Cancer, oncologists alarm: China new research giant and overtaking Europe

Oncology research is running fast, but Europe, and Italia in particular, are in danger of falling 'dramatically' behind without a serious policy of investment in research and development, while on the world stage it is China that is making lion's footsteps, almost overtaking the US technological giant. Giuseppe Curigliano, president-elect of the European Society of Medical Oncology (Esmo), warns of the risks associated with the new geopolitical map of scientific research and the balances that are reshaping this strategic area.

From the congress of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) currently underway in Chicago, the world's largest meeting in the field, Curigliano first takes stock of the latest results: 'At ASCO 2026, relevant studies were presented on many neoplasms. Important results came, among others, for prostate cancer, in terms of disease control and delayed onset of metastatic disease. Space was also given to rare tumours such as liposarcomas, with new molecules proving effective in delaying disease progression. And there has been this year,' explains the oncologist, 'an explosion of bispecific molecular antibodies, i.e. with two heads to recognise two targets through which to attack the tumour'. We are witnessing, he says, 'a huge technological revolution and we are achieving the ability to create drugs that were unthinkable a decade ago. We are even intercepting cancer, through liquid biopsy, with the identification of patients who are still not patients because the disease is still not seen on CT and PET scans, but is in the DNA'.

Today, therefore, 'the mission is increasingly to defeat cancer. These sound like big words, but in a haematological environment this is almost a reality. So,' Curigliano emphasises, 'the goals of investing in cancer research are very high. It is a very strong message of hope'. To continue this trend, however, it is 'necessary to strengthen research and if Italia does not invest in research and development,' he warns, 'companies will not come to us to invest and we will deny our patients access to innovation. We must create a network that attracts companies to invest in us'. That the balance has changed is clear from observing the proceedings of ASCO 2026: some 45,000 professionals from all over the world and 8,000 studies presented. But more than 50 per cent of the papers, Curigliano says, 'come from China, Japan and Korea, and many of the new clinical trials are moving eastwards. So, what is happening on a geopolitical and military level, with indirect attacks between the US and China, is in fact what is happening on a scientific level. That is, great American technology at the moment has a strong competitor which is great Chinese technology, and China is increasingly presenting itself as a state-owned company producing highly innovative molecules'.

This year at Asco, in each session, he points out, 'there are 1-2 presentations by Chinese researchers. This means that the Chinese have become very good at doing clinical studies, and that there is a systemic project, probably political-strategic, in which China is investing so much in research and development'. And if' Italia and Europe don't wake up, we will be squeezed between two research giants and we will be totally dependent on them. With China increasingly asserting itself as the first strategic pole'. An overtaking, that of the Asian giant, which will have major impacts and which the New York Times also writes about: 'China's rise in drug development looms over the United States. Clinical trials conducted in China are attracting attention at the International Oncology Conference in Chicago: the rapid development of China's biotechnology industry,' the newspaper headlines, 'is fuelling fears that US dominance in the sector is waning'.