GI CANCERS

Treatment with ARQ-087 demonstrated promising signs of clinical activity with a manageable safety profile for patients with FGFR2 fusion-positive advanced and/or metastatic intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, according to findings from an ongoing phase I/II study presented at the 2016 World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer.

Precision oncology should play a vital role in the shift toward value-based medicine by helping to deliver more effective therapies with more manageable pricing profiles, according to John L. Marshall, MD.

Patients with nonfunctioning neuroendocrine tumors of gastrointestinal or lung origin continued to live longer when treated with the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor everolimus than with placebo, ongoing follow-up in a randomized trial showed.

The advent of targeted inhibitors that work on the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) pathway may alter the disease course and outcomes in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, suggests data from a four-center retrospective study. Lead investigator Apurva Jain, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center presented the findings at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Infusion with 19-28z chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified T-cells led to complete response (CR) rates of 77% to 90% and minimal residual disease (MRD)-CR rates of 68% to 70% in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL).

Neratinib, an experimental TKI being developed for breast cancer, achieved a 36% clinical benefit rate in a phase II trial, according to a poster presented June 5, 2016 at the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Sue Naeyaert, senior director of Biosimilars Policy, EMD Serono, discusses the long-term impact that biosimilars could potentially have on the field of oncology.

John L. Marshall, MD, chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Georgetown University Hospital, discusses the challenges faced with treating patients who have gastrointestinal cancers and the significance of molecular profiling.

Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering, discusses what is on the horizon for the use of PD-L1 agents in liver cancer.

Precision oncology should play a vital role in the shift toward value-based medicine by helping to deliver more effective therapies with more manageable pricing profiles.

Novel therapy with indoximod, an indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) pathway inhibitor, in combination with standard chemotherapy, yielded a response rate of 42% as first-line therapy for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Mahmoud Al-Hawary, MD, discusses the current NCCN guidelines for imaging and how they play a role in patients with pancreatic cancer.

A new drug application (NDA) has been submitted to the FDA for telotristat etiprate as a treatment for carcinoid syndrome in patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), according to a statement from the drug's developer, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals.

The FDA has approved defibrotide sodium (Defitelio) as a treatment for severe hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) with associated kidney or lung abnormalities following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), based on data from the collection of 3 studies.

Second-line treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer, after first-line treatment with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine or gemcitabine alone, is feasible and may improve outcomes, according to a post-hoc analysis of the phase 3 MPACT trial presented at the 2016 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

New technology and improvements in administration techniques could make the utilization of stereotactic body radiation therapy easier and more plausible for patients with pancreatic cancer, according to Joseph Michael Herman, MD.

Liposomal irinotecan (irinotecan liposome injection; Onivyde), fluorouracil (5-FU), and leucovorin in combination has been added to the 2016 NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology as a second-line treatment for patients with gemcitabine-refractory metastatic pancreatic cancer.

On Saturday, April 23, 2016, Physicians' Education Resource, LLC (PER) will help to fill the education gap inherent in some of the most difficult-to-treat forms of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, with the first annual School of Gastrointestinal Oncology (SOGO), which will be held at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.

The combination of nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) and gemcitabine is steadily gaining in popularity among oncologists in the treatment armamentarium for pancreatic adenocarcinoma, according to Fadi Braiteh, MD.

Patients with pancreatic cancer who were treated at high-volume centers had a 16-month improvement in median overall survival (OS) versus those who received treatment at community medical centers.

A bevy of clinical trials exploring the use of nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) in various combinations and treatment settings aim to uncover future strategies for treating patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, which remains one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

With updated data further proving its efficacy, Jonathan R. Strosberg, MD, says Lu-Dotatate 177 could be an excellent addition to oncologists' armamentarium against midgut neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

"This combination seems to be well-tolerated by patients with manageable toxicity, and overall efficacy for the small group seems to be favorable."

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Abbruzzese discussed the underlying disparity between high-volume centers and community medical centers for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

The combination of ziv-aflibercept and capecitabine demonstrated an acceptable safety profile and encouraging clinical efficacy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, according to findings from the ongoing phase II X-TRAP trial.

Tremelimumab as a monotherapy in both the second- and third-line treatment failed to boost overall survival (OS) compared with placebo for patients with unresectable malignant mesothelioma.

Everolimus (Afinitor) has received FDA approval for adult patients with progressive, well-differentiated non-functional, locally advanced or metastatic gastrointestinal (GI) or lung neuroendocrine tumors (NET), based on findings from the phase III RADIANT-4 trial.

Neoadjuvant therapy has become increasingly plausible for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, as the quantity and quality of approved therapies continue to increase, according to Colin Weekes, MD, PhD.

A potential biomarker to guide the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) failed to stratify patients by progression-free survival (PFS) or responsiveness to bevacizumab, according to a randomized trial.

Complimenting best supporting care with panitumumab dropped the risk of death by 30% for patients with RAS wild-type chemorefractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).