GI CANCERS

Nivolumab (Opdivo) produced an overall response rate (ORR) of 14% with an acceptable safety profile in patients with gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer, according to data from the phase I/II CheckMate-032 trial.

Combining liposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI; MM-398; Onivyde) with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus leucovorin dropped the risk of death in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer by 25% following progression on a gemcitabine-based regimen, according to updated data from the phase III NAPOLI-1 trial.

Preoperative treatment with short-course radiation therapy plus 3 cycles of chemotherapy boosted overall survival (OS) and generated fewer adverse events (AEs) compared to standard chemoradiation for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Patients with either gastrointestinal (GI) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) or NETs of unknown primary origin experienced a 40% or more decrease in their risk of disease progression when treated with everolimus (Afinitor), according to a subanalysis of the phase III RADIANT-4 trial.

Patients with advanced midgut neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) will continue to see major therapeutic benefits from the peptide receptor radionuclide therapy Lu-Dotatate (Lutathera), including an improvement in overall survival and the reduction of progression or death risk by 79%.

Katherine Van Loon, MD, discusses identifying recurrences in gastrointestinal cancers at a point where patients can receive further therapy.

The FDA has approved a new treatment consisting of a non-alcohol formulation of docetaxel in patients with breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, and head and neck cancer.

A new study has analyzed intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) in 12 cancer types and found a "tolerable" level of genomic instability, independent of cancer type, beyond which a cancer may become less aggressive.

The phase III PILLAR trial studying the novel immunotherapy, algenpantucel-L combined with chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced, unresectable pancreatic cancer, has completed enrollment with over 300 patients.

Leonard Saltz, MD, discusses VEGF inhibitors, their history and why oncologists might be overestimating the treatment.

Colin Weekes, MD, PhD, associate professor, Department of Medicine and Medical Oncology, University of Colorado, on molecular phenotyping in pancreatic cancer patients.

Philip Philip, MD, PhD, professor of oncology at Karmanos Cancer Center, Wayne State University School of Medicine, on treatment options for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Dr. John H. Sampson discusses rindopepimut elimiting brain tumor cells that express the epidermal growth factor receptor mutation variant III (EGFRvIII).

Vitamin C, often used to fight colds and other pathogens, may also be a powerful weapon against colorectal cancer (CRC), according to a study published in Science.

A number of colorectal cancer care advocacy groups and the American Cancer of Radiology are lobbying Congress to pass the CT Colonography Screening for Colorectal Cancer Act, an initiative that could lower costs and increase screening rates.

Dead bacteria cells and bacteria excretions from Clostridium sporogenes have successfully been used to kill colorectcal cancer cells in a preclinical study performed by researchers at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

John Zalcberg, PhD, medical oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia, talks about the poor prognosis of refractory advanced oesophago-gastric cancer (AOGC) patients and how regorafenib could benefit those patients.

Dr. Deirdre Cohen talks about the increasingly big role of immunotherapies in the treatment of patients with gastric cancers.

The FDA has granted breakthrough therapy designation to Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as a potential therapy for patients with microsatellite instability-high metastatic colorectal cancer.

Frank A. Sinicrope, MD, talks about sporadic mismatch repair deficient colonic cancer tumors compared to familial related to germ line mutations in the setting of Lynch syndrome.

Dirk Arnold, MD, PhD, Professor and Head Dept. Hematology and Medical Oncology at Tumor Biology Center in Freiburg, Germany, talks about sirflox and its phase III trials on whether or not it can properly add local ablative treatment to diffuse metastasization of the liver.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans and red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans.

The FDA has approved MM-398 in combination with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin as a treatment for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Hypofractionated radiotherapy can achieve similar cure rates with similar side effects compared with conventional radiotherapy for men with low-risk, early prostate cancer, according to a recent study.

Patients who received hypofractionated radiation therapy did not demonstrate statistically significant differences in long-term outcomes compared with patients who received conventional radiation therapy, according to a study .

Everolimus demonstrated a 52% reduction in the risk of progression or death in patients with lung/gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors, improving progression-free survival by 7.1 months compared with placebo.

Hypofractionation, known as delivering higher doses of radiation in fewer fractions, appears to be feasible and non-inferior compared with conventional fractionated radiotherapy.

Flares of bone pain decreased significantly when the oral corticosteroid dexamethasone was added to radiation therapy in patients with metastatic cancer, according to a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Coordinating radiation therapy teams and palliative care teams based on patient reported outcomes from University of Virginia Health System improved outpatient symptom management and decreased end-of-life hospitalizations, as well as costs of care for patients with late-stage cancer.

The USPSTF recently posted a draft recommendation statement and draft evidence review on screening for colorectal cancer prompting responses from organizations and industry.