OncoDaily convened a virtual panel of international oncology specialists during London Global Cancer Week 2026 to examine persistent obstacles in cancer care, according to the outlet's own reporting. The session, billed as "L'OncoDaily Session," brought together David Kerr, Justin Stebbing, Richard Sullivan, Alicia Demirjian and Arpi Asminian to discuss medicines access, clinical trial participation, workforce development and international cooperation. Oncodaily reports that the programme was structured around three linked priorities: drugs, trials and people.
Why it matters
The session's framing suggests that global cancer inequality is not only a question of what treatments exist, but of who can reach them and who knows about them. According to Oncodaily, participants argued that reliable oncology information itself constitutes a fourth access problem, sitting alongside medicines, diagnostics and healthcare infrastructure. That framing shifts attention toward how scientific knowledge and professional education travel across regions — a question with direct consequences for clinicians working in under-resourced health systems.
A fourth access gap: information
Arpi Asminian opened the session with a welcome outlining OncoDaily's role in linking the international oncology community, per the outlet's account. The first segment, titled "OncoDaily Snapshot — Where the World Reads About Cancer From, and What It Reads," looked at the geographic spread of the publication's readership and the topics drawing the most attention.
From there, the discussion turned to the availability and distribution of trustworthy cancer information. Oncodaily reports that while debates about global disparities usually centre on drugs, diagnostics and facilities, the session asked how research findings and professional education actually reach practitioners and communities in different parts of the world. The question was left open rather than resolved, but it framed much of what followed.
Partnerships judged by outcomes, not visibility
David Kerr led a discussion on international collaboration in oncology under the theme "Global Partnerships in Cancer: What Has Delivered, and What Has Been Branding." According to Oncodaily, the segment drew a distinction between partnerships that generate tangible results and those whose main product is institutional profile.
The programme encouraged participants to assess cooperation by practical effects on prevention, treatment, research and service delivery rather than by announcements or signed commitments. Oncodaily reports that the session treated sustained improvement in access, capacity and patient care as the proper test of any global oncology initiative.
Drugs: availability and discovery
The first panel, "Drugs: Getting Them to Patients, and Finding Them Faster," featured Justin Stebbing. It centred on a familiar paradox in contemporary oncology: patients still struggle to obtain cancer medicines even when effective treatments already exist. The panel also considered the discovery side, asking whether future therapies could be developed more quickly and at lower cost.
Oncodaily reports that the discussion closed with a question about which route best expands treatment access — cutting drug prices, removing barriers within health systems, or making drug discovery more efficient. The panel did not, according to the outlet's summary, settle on a single answer.
Building a workforce that cannot be imported
The third panel, "People, Workforce and Power," brought together Kerr, Sullivan and Demirjian around a blunt premise: a cancer workforce cannot be imported, so it has to be built. Oncodaily reports that the conversation covered professional education, training opportunities, institutional capacity and the organisation of services, treating workforce development as a long-term obligation rather than a quick fix.
Participants were also asked a practical closing question — what they would build given one year and no additional funding — a constraint designed to push the discussion toward realistic steps within existing budgets. Trained professionals underpin diagnosis, treatment, supportive care and clinical research, the outlet notes, making workforce capacity a precondition for everything else on the agenda.
Closing on communication
The session ended under the heading "OncoDaily, More Than a Website," returning to the role of communication and professional exchange in oncology. Oncodaily reports that the programme deliberately connected subjects usually handled separately — access to medicines, trial participation, workforce capacity and the spread of dependable medical information — to show how they interact in practice.
The recording of the session is available through OncoDaily's event page. Watch for whether the questions raised at London Global Cancer Week 2026 — particularly the proposal that information be treated as its own access gap — carry into subsequent global oncology discussions.
