About the 2026 Program 

This comprehensive, multi-session program delivers a deep, practice-focused exploration of interventional oncology (IO) across HCC and emerging disease areas, emphasizing multidisciplinary collaboration and real-world clinical application. Rather than traditional lectures, the NEXT Summit program centers on expert-led discussions, and interactive case reviews that examine how combination therapies can be most effectively integrated into real-world practice.

Sessions begin with a strategic examination of multidisciplinary decision-making in HCC, focusing on how systemic and locoregional therapies can be optimally integrated to individualize patient care. Then, attendees will explore why combination therapies may fail in HCC, translating scientific insights into future therapeutic directions. Additional sessions address optimizing multidisciplinary care for transplant-eligible patients and examine downstaging strategies to curative intent through interactive, case-based discussions grounded in real-world clinical scenarios. 

This year's agenda expands to include intratumoral therapies in immuno-oncology, highlighting mechanisms of action, delivery techniques, and clinical integration, alongside practical reviews of current HCC clinical trials and evolving guidelines. Evidence-based updates for non-HCC malignancies ensure relevance across disease states, while case-based liver directed therapies, combination locoregional therapies, and a forward-looking exploration of novel technologies, and a culminating focus on personalized and precision approaches reinforce the program’s commitment to actionable, practice-changing education. 

Across HCC and in other disease areas, faculty will challenge assumptions, explore differing clinical perspectives, and navigate complex, multidisciplinary decision-making.  Participants will gain insights informing the next generation of combination therapies and evidence-based clinical decision-making across the continuum of cancer care.

The NEXT Summit is not an official event of the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. It is not sponsored, endorsed, or accredited by ASCO, Association for Clinical Oncology, or Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation. The NEXT Summit is an approved ASCO Annual Meeting Ancillary Event.

Last updated 5 March 2026 

Session	Title and Focus
Day One Attendee Check-In and Breakfast
Session 1	Multidisciplinary Decision-Making in HCC: Integrating Systemic and Locoregional Therapies Moderators: (IR) Beau Toskich, MD, FSIR; (MDP) Adam Burgoyne, MD, PhD Systemic Therapy for Earlier Staged Disease: Who, When and Why Adam Burgoyne, MD, PhD Local Therapy as an Adjuvant to Systemic Therapy: Balancing Abscopal With the Unknown Lindsay Thornton, MD Local Therapy as a Salvage to Systemic Therapy: Jordan Tasse, MD Treatment Strategies in HCC: When Does Combining Therapies Improve Outcomes? Christopher D. Malone, MD  Case-Based Discussion: Optimizing Therapy Combinations (TB) All Panelists
Session 2	When Combination Therapies Fail in HCC: Scientific Insights and Future Directions (presented in collaboration with SITC) Moderators: (IR) Terence P. Gade, MD, PhD; (MDP) Tullia Bruno, PhD Molecular Drivers of Resistance in HCC James Harding, MD MSKCC Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Evasion  Lucianne Kagohara, PhD Still Unanswered Trial Questions Daneng Li, MD Strategies to Overcome Resistance: Emerging Therapies James Zhe Hui, MD, PhD  Panel Discussion
Session 3	Optimizing Multidisciplinary Care in the Transplant Patient (presented in collaboration with AASLD) Moderators: (IR) Kirema Garcia-Reyes, MD; (Hep) Anjana Pillai Patient Selection in the Immunotherapy Era: A Hepatology Framework Anjana Pillai Etiology Matters: Metabolic, Viral, and Alcohol-Related HCC and Transplant Implications Laura Kulik What the Explant Teaches Us: A Transplant Surgeon’s Perspective Majella Doyle Optimizing Locoregional Therapy in the Transplant Candidate Beau Toskich, MD, FSIR Panel Discussion
	Lunch
Session 4	Downstaging to Curative Intent With Case-Based Discussions Moderators: (IR) Robert J. Lewandowski, MD, FSIR; (MDP) Anjana Pillai Locoregional Strategies for Downstaging Advanced and Intermediate HCC Robert J. Lewandowski, MD, FSIR  Radiation Therapy for HCC: Targeting and Dose Optimization Garrett Green, MD Expanding Indications for Transplantation: What the Future Looks Like Majella Doyle Who Can be Safely Downstaged: Hepatology Perspective (AASLD) Laura Kulik Case-Based Discussion: Defining and Downstaging to Curative Intent All Panelists
Session 5	Intratumoral Therapies in IO: Mechanisms, Delivery, and Clinical Integration (presented in collaboration with SITC) Moderators: (IR) Rony Avritscher, MD, FSIR; (MDP): Tullia Bruno, PhD Intratumoral Immunotherapy: Mechanisms and Early Data Kevin Soares, MD, MSc Novel Agents for Direct Tumor Injection Michael Wong, MD, PhD, FRCPC Minimal Residual Disease and ctDNA Jun Gong, MD Logistics & Tips for Effective Delivery Rony Avritscher, MD, FSIR Panel Discussion
Session 6	Personalized and Precision Approaches in Interventional Oncology Moderators: (IR) Julius Chapiro, MD, PhD; (MDP) Tullia Bruno, PhD Biomarker-Guided Patient Selection for Interventional Oncology Procedures Tullia Bruno, PhD Precision Ablation and Targeted Local Therapy Jason Chiang Integrating AI Into Multidisciplinary Decision-Making Jason Chiang Future of Personalized IO: Integrating Genomics and AI Terence Gade, MD, PhD Panel Discussion
	Attendee & Faculty Reception
Day Two Attendee Check-In and Breakfast
Session 7	Interventional Oncology in 2026: Trials, Guidelines, and the Future of Multidisciplinary Integration Moderators: (IR) Riad Salem, MD, MBA; (MDP) Amit Singal, MD HCC in 2026: What Has Truly Changed? Kirema Garcia-Reyes, MD Interventional Oncology Beyond HCC: Evidence, Indications, and Opportunity Lindsay Thornton, MD The Evolving Systemic Landscape: What Interventionalists Need to Know Milind Javle, MD Guidelines in 2026: Alignment or Lag? Riad Salem, MD, MBA Why Good Ideas Fail: Lessons from Trial Design and Execution Christopher D. Malone, MD From Trial to Tumor Board: Applying Data in Real Practice Amit Singal, MD Panel Discussion
Session 8	Practical Y90 Case-Based Discussion Moderators: (IR) Kirema Garcia-Reyes, MD: (MDP) Ammar Sarwar, MD, FSIR Managing High Lung Shunts William S. Rilling, MD, FSIR  Macrovascular Invasion Edward Kim, MD, FSIR Large Tumors Hyo-Cheol Kim, MD Multifocal Disease Ammar Sarwar, MD, FSIR Borderline Hepatic Reserve Zach Berman, MD Radiation Segmentectomy with Resin Nima Kokabi, MD Panel Discussion
Session 9	Practical Y90 Case-Based Discussion Moderators: (IR) Edward Kim, MD, FSIR: (MDP) Ammar Sarwar, MD, FSIR Glass Microsphere Dosimetry in 2026: Practical Strategy & Clinical Application Beau Toskich, MD Resin Microsphere Dosimetry in 2026: Practical Strategy & Clinical Application Nima Kokabi, MD Case-Based Discussion
Session 10	Novel Technologies Session (Disease Agnostic) Moderators: (IR) Rony Avritscher, MD, FSIR; (MDP) Coming Soon AI and Image-Guided Navigation Tools  Julius Chapiro, MD, PhD Robotics and Advanced Catheter Systems Coming Soon Next-Generation Ablation and Embolic Devices Jordan Tasse, MD Emerging Imaging Modalities for Procedural Planning Coming Soon Panel Discussion
	Lunch

 

The Society of Interventional Oncology’s Next Summit: Novel Explorations in Combination Therapies is provided in collaboration with the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease. 

 

The NEXT Summit is not an official event of the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. It is not sponsored, endorsed, or accredited by ASCO, Association for Clinical Oncology, or Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation. The NEXT Summit is an approved ASCO Annual Meeting Ancillary Event.