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Fellows Follow-Up: ASCO Moments That Mattered
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Released: June 25, 2025

Expiration: June 24, 2026

John Marshall
John Marshall, MD
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Fellows Follow-Up: ASCO Moments That Mattered

 

John Marshall, MD: Remember these three people joining me. These are fellows here at Georgetown University, and they had never been to ASCO before. So, this was their first impression. We interviewed them before, and now we're interviewing them afterwards,

 

So, Christian, one of the questions we asked was, was it more work? What were you expecting, work or fun for you? What was, where was it in that range?

 

Christian Agbisit, MD: Between fun and work-to try to get more feel of what I need to know as a, as a community oncologist, but I was there more to basically be there in, in Chicago because that's where my family is at. So, it was more fun for me.

 

John Marshall, MD: Nikita work or fun?

 

Nikita Chintapally, MD: I think it was mainly fun. but it was really educational, definitely. I spent a lot of time in the trainee lounge, so got to meet a lot of people. It was fun because a lot of networking.

 

John Marshall, MD: Tina, fun?

 

Tina Roy, MD: I think it was more fun than work. fun to learn more, but also meet a lot of people, a lot of fellows, like-minded, in the same life stage also, which is good.

 

John Marshall, MD: Yeah, I always love it from the, just seeing people you haven't seen in a while, former fellows who come up 10 years later and say, oh, do you remember you taught me how to give Xeloda (capecitabine), Anyway, those are fun things for me. And you don't get any sleep. Did anybody get enough sleep? Raise your hand if you got enough. No, no. You don't get enough sleep.

 

So, the purpose of ASCO, of course, is to present new data. Tina, I'll pick on you first with this one. So, any data that stood out that was like you weren't expecting or was cool, I.

 

Tina Roy, MD: Yeah, there was one oral presentation for lung cancer where patients with metastatic lung cancer that got pembrolizumab before 3:00 PM did better with a better overall survival. And that to me was so interesting because it was just based off of the time of day that it was given.

 

John Marshall, MD: Well, let's drill down on that because as I understood that study, it wasn't just by chance you got it before 3:00 PM that was a hypothesis that timing was gonna matter.

 

Tina Roy, MD: There was like apparently a circadian rhythm to our immune system. So, it was based off of that hypothesis. Yeah.

 

John Marshall, MD: Very cool. Christian, you get to go second.

 

Christian Agbisit, MD: Also, non-interventional, more of a, exercise approach, but the adjuvant colon cancer. We already know that it exercised, but apparently, we need to have the patients be on an exercise regimen rather than just telling them to exercise.

 

John Marshall, MD: So, should Blue Cross cover personal trainers?

 

Tina Roy, MD: I believe in that, yes.

 

Christian Agbisit, MD: I would say yes.

 

John Marshall, MD: Yeah. I mean, it was a bigger advantage than oxaliplatin brings, let's be honest.

 

So, Nikita put you in the awkward spot of ‘Okay, what's left?’

 

Nikita Chintapally, MD: I really stumbled into this exhibit. I didn't know where I was going, but I happened to go to the GI oral abstracts. I saw abstract about PANOVA-3. So, I guess I just didn't realize you could apply tumor treating fields to, it's not only an option for the brain. And so that was really exciting to learn about how pain free a lot of the pancreatic cancer patients were who had treatment.

 

John Marshall, MD: I love all your choices. You do know that that thing is this big thing you have to strap on and they're expensive, but look at, you know, a couple of months in pancreas is meaningful, so, right.

 

Very interesting. And it's sort of some sort of wave therapy. So, who the heck knows what's going on there? So, it's interesting. None of us said IO, really none of us. We're talking about other things that are more mysterious in some ways as to the way cancer behaves. Nikita, you get to go. What, what shocked you about the meeting?

 

Nikita Chintapally, MD: I think you prepped us a little bit before, so, but you can't really ever imagine the scale of the exhibits, I think, and how extravagant they were. I think what really shocked me was all the good food you can just kinda pick up along the way while you're learning all this new stuff.

 

John Marshall, MD: Yeah. Tina. Anything.

 

Tina Roy, MD: the exhibits were great. Definitely loved the food, but I will say I actually did bump into a lot of people I wasn't expecting to bump into. I bumped into people from high school, from college and like fellows that I hadn't seen in a long time that I had met at other conferences. So, it was really great to just bump into people and, and, and catch up and see where, what they were doing in oncology.

 

John Marshall, MD: Cool. Christian, last word.

 

Christian Agbisit, MD: it's great that the annual meeting kind of puts all the people and the great mindset alike, we met with our attendings who are so busy. It's crazy.

 

John Marshall, MD: Yeah, so I got to, I don't actually put my ribbons on anymore because it's a little, I don't know, it's a statement I think, but I, I'm in the more than 30 years there. So, given that you would be coming up on year two—yes, no? you're excited about a year from now or dreading? Excitement?

 

Tina Roy, MD: More, more excited.

 

John Marshall, MD: Okay. All right, good. I was mostly excited about the progress that was made. There was just general progress that we hadn't seen a lot of in the last few years, and so that was great.

 

I was also pleased that no one I know has gotten a fatal virus who went there, so that's good. Uh, but you know, we're a week or so away to be sure. But I'm so grateful for you guys sharing your time with me, sharing your experience. Maybe in 10 years we'll meet back together. Do this one more time and reflect on ASCO.

 

What would that be? 2035. How about that?

 

Christian Agbisit, MD: Right then. Done.

 

John Marshall, MD: Alright. See you guys in clinic and onwards. Thanks a lot. John Marshall for Oncology Unscripted follow up of ASCO 2025. Thanks for joining.