Latest Conference Articles

Experts on hematologic malignancies will convene for the 19th Annual International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies, from February 20-21 in Miami, Florida, to provide insight into recent developments in the treatment of the diseases.

In an analysis of more than 17,000 patients with breast cancer, who are at risk for a genetic mutation, subjects were as likely to have a mutation in a gene other than BRCA1 and BRCA2 as they were to have these common mutations.

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.

Researchers for Caris Life Sciences have used the company's proprietary tumor profiling platform to identify biomarkers in GIST that may be used to identify more effective therapeutic regimens for individuals with TKI-resistant GIST.

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.

Andrea Wang-Gillam, MD, PhD, discusses a trial looking at PF-04136309, an investigational chemokine receptor antagonist, in combination with FOLFIRINOX for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Almost half of patients with borderline resectable or locally advanced pancreatic cancer had objective responses to treatment with PF-04136309, an investigational chemokine receptor antagonist.

Lanreotide (Somatuline Depot) improved progression-free survival and resulted in more disease control compared with an observation strategy among patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs).

An analysis of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinom and elevated α-fetoprotein who received second-line ramucirumab showed a significant improvement in overall survival.

An analysis of the per-protocol population in the phase III NAPOLI-1 trial supports the benefits of adding MM-398 to 5-fluorouracil plus leucovorin (5-FU/LV) for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Two polymorphisms of a vasodilatory enzyme had significant associations with improved survival in liver cancer treated with an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR).

Changing the administration schedule for gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) from weekly to every other week significantly reduced side effects without impacting efficacy as a frontline treatment for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Patients with advanced, MET-amplified gastroesophageal cancer had a high likelihood of response to an investigational MET inhibitor, results from a preliminary, dose-escalation trial suggested.

Pembrolizumab showed promising antitumor activity and a manageable toxicity profile in patients with metastatic gastric cancer, according to updated findings from the KEYNOTE-012 study.

Pamela L. Kunz, MD, discusses classifying neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and the potential to predict response.

A “watch and wait” surveillance approach may allow certain patients with rectal cancer to achieve excellent outcomes without immediate surgery. This retrospective review of clinical data was presented at the 2015 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Intensifying the chemotherapy component of a standard first-line bevacizumab-containing regimen reduced the risk of death by about 20% and doubled the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate among patients with mCRC.

Patients with newly diagnosed metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who had higher levels of vitamin D in their blood lived a median of 8 months longer and experienced greater disease-free survival after their cancer treatment. This research was reported at a press briefing in advance of the 2015 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Second-line treatment with the VEGFR2 inhibitor ramucirumab (Cyramza) combined with standard FOLFIRI extended survival by 1.6 months versus FOLFIRI alone in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

A 12-gene test for breast cancer recurrence after ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) distinguished high- and intermediate- risk patients from those with a low risk. These results were presented at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Findings from a long-term analysis of the Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study (WINS) show that the deaths of women with hormone receptor–negative breast cancers were reduced by up to 54% when they followed a program to reduce their dietary fat intake.

Frontline treatment with everolimus (Afinitor) combined with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and paclitaxel failed to delay disease progression versus trastuzumab and paclitaxel alone in patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer.

Fulvestrant (Faslodex) improved overall survival (OS) by 5.7 months compared with anastrozole as a frontline treatment for postmenopausal women with HR-positive metastatic breast cancer. These findings from the phase II FIRST trial were presented at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

John F. R. Robertson, MD, discusses overall survival data from the phase II FIRST study, which looked at fulvestrant as first-line therapy for patients with advanced breast cancer.

Eileen Rakovitch, MD, associate professor, radiation oncologist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, discusses predicting risk of recurrence in women with DCIS.

A 25-gene hereditary cancer panel can increase the identification of deleterious mutations by almost 70%, over testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) or Lynch syndrome alone.

Naoto Tada Ueno, MD, PhD, FACP, from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses counting circulating tumor cells for prognostic reasons.

Denise A. Yardley, MD, from Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses toxicities associated with treatment with PI3K inhibitors for breast cancer.

Five years of tamoxifen continues to offer protection against breast cancer— reducing the risk of breast cancer by 29% in otherwise healthy women at high risk of the disease who have been followed now for 16 to 22 years.

Older patients with moderate- or high-risk breast cancer had a similar disease-free survival with the bisphosphonate therapy ibandronate alone or in combination with capecitabine, according Gunter von Minckwitz, MD, who reported the results at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.