SAGITTARIUS partners at ESMO 2025: driving innovation in colorectal cancer research

Berlin, 17-21 October 2025

From 17 to 21 October 2025, the international oncology community gathered in Berlin to discuss the latest cancer research data at the ESMO Congress 2025, a leading annual global event. Several SAGITTARIUS members participated providing their contributions to push the boundaries of translational research and precision oncology in colorectal cancer.

Final results of the PEGASUS trial presented by Dr. Silvia Marsoni

On Saturday, 18 October at 14:45, SAGITTARIUS Scientific Coordinator Dr. Silvia Marsoni (IFOM) presented the final results of the PEGASUS clinical trial during the “Proffered Paper Session 1: GI tumours, lower digestive”. The PEGASUS study, promoted by IFOM (Milan), is the clinical trial on which SAGITTARIUS is based. In fact, it involved over 100 patients to demonstrate that liquid biopsy could guide the personalization of the post-surgical therapeutic path for patients suffering from colon cancer. Dr. Marsoni’s talk, titled “Post-surgical liquid biopsy-guided treatment of stage III and high-risk stage II colon cancer patients: final results of the PEGASUS trial”, highlighted the clinical value of post-operative liquid biopsy in guiding treatment decisions for colon cancer patients.

Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) and the future of monitoring

On Monday, 20 October at 12:15, Dr. Clara Montagut (Hospital del Mar), Chair of the SAGITTARIUS clinical trial, delivered the talk “Minimal residual disease (MRD)”. Minimal residual disease refers to the small number of cancer cells that may remain in the body after surgery and are undetectable by standard imaging. Detecting MRD through liquid biopsy, by analyzing circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), helps identify patients at higher risk of relapse. This concept is central to the SAGITTARIUS project, which aims to use MRD detection to guide personalized treatment decisions and avoid unnecessary therapies in colon cancer care.

Facing a new colorectal cancer landscape

SAGITTARIUS is also part of the Diagnosis and Treatment Cluster, a broader effort to tackle cancer launched under the EU Cancer Mission. “The Impact of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and Mission projects at national level” was also a protagonist of the conference on Saturday, 18 October from 8:30 to 10:00.

Other sessions also underlined the importance of research on liquid biopsy and other precision medicine innovations studied in the SAGITTARIUS project, witnessing that SAGITTARIUS is at the forefront of cutting-edge oncology research.