GI CANCERS

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).

Van Loon says that oncologists need further research into how often and for how long patients with gastrointestinal cancers should be monitored.

The trial looked at radionuclide therapy Lu-Dotatate in patients with advanced midgut neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), and showed an improvement in overall survival and the reduction of progression or death risk by 79%.

Shah says as more treatments become available, oncologists need to consider the order in which they give treatments to patients with gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer.

Marginal improvements were seen in clinical outcomes for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) treated with FOLFOXIRI plus bevacizumab compared with FOLFOX plus bevacizumab; however, these findings were inconsistent, according to results from the phase II STEAM trial.

John Marshall, MD, discusses the individualization of treatment of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Many patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) will ultimately progress on standard first- and second-line therapy while maintaining a good performance status, placing importance on the optimal use of third-line treatments.

Jonathan R. Strosberg, MD, associate professor, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the targeted, systemic radiation treatment 177-Lu-Dotatate (Lutathera), a somatostatin analogue peptide, in patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

Single-dose fosaprepitant dimeglumine (Emend for injection) in combination with antiemetic agents has been approved by the FDA for the preventing

Amitabh Chak, MD, MS, professor of Medicine, director, Clinical Research, Division of Gastroenterolgy Diseases, Case Western Reserve University, discusses advances in esophageal cancer. Chak says some of the more "exciting" developments in the treatment of the disease are transnasal endoscopy, as well as a new type of screening device that acts as a "pap smear" for the esophagus.

Manish A. Shah, MD, a prominent researcher in the gastrointestinal cancer field who is helping to lead the BRIGHTER trial, discussed the ongoing research in an interview with Targeted Oncology.

Manish Shah, MD, Bartlett Family Associate Professor of Medicine, director, Gastrointestinal Oncology Program, Weill Cornell Medical College, discusses doing more than just surgery for patients with locally advanced stomach cancer.

Kenneth Wang, MD, director of the Advanced Endoscopy Group and Esophageal Neoplasia Clinic, Mayo Clinic, discusses his opposition for Barrett's esophagus screening as a preventative measure for esophageal adenocarcinoma.

<div style="color:#003668"><em>"When there is a mismatch between the human genetics and bacterial genetics, this may be one of the factors that leads to gastrointestinal cancer."<p align="right"><span style="color:#747474">- Keith Wilson, MD</span></em></div></p>

In patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), ensituximab (NPC-1C), a chimeric immunoglobulin IgG1 monoclonal antibody, produced stable disease in almost half the patients in a phase II study, without contributing toxicity.