Mario Balsa

Medical Oncologist | Skin Cancer & Melanoma + Cell Therapy @hospitalclinic | PhD candidate in TCR dynamics & melanoma | @OncoAlert Associated faculty | Pianist

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

✨ Our new review is OUT! Targeting claudins in gastric cancer
https://t.co/3TKAWIMjli

From tight junction biology to real clinical impact 💥

▪️ CLDN18.2: from “hidden” protein to actionable target
▪️ Beyond mAbs → ADCs, bsAbs & CAR-T incoming
▪️ CLDN6 & CLDN1 emerging as the next frontiers
▪️ Expression ≠ accessibility → biology matters

Time to CLAUD-in on the opportunity and let gastric cancer finally GLOW in the SPOTLIGHT 💡

Thank you @DrMirallas @EduardoTB94 @CalvoMariona @tfleitask @BugesCris @RobertMontal for your great work! And special thanks to Dr. @chierrocarbo for her invaluable teaching and inspiration! 🧡

@OncoAlert @OncoReporte @myESMO @_SEOM @GrupoTTD @ICO_oncologia

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

🚨 Missed a session at #ESMO26? Don’t worry! @OncoAlert is building the catch-up you actually need!

The COMPLETE ESMO26 Newsletter will bring together our faculty’s top trials, key data and expert takes from Madrid 💥
https://t.co/UUWeOeQgR9

One inbox, one recap. No congress FOMO 📩
@_SEOM @myESMO

[OncoAlert @OncoAlert]

Dear colleagues,
We are already curating THE COMPLETE #ESMO26 NEWSLETTER 📰 our picks of the top trials presented in Madrid, together in one email.

Register to receive it 👉 https://t.co/NhtuRoJ6DB

Every newsletter is curated by oncologists, for colleagues working in cancer care. It’s our way of making science quick and accessible.

We are OncoAlert🚨 For Colleagues, by Colleagues

Best,
The Network

@cdanicas @hoperugo @DrChoueiri @TiansterZhang @matteolambe @NiuSanford @stolaney1 @christine_lovly @amerseburger @GlopesMd @tompowles1 @montypal @Icro_Meattini @PGrivasMDPhD @brian_rini @CathyEngMD @apolo_andrea @AndreaNecchi @DrSGraff @BenWestphalen @graokane @to_be_elizabeth @ElisaAgostinett @nataliagandur @UOzkerim @DrMirallas @DrYukselUrun @Lucarecco @mzugman @HHorinouchi @p_ciracimd @DraMartinezLago @DrVilmaPBarcia @GIMedOnc @MarioBalsaMD @scocmem @AmandaNizamMD @GaiaGriguolo @JankovicK @Dr_Oncologista @Erman_Akkus @WeOncologists @niklas_kluemper @Markuseckstein3

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

🗣️ #ESMO26 | Bispecifics & beyond in melanoma

Melanoma may be short on surface targets, but not on ideas.

🎯 GD2 emerges as an attractive candidate for GD2×CD3 BiTEs
▪️ Still largely preclinical
☝🏼 And with tebentafusp, the TME matters: fewer M2 macrophages relative to CD3+ T cells -> longer survival

@OncoAlert @OncoReporte @myESMO @_SEOM @GrupoMelanoma

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

☢️ #ESMO26 | Radioligands are moving well beyond PSMA & SSTR!

🎯 New targets: DLL3, FAP, CAIX…
▪️Think ADC architecture, but swap the payload for a radionuclide
⚠️ Biggest ceiling? Manufacturing, dosimetry & regulation

The biology is exciting, now logistics need to stop being radioactive….

@OncoAlert @OncoReporte @myESMO @_SEOM

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

@to_be_elizabeth @ProfGLongMIA @jasonlukemd Amazing trial Elisabetta! Really positive results. But now. some questions remain…👀

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

@BalazsHalmosMD SAFFRON really did add some spice to EGFR-mutant NSCLC 🌶️

Precision medicine just got a little more seasoned….

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

@n8pennell So THAT is what happens between meetings!!! 👀

If listening to oncologists over coffee helped give us NADINA, I fully support the process!

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

@FernandoOnco @myESMO @OncoAlert @OncBrothers @dr_yakupergun @StephenVLiu @BalazsHalmosMD @Larvol The gut has officially entered the irAE MDT 😂🥦

Very cool #FORX data! But single-arm trial 👀 we can say feasible + low severe toxicity, not quite “reduces” toxicity yet

[OncoAlert @OncoAlert]

🎥 #OAOnTheGo | #ESMO26 🇪🇸 in Portuguese for our 🇧🇷 🇵🇹 Colleagues

Dr. Miguel Zugman @mzugman (Einstein, São Paulo) comenta o DASL-HiCaP 🔑

Câncer de próstata localizado de muito alto risco:
RT + ADT + darolutamida vs placebo por 2 anos

📊 MFS em 4 anos: 95% vs 88%
✅ Também positivo em sobrevida livre de progressão de PSA
⏳ SG ainda imatura

Dados muito promissores 👇

#CâncerDePróstata #OncoAlert #GUOnc

Pinging Our Faculty
@DrChoueiri, @tompowles1, @apolo_andrea, @neerajaiims, @montypal, @Silke_Gillessen, @AOmlin, @brian_rini, @PGrivasMDPhD, @TiansterZhang, @amerseburger, @DrDanielHeng, @HHammersMD, @scocmem, @AndreaNecchi, @AmandaNizamMD, @drenriquegrande, @nataliagandur, @AlbigesL, @cdanicas, @declangmurphy, @seanmmcbride, @shilpaonc, @DrRanaMcKay, @scserendipity1, @DrYukselUrun, @ravikanesvaran, @BraunMDPhD, @EfstathiouEleni, @mzugman, @crisbergerot, @niklas_kluemper @Markuseckstein3

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

More than a faculty and more than a network!

The best oncology family I could ask for 🧡

So proud to be part of @OncoAlert and being PULSE at #ESMO26! Learning from brilliant colleagues, sharing the science in real time, and growing together along the way.

By colleagues, for colleagues 🌍

@cdanicas @hoperugo @DrChoueiri @TiansterZhang @matteolambe @NiuSanford @stolaney1 @christine_lovly @amerseburger @GlopesMd @tompowles1 @montypal @Icro_Meattini @PGrivasMDPhD @brian_rini @CathyEngMD @apolo_andrea @AndreaNecchi @DrSGraff @BenWestphalen @graokane @to_be_elizabeth @ElisaAgostinett @nataliagandur @UOzkerim @DrMirallas @DrYukselUrun @Lucarecco @mzugman @HHorinouchi @p_ciracimd @DraMartinezLago @DrVilmaPBarcia @GIMedOn @scocmem @AmandaNizamMD @GaiaGriguolo @JankovicK @Dr_Oncologista @Erman_Akkus @WeOncologists

[OncoAlert @OncoAlert]

The OncoAlert #ESMO26 PULSE! 🇪🇸 WE ARE HERE!
OncoAlert would like to thank our faculty and our #OncoAlertAF
for their amazing coverage of ESMO MADRID!
WE ARE ALL OncoAlert...By Colleagues...For Colleagues

Meet our incredible faculty reporting live from Madrid:

@cdanicas @hoperugo @DrChoueiri @TiansterZhang @matteolambe @NiuSanford @stolaney1 @christine_lovly @amerseburger @GlopesMd @tompowles1 @montypal @Icro_Meattini @PGrivasMDPhD @brian_rini @CathyEngMD @apolo_andrea @AndreaNecchi @DrSGraff @BenWestphalen @graokane @to_be_elizabeth @ElisaAgostinett @nataliagandur @UOzkerim @DrMirallas @DrYukselUrun @Lucarecco @mzugman @HHorinouchi @p_ciracimd @DraMartinezLago @DrVilmaPBarcia @GIMedOnc @MarioBalsaMD @scocmem @AmandaNizamMD @GaiaGriguolo @JankovicK @Dr_Oncologista @Erman_Akkus @WeOncologists

Whether you're at #ESMO26 in Madrid or following from home, our faculty brings you the latest science, insights, and key updates straight from the congress.

OncoAlert has you covered!

Less noise. No nonsense. Just science.

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

A very unexpected recognition from #ESMO26 🙏

Named a Top KOL Voice in #Melanoma alongside people I’ve learned from for years.

I’m still young, early in my career, and very aware of how much I have left to learn. But I’ve discovered that one of the best ways to learn oncology is to communicate it: read the study, question the methodology, challenge the conclusions, discuss it with colleagues…and try to explain why it actually matters!

Still learning. Just doing some of it out loud🗣️

Thank you so much! @KolPulseAI

@OncoAlert @OncoReporte
@myESMO @_SEOM @GrupoMelanoma
@hospitalclinic
#ClínicBarcelonaComprehensiveCancerCenter

[KOL Pulse AI @KolPulseAI]

"Personalized? Yes. Predictable? Not yet" — @MarioBalsaMD (melanoma), on personalized cancer vaccines

Top #ESMO26 specialist voices by tumor type:
@HHorinouchi (lung)
@PTarantinoMD (breast)
@GIMedOnc (GI)
@tompowles1 (GU)
@DrKatyMoore (gyn)
@MarioBalsoMD (melanoma)

https://t.co/Pc2zZp8nG7

[KOL Pulse AI @KolPulseAI]

"Personalized? Yes. Predictable? Not yet" — @MarioBalsaMD (melanoma), on personalized cancer vaccines

Top #ESMO26 specialist voices by tumor type:
@HHorinouchi (lung)
@PTarantinoMD (breast)
@GIMedOnc (GI)
@tompowles1 (GU)
@DrKatyMoore (gyn)
@MarioBalsoMD (melanoma)

https://t.co/Pc2zZp8nG7

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

🇪🇸 Qué gusto coincidir con la familia +MIR de @SEOM en #ESMO26!

Grandes compañeros, muchísimas ganas de aprender y, sobre todo, una generación joven con ganas de participar, proponer y hacer crecer nuestra oncología!!!

Un orgullo formar parte de este equipo 💙
@OncoAlert

@YGaritaonaindia @DrRodrigoLastra @EduardoTB94

[SEOM @_SEOM]

👋🏻👋🏻 Hello, Team +MIR SEOM #ESMO26

@YGaritaonaindia, @MarioBalsaMD Dra. Quesada, @DrRodrigoLastra, @EduardoTB94 y Dr. Guimerá

[Rodrigo Lastra del Prado @DrRodrigoLastra]

Happy birthday @_SEOM!
In your 50th you look very young!!

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

Early + definitely worth watching!

At #ESMO26, @OncoAlert #Podium2Screen brings XmAb819 straight to our feed: a first-in-class ENPP3×CD3 bispecific showing a 27% ORR in heavily pretreated RCC!

Phase I, so no victory laps yet…but this is exactly the kind of signal worth tracking!🎯

[OncoAlert @OncoAlert]

OncoAlert #Podium2Screen🚨 #ESMO26
XmAb819 in #RCC

Our @OncoAlert founding faculty @montypal 🇺🇸presents a first-in-class ENPP3 x CD3 bispecific in heavily pretreated ccRCC:

➡️ ORR 27%, DCR 68%
➡️ Activity after prior HIF-2α inhibitor (ORR 26%)
➡️ 15/16 responders still on treatment
#KidneyCancer
@AlbigesL, @MehmetAsimBilen

Pinging Our Faculty
@DrChoueiri, @tompowles1, @apolo_andrea, @neerajaiims, @montypal, @Silke_Gillessen, @AOmlin, @brian_rini, @PGrivasMDPhD, @TiansterZhang, @amerseburger, @DrDanielHeng, @HHammersMD, @scocmem, @AndreaNecchi, @AmandaNizamMD, @drenriquegrande, @nataliagandur, @AlbigesL, @cdanicas, @declangmurphy, @seanmmcbride, @shilpaonc, @DrRanaMcKay, @scserendipity1, @DrYukselUrun, @ravikanesvaran, @BraunMDPhD, @EfstathiouEleni, @mzugman, @crisbergerot, @niklas_kluemper @Markuseckstein3

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

From podium to practice, in real time!

@OncoAlert #Podium2Screen brings the final LITESPARK-011 data straight from #ESMO26! And who better to unpack it than @DrDanielHeng ✨

The slide is one thing…but the expert context is the OncoAlert part 😉

[OncoAlert @OncoAlert]

OncoAlert 🚨 #ESMO26 #Podium2Screen
LITESPARK-011 final analysis in #RCC

Our @OncoAlert founding faculty @DanielHengMD 🇨🇦 presents belzutifan + lenvatinib vs cabo after anti–PD-(L)1:

➡️ PFS HR 0.74 (14.8 vs 10.8 mo)
➡️ ORR 53% vs 40%, DOR 22.0 vs 11.9 mo
➡️ OS HR 0.85, not significant
👇 #KidneyCancer #GUOnc

Pinging Our Faculty
@DrChoueiri, @tompowles1, @apolo_andrea, @neerajaiims, @montypal, @Silke_Gillessen, @AOmlin, @brian_rini, @PGrivasMDPhD, @TiansterZhang, @amerseburger, @DrDanielHeng, @HHammersMD, @scocmem, @AndreaNecchi, @AmandaNizamMD, @drenriquegrande, @nataliagandur, @AlbigesL, @cdanicas, @declangmurphy, @seanmmcbride, @shilpaonc, @DrRanaMcKay, @scserendipity1, @DrYukselUrun, @ravikanesvaran, @BraunMDPhD, @EfstathiouEleni, @mzugman, @crisbergerot, @niklas_kluemper @Markuseckstein3

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

🚨 #ESMO26 | Can IO make surgery unnecessary in cSCC? MATISSE-2: 41 pts with resectable cSCC received neoadjuvant nivo/ipi → nivo

▪️ 25/41 (61%) achieved clinical CR
▪️ No surgery, RT or maintenance therapy in responders
▪️ Median time to cCR: ~ 2 months
▪️ G3–4 immune toxicity: 17%
▪️ No surgical delays or unresectable disease in non-responders

But an important caveat from the discussion: clinical CR may not equal pathological CR….and median follow-up is still only 11 months ☝🏼

A potentially practice-changing concept, but I think we need to know whether “no visible tumour” can safely become “no surgery”!!

MATISSE may be teaching us that sometimes the best surgical masterpiece is the one you never have to paint 🤔

@OncoAlert @OncoReporte @myESMO @_SEOM

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

💡#ESMO26 | Long-term ADMEC-O in resected Merkel cell carcinoma

Adjuvant nivolumab vs observation:
▪️ DFI HR 0.54 | DFS HR 0.70
▪️ But no OS benefit → HR 0.98

The interesting part? Mature TLS could identify patients more likely to benefit, while host fitness may determine whether recurrence prevention translates into survival….

Perhaps ADMEC-O is telling us the “O” should stand for Optimize who we treat 🤔

@OncoAlert @OncoReporte @myESMO @_SEOM @GrupoMelanoma

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

👑 Brilliant discussion by @TeresaSAmaral (the BEST!!!!!!) at #ESMO26 on the evolving post–PD-1 melanoma landscape.

Three very different strategies, remarkably similar signals:
▪️EV + pembro: ORR 32%
▪️HER3-DXd: ORR 21%
▪️FS222: ORR 36%

But the real message: ORR 30% is no longer enough! We need smarter trial populations, earlier referral, meaningful biomarkers and better representation of acral/mucosal melanoma.

@OncoAlert @OncoReporte @myESMO @_SEOM @GrupoMelanoma

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

🚨 #ESMO26 | PLUG-IN GEM 2301

Enfortumab vedotin + pembro in anti–PD-1–refractory advanced melanoma (N=60):

▪️ Confirmed ORR 25% | DCR 55%
• BRAF WT: ORR 21.4%
• BRAF-mut: ORR 33.3%
• Acral 33.3% | Mucosal 20.0% confirmed ORR

Safety with no new signals!

Interestingly, Nectin-4 expression did not identify responders….exploratory, but worth watching 🤔

A new ADC signal in refractory melanoma…this PLUG-IN deserves to stay connected 🔌

Congrats to @g_develasco and all the @GrupoMelanoma team! 👏🏼

@OncoAlert @OncoReporte @myESMO @_SEOM @GrupoMelanoma

[Mario Balsa @MarioBalsaMD]

🔥 #ESMO26 | FS222 in PD-1–resistant melanoma! A tetravalent CD137/PD-L1 bispecific with encouraging activity in a difficult setting!

👥 N=42
💥 ORR 36% | mDOR 5.5 mo | mPFS 3.7 mo
▪️ 8/15 responders had primary resistance to prior IO
▪️ >10× ↑ CD8+ T-cell proliferation & IFNγ

Safety was manageable, although G≥3 TRAEs occurred in 45.2%…mainly immune-mediated hepatic/hematologic events

@OncoAlert @OncoReporte @myESMO @_SEOM @GrupoMelanoma