Dennis Bittner, PhD

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released new guidance on the use of alternative endpoints, in addition to overall survival (OS), for clinical trials of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) therapies.

Following recent approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of pembrolizumab and nivolumab, numerous programs to develop and expand use of immunotherapies have ensued.

The definition of liquid biopsy has expanded to include the collection of cfDNA, along with various species of cell-free RNA and exosomes, all of which are capable of providing information on the disease status of cancer patients.

A panel of expert clinical investigators discussed details of several treatments and a dozen patient cases involving gastric, colorectal, and pancreatic cancer at a satellite meeting of the 2015 ASCO GI Cancers Symposium.

Comparable test results were shown with both urine and plasma molecular assays in a blinded, retrospective study.

A post-hoc analysis of the CORRECT trial showed that patients with mCRC who had PFS >4 months, experienced AEs at rates broadly similar to those in the overall trial population.

During a retrospective study of 182 patients with nonresectable pancreatic cancer, a negative association was found between baseline circulating tumor (ct)DNA KRAS counts in plasma and overall survival (OS), which indicates that patients with lower KRAS burden in ctDNA survive longer.

Interim results reported from a retrospective study of plasma samples from the VELOUR trial reveal multiple potential prognostic and predictive biomarkers to guide treatment of patients with mCRC with the VEGF-inhibitor ziv-aflibercept.

Treatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) sorafenib in combination with standard chemotherapy increased event-free survival (EFS) by 11.3 months in patients with newly diagnosed AML.

Despite improved efficacy with new therapies, both as monotherapy or in combinations, they provide new challenges to nurses in managing side effects and adjusting treatment.