Colorectal Cancer

The addition of cetuximab to irinotecan, fluorouracil, and folinic acid leucovorin demonstrated superior overall survival compared with the addition of bevacizumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who developed skin toxicity from cetuximab exposure, according to results from the phase II FIRE-3 trial, published in the Annals of Oncology.

Despite demonstrating improvement in overall survival as treatment of patients with advanced inoperable metastatic colorectal cancer, cetuximab plus chemotherapy led to significantly worse survival for patients with operable colorectal liver metastases in the perioperative setting, according to findings from randomized phase III clinical trial.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Kashyap Patel, MD, discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of new precautions in his practice as the number of COVID-19 infected persons rises in the state.<br /> &nbsp;

Patients harboring IDH1/2 muta&shy;tions may receive benefit by the use of PARP inhibitors, with investigators initi&shy;ating clinical trials in patients across multiple different tumor types to determine the efficacy of this strategy.

Treatment with pembrolizumab demonstrated antitumor activity along with tolerable toxicity in patients with 4 different rare and hard-to-treat malignancies, according to results from a phase II study led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers and published in the&nbsp;Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer.

Colorectal Cancer

Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, discusses the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer and how it differs from other cancer regimens.

To help assess the advances the United States has made in decreasing cancer-related deaths, a collective of public health bodies found that monitoring trends in cancer risk, screening test use, and mortality is informative. A report published in&nbsp;<em>Cancer</em>&nbsp;shows that progress has been made in recent years, but there is more work to be&nbsp;<a>done.</a>

From 2001 to 2017, the cancer death rates continued to decline in the United States, and these decreases were observed in all major racial and ethnic groups, as well as in males, females, adolescents, young adults, and children. However, the rates of cancer incidence for all cancers slightly increased in females from 2012 to 2016, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, which was published in&nbsp;Cancer.^&nbsp;

The FDA has accepted a Biologics License Application for MYL-1402O, a proposed biosimilar to bevacizumab, according to a press release from co-developers Biocon and Mylan. The BLA is seeking approval for the biosimilar as a treatment for multiple types of cancer and the FDA has set an action date goal of December 27, 2020, for a decision on the BLA.

As the new coronavirus disease 2019 creates problems internationally, health-wise and economically, it is also becoming a cause for concern throughout the oncology community.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Van K. Morris, MD, discussed a pooled analysis of the TRIBE trials to determine how oligometastatic disease status impacts treatment decisions. He also discussed advances in the field, including novel treatments that are emerging for advanced CRC.

In February 2020, the FDA gave indications to multiple therapies meant for treatment of solid tumor and hematologic malignancies. FDA action included 10 Priority Reviews, 2 Breakthrough Therapy designations, and 2 Fast Track designations.

Van K. Morris, MD, describes the novel treatments he is excited about in the treatment landscapes for colorectal and anal cancers right now.

To help clinicians cope with an increasing number of geriatric patients with cancer, the Association of Community Cancer Centers is addressing this problem with a 2-pronged approach that focuses on the delivery of care and diagnostic assessment.

The incidence of colorectal cancer is rising among people who are below 50 years of age, the colonoscopy screening age as recommended by the United States Preventive Service Task Force of the National Cancer Institute. To date, there is no research that can explain the rise which has led physicians to deliberation on whether the recommended screening age for colonoscopies should be lowered or left as is. During a debate at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, Uri Ladabaum, MD, and David S. Weinberg, MD, MSc, presented their stances on the topic.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Daniel H.&nbsp;Ahn, DO, discussed the phase Ib/II study of onvansertib plus FOLFIRI and bevacizumab for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer &nbsp;with a&nbsp;KRAS mutation.

Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, discusses the results of the phase III BEACON CRC study, which was presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Maintenance of quality of life on patient-reported assessments was prolonged with encorafenib plus cetuximab with or without binimetinib, out-performing the standard of care in patients with <em>BRAF</em>&nbsp;V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer.

The combination of regorafenib plus an oral fluoropyrimidine, TAS-102, as third-line treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, achieved a clinically meaningful disease control rate in the phase I dose-escalation trial REMETY, according to data presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Cetuximab plus mFOLFOX6 with the addition of avelumab resulted in an overall response rate of 81% in patients with RAS/BRAF-wildtype metastatic colorectal cancer, according to results of the phase II AVETUX study that were presented during the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. But despite promising tumor responses, the trial missed its primary progression-free survival end point.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Richard Kim, MD, discussed the research from several trials that support the use of doublet and triplet regimens as treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer harboring a&nbsp;BRAF&nbsp;mutation.

Integrating a geriatric assessment into the care of older adults who are receiving cancer treatment in communi&shy;ty oncology practices improves patient and caregiver satisfaction and encourages commu&shy;nication about aging-related concerns, accord&shy;ing to results of a clinical trial that enrolled 541 patients with advanced cancer.

Benjamin Weinberg, MD, discusses novel agents that may impact the treatment landscape for colorectal cancer once made available in the community setting.