC without actionable genomic alterations

TROPION-Lung17 (NCT07291037) is being included as one of the trials in progress to watch at ELCC. The first patient was dosed earlier this year, marking the initiation of the first biomarker-directed phase 3 study for datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd; Datroway) in patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC.³ This trial specifically targets patients whose tumors express TROP2 as identified by a novel computational pathology platform.

EGFR-Mutated NSCLC: Sequencing in the Combination Era

27P: Chemotherapy rechallenge in patients with EGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC who discontinued first-line osimertinib (Tagrisso) plus platinum–pemetrexed due to progression: FLAURA2 exploratory analysis

The final FLAURA2 (NCT04035486) OS data, published in The New England Journal of Medicine in January 2026 (median OS, 47.5 months with Osimertinib (Tagrisso)-chemotherapy vs 37.6 months with osimertinib alone; HR, 0.77; P =.02), established the combination as a legitimate frontline option for high-risk EGFR-mutated NSCLC.⁴ This exploratory analysis is investigating a chemotherapy rechallenge among patients who progressed on first-line osimertinib and platinum-pemetrexed.

237P: NeoADAURA: PERCIST outcomes following neoadjuvant osimertinib with or without chemotherapy vs placebo-chemotherapy in patients with resectable, EGFR-mutant stage II to IIIB NSCLC

ADAURA (NCT02511106) already changed adjuvant practice; NeoADAURA (NCT04351555) targets the neoadjuvant window. Results presented in the Journal of Clinical Oncology mid-2025 showed that neoadjuvant osimertinib, particularly in combination with chemotherapy, significantly increased major pathological response rates compared with chemotherapy alone in resectable EGFR-mutated NSCLC.⁵

HER2-Mutated NSCLC: A Newly Validated Target

6MO: Zongertinib in treatment-naive patients with HER2-mutant NSCLC, including those with active brain metastases: Beamion LUNG-1

The FDA granted accelerated approval to zongertinib (Hernexeos) on February 26, 2026 for unresectable or metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC with HER2 tyrosine kinase domain activating mutations, an approval supported by Beamion LUNG-1 (NCT04886804) data showing an overall response rate of 75% in TKI/ADC-naive patients. Updates from Beamion LUNG-1 will feature data from patients with active brain metastases—an often excluded subpopulation in clinical trials.

Small Cell Lung Cancer: The Bispecific Inflection Point

442TiP: DeLLphi-312 phase 3 trial-in-progress: Tarlatamab with durvalumab, carboplatin and etoposide vs durvalumab, carboplatin and etoposide as first-line therapy in extensive-stage (ES) SCLC

Tarlatamab (Imdelltra), a DLL3/CD3 bispecific T-cell engager, demonstrated a 40% reduction in risk of death vs chemotherapy in the DeLLphi-304 phase 3 trial (NCT05740566), establishing it as the new standard of care for relapsed ES-SCLC. The trial in progress DeLLphi-312 (NCT07005128) is exploring tarlatamab with or without a combination of durvalumab, carboplatin, and etoposide as a first-line therapy in patients with ES-SCLC.

423P: IMForte: Subsequent Treatment Following First-Line Maintenance With Lurbinectedin-Atezolizumab or Atezolizumab in Extensive Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer (ES-SCLC)

The IMforte trial (NCT05091567) is evaluating atezolizumab (Tecentriq) maintenance following platinum-etoposide plus atezolizumab induction in extensive-stage SCLC, addressing the critical question of whether continuing checkpoint blockade as maintenance improves outcomes after the initial regimen.

REFERENCES

1. Izalontamab Brengitecan (EGFRxHER3 ADC) Granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by U.S. FDA for Patients with Previously Treated Advanced EGFR-Mutated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. News release. SystImmune Inc. August 18, 2025. Accessed March 17, 2026. https://tinyurl.com/58pzbsz2

2. Zhang L et al. Sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT) in patients (pts) with previously treated advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): Results from the randomized OptiTROP-Lung03 study. J Clin Oncol. 43, 8507-8507(2025). DOI:10.1200/JCO.2025.43.16_suppl.8507

3. TROPION-Lung17 TROP2 biomarker directed phase 3 trial of DATROWAY® initiated in patients with previously treated advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer. News release. Daiichi Sankyo. January 13, 2025. Accessed March 17, 2026. https://tinyurl.com/mry3u2we

4. Jänne PA, Planchard D, Kobayashi K, et al. Survival with Osimertinib plus Chemotherapy in EGFR-Mutated Advanced NSCLC. N Engl J Med. 2026 Jan 1;394(1):27-38. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2510308. Epub 2025 Oct 17. PMID: 41104938.

5. He J, Tsuboi M, Weder W, et al. Neoadjuvant Osimertinib for Resectable EGFR-Mutated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2025 Sep 10;43(26):2875-2887. doi: 10.1200/JCO-25-00883. Epub 2025 Jun 2. PMID: 40454705; PMCID: PMC12994480.