Veli Bakalov, MD (@HemeOncBuddy) ranks #45 among US lung cancer KOLs on X in 2026, by engagement from fellow physicians. 3 physicians shared, quoted or replied to their posts this year. Most-discussed trials in 2026: DeLLphi-305, ADRIATIC, IMforte. CMS Open Payments lists $17 in 2025 general payments.
At a Glance
- 12 posts naming a trial in 2026
- 7 trials discussed by name
- Lung Cancer: US #45 · 3 physicians engaged
- Leading physician voice: #1 of 4 physicians on ADRIATIC; #1 of 3 physicians on SKYSCRAPER-01
- CMS Open Payments lists $17 in 2025 general payments.
This Month
What Veli Bakalov, MD has posted in the last 30 days. Updated November 10, 2026.
⏳ 21 days to boards. 📚 HemeOncBuddy Board Review · Oncology 🫁 Today: SCLC. Aggressive and smoking-driven, and 2024-2026 rewrote every line: ADRIATIC, IMforte, tarlatamab, and now DeLLphi-305 (ESMO 2026). 💬 ES-SCLC maintenance: lurbi + atezo or tarlatamab + durva? 🧵👇 https://t.co/rrPlAsyEq8
8️⃣ 🆕 Maintenance: DeLLphi-305 (ESMO 2026, NEJM) 👉 n=563, no progression after 4 cycles platinum/etoposide + durva (≥3) 👉 Tarlatamab + durva vs durva alone 👉 mOS 21.1 vs 12.7 mo (HR 0.42) 🔥 👉 mPFS 7.4 vs 1.9 mo (HR 0.34); ORR 26% vs 4% 👉 12-mo OS 79% vs 53%
7️⃣ Maintenance: IMforte 👉 After carbo/etoposide + atezo ×4: lurbinectedin + atezo vs atezo 👉 mOS 13.2 vs 10.6 mo (HR 0.73); mPFS 5.4 vs 2.1 mo 👉 FDA Oct 2025, first positive ES-SCLC maintenance trial 👉 Cost: G3-4 TRAEs 25.6% vs 5.8%
That's a wrap. 🧠 💬 DeLLphi-305: ready to add tarlatamab to 1L maintenance, or waiting for FDA? ♻️ Repost to help a co-fellow prepping for boards. Full board-review note 👉 https://t.co/qnbHvVS1Vs #HemeOnc #HemeOncBuddy #OncTwitter #MedTwitter
💡 DeLLphi-305 board angles 👉 First bispecific to win in 1L SCLC: DLL3 BiTE moves from 2L to maintenance 👉 OS clock starts at maintenance randomization, not diagnosis 👉 Only non-progressors after induction enrolled 👉 No head-to-head vs IMforte; not yet FDA-approved for 1L
9️⃣ Second-line: tarlatamab (DLL3 × CD3 BiTE) 👉 DeLLphi-304: mOS 13.6 vs 8.3 mo vs chemo (HR 0.60); G≥3 TRAE 27% vs 62% 👉 Step-up 1 mg D1 ➡️ 10 mg D8 ➡️ q2wk 👉 CRS 51%, mostly G1-2 ➡️ 24-hr inpatient monitoring for first 2 doses (CRS/ICANS) https://t.co/ztnD1mhtG0
Who Amplifies Veli Bakalov, MD
Physicians who reposted Veli Bakalov, MD’s trial posts most often in 2026.
2026 Rankings
| List | US rank | Global rank | Physicians engaged | Physician engagements | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lung Cancer | #45 | — | 3 | 3 | Full ranking |
Trials Veli Bakalov, MD Discussed in 2026
| Trial | Posts | Rank among physicians posting | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeLLphi-305 | 6 | #33 of 86 | Oct 26, 2026 |
| ADRIATIC | 3 | #1 of 4 | Oct 26, 2026 |
| IMforte | 3 | #6 of 12 | Oct 26, 2026 |
| DeLLphi-304 | 1 | #17 of 23 | Oct 26, 2026 |
| HARMONi-2 | 1 | #11 of 19 | Oct 8, 2026 |
| SKYSCRAPER-01 | 1 | #1 of 3 | Oct 8, 2026 |
| EMERALD3 | 1 | #17 of 18 | Sep 10, 2026 |
Veli Bakalov, MD on DeLLphi-305
⏳ 21 days to boards. 📚 HemeOncBuddy Board Review · Oncology 🫁 Today: SCLC. Aggressive and smoking-driven, and 2024-2026 rewrote every line: ADRIATIC, IMforte, tarlatamab, and now DeLLphi-305 (ESMO 2026). 💬 ES-SCLC maintenance: lurbi + atezo or tarlatamab + durva? 🧵👇 https://t.co/rrPlAsyEq8
8️⃣ 🆕 Maintenance: DeLLphi-305 (ESMO 2026, NEJM) 👉 n=563, no progression after 4 cycles platinum/etoposide + durva (≥3) 👉 Tarlatamab + durva vs durva alone 👉 mOS 21.1 vs 12.7 mo (HR 0.42) 🔥 👉 mPFS 7.4 vs 1.9 mo (HR 0.34); ORR 26% vs 4% 👉 12-mo OS 79% vs 53%
That's a wrap. 🧠 💬 DeLLphi-305: ready to add tarlatamab to 1L maintenance, or waiting for FDA? ♻️ Repost to help a co-fellow prepping for boards. Full board-review note 👉 https://t.co/qnbHvVS1Vs #HemeOnc #HemeOncBuddy #OncTwitter #MedTwitter
Veli Bakalov, MD on ADRIATIC
⏳ 21 days to boards. 📚 HemeOncBuddy Board Review · Oncology 🫁 Today: SCLC. Aggressive and smoking-driven, and 2024-2026 rewrote every line: ADRIATIC, IMforte, tarlatamab, and now DeLLphi-305 (ESMO 2026). 💬 ES-SCLC maintenance: lurbi + atezo or tarlatamab + durva? 🧵👇 https://t.co/rrPlAsyEq8
💡 LS-SCLC pearls 👉 ADRIATIC durva + treme arm: NO added benefit 👉 Surgery only for T1-2N0 after invasive mediastinal staging ➡️ adjuvant chemo (chemoRT if N+) 👉 Maintenance chemo does not help 👉 Cis vs carbo: same RR/PFS/OS, pick by toxicity
5️⃣ Limited-stage 👉 Cis/etoposide ×4 + concurrent thoracic RT, start with cycle 1-2 (early > late) 👉 45 Gy BID ×3 wk (Turrisi) = standard; 66 Gy QD acceptable (CONVERT, NS) 👉 NEW: consolidation durvalumab ×24 mo (ADRIATIC: mOS 55.9 vs 33.4 mo, HR 0.73) https://t.co/WJN9QJupBS
Veli Bakalov, MD on IMforte
⏳ 21 days to boards. 📚 HemeOncBuddy Board Review · Oncology 🫁 Today: SCLC. Aggressive and smoking-driven, and 2024-2026 rewrote every line: ADRIATIC, IMforte, tarlatamab, and now DeLLphi-305 (ESMO 2026). 💬 ES-SCLC maintenance: lurbi + atezo or tarlatamab + durva? 🧵👇 https://t.co/rrPlAsyEq8
7️⃣ Maintenance: IMforte 👉 After carbo/etoposide + atezo ×4: lurbinectedin + atezo vs atezo 👉 mOS 13.2 vs 10.6 mo (HR 0.73); mPFS 5.4 vs 2.1 mo 👉 FDA Oct 2025, first positive ES-SCLC maintenance trial 👉 Cost: G3-4 TRAEs 25.6% vs 5.8%
💡 DeLLphi-305 board angles 👉 First bispecific to win in 1L SCLC: DLL3 BiTE moves from 2L to maintenance 👉 OS clock starts at maintenance randomization, not diagnosis 👉 Only non-progressors after induction enrolled 👉 No head-to-head vs IMforte; not yet FDA-approved for 1L
Veli Bakalov, MD on DeLLphi-304
9️⃣ Second-line: tarlatamab (DLL3 × CD3 BiTE) 👉 DeLLphi-304: mOS 13.6 vs 8.3 mo vs chemo (HR 0.60); G≥3 TRAE 27% vs 62% 👉 Step-up 1 mg D1 ➡️ 10 mg D8 ➡️ q2wk 👉 CRS 51%, mostly G1-2 ➡️ 24-hr inpatient monitoring for first 2 doses (CRS/ICANS) https://t.co/ztnD1mhtG0
Veli Bakalov, MD on HARMONi-2
7️⃣ Transplant + what's new 👉 GVL is therapeutic; DLI works best in CML. 👉 TIGIT: tiragolumab NEGATIVE (SKYSCRAPER-01/02/06). 👉 Ivonescimab (PD-1xVEGF) beat pembro in PD-L1+ NSCLC (HARMONi-2, HR 0.51). 👉 V940 mRNA vaccine + pembro: melanoma RFS HR 0.56 (KEYNOTE-942).
Veli Bakalov, MD on SKYSCRAPER-01
7️⃣ Transplant + what's new 👉 GVL is therapeutic; DLI works best in CML. 👉 TIGIT: tiragolumab NEGATIVE (SKYSCRAPER-01/02/06). 👉 Ivonescimab (PD-1xVEGF) beat pembro in PD-L1+ NSCLC (HARMONi-2, HR 0.51). 👉 V940 mRNA vaccine + pembro: melanoma RFS HR 0.56 (KEYNOTE-942).
Veli Bakalov, MD on EMERALD3
New trial alert 🚨 EMERALD-3 trial Embolisation-eligible (intermediate) HCC Durva + treme + lenvatinib + TACE vs TACE 👉 PFS 13.0 vs 9.8 mo (HR 0.70, P=.0007) 📉 OS 39.5 vs 34.7 mo (HR 0.84, P=.18) ⛔ not significant 💡 Immunotherapy moves into BCLC-B ➡️ PFS win, but OS still
Veli Bakalov, MD’s Most-Engaged Posts in 2026
Their own 2026 posts that fellow physicians reposted most, quoted word for word.
6️⃣ Later-line and pearls. 👉 Erdafitinib for FGFR3-altered UC after IO (THOR) 👉 Enfortumab vedotin (EV-301) ➡️ watch neuropathy 👉 Upper-tract UC ➡️ surveillance cystoscopy; ~20-50% develop bladder ca https://t.co/w3RHVO40fj
1️⃣ Profile 👉 ~13% of lung ca (was ~25% in 1970s); M:F now ~50:50 👉 Almost all heavy smokers; central, bulky nodes, rapid course 👉 Small cells, scant cytoplasm, nuclear molding, crush artifact 👉 IHC: synaptophysin, chromogranin, CD56, INSM1; Ki-67 >70%
2️⃣ Biology to know 👉 DLL3 on ~85-95% ➡️ tarlatamab target 👉 Subtypes: SCLC-A (ASCL1), -N (NEUROD1), -P (POU2F3), -I (inflamed, most IO-responsive) 👉 RB1 + TP53 loss; EGFR+ NSCLC can transform to SCLC ➡️ treat as SCLC
💡 Traps 👉 IO in SCLC = 1L (with chemo/maintenance) and post-chemoRT durvalumab only 👉 ES thoracic RT (CREST): missed 1-yr OS, but 2-yr OS 13% vs 3%; case-by-case in IO era 👉 Poor PS is NOT a reason to withhold chemo: high response gives rapid palliation
🔟 Other relapse options 👉 Platinum-sensitive (relapse >6 mo): rechallenge platinum/etoposide 👉 Lurbinectedin 3.2 mg/m2 q3wk (alkylator like trabectedin): ORR 35%, neutropenia 👉 Topotecan: OS > BSC but cytopenias, largely superseded 👉 Nivo/pembro SCLC indications WITHDRAWN
Industry Payments
CMS Open Payments · 2025 general payments
$17 across 1 payments