GI CANCERS

Unresectable Metastatic Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor

Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPH, professor of Medicine, director, Yale Cancer Center, and physician-in-chief, Smilow Cancer Hospital, discusses efficacy and safety results for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) monotherapy in patients with previously treated advanced gastric cancer.

Brian Wolpin, MD, MPH, has been named director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) has been granted a priority review designation by the FDA for use as a treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma following prior sorafenib (Nexavar).

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has been granted a priority review by the FDA for the treatment of patients who have undergone at least 2 courses of chemotherapy for recurrent or advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has been granted an accelerated approval by the FDA for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic, microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair deficient solid tumors.

John L. Marshall, MD, chief, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, discusses a study exploring the molecular variances between rectal and left-sided colon cancers.

Results from a recent study showed patients with stage III colorectal cancer experienced a 42% lower chance of death and a trend toward reduced cancer recurrence if they maintained a healthy body weight, engaged in regular physical activity, and adopted other healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Chemotherapy for Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Eating tree nuts, like almonds, walnuts, and pecans can improve overall survival and reduce the risk of recurrence in patients with colon cancer, findings of a new prospective study suggest.

Overall survival was improved by 15 months for patients with macroscopically resected biliary tract cancer who were treated with adjuvant capecitabine compared with observation alone.

John Marshall, MD, of Georgetown Lombardi and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, has been appointed chief medical officer of Caris Life Sciences.

Current guidelines recommend waiting 6 months before resecting a large hepatocellular adenoma to prevent a transformation to a malignant tumor; however, a recent study suggests that waiting longer could benefit some patients.