GI CANCERS

Tislelizumab plus chemotherapy is now FDA-approved for metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with a tumor PD-L1 expression of 1 or higher.

David Zhen, MD, discussed the relevance of nivolumab in the upper gastrointestinal cancer population.

The FDA granted RMAT designation to nogapendekin alfa and CAR-NK for reversing lymphopenia in patients with cancer, with promising survival data in metastatic pancreatic cancer and non–small cell lung cancer.

T-DM1 was tolerable in HER2-positive biliary tract adenocarcinoma but did not significantly improve progression-free survival.

Dose reductions of liposomal irinotecan and oxaliplatin did not compromise overall survival in patients with metastatic PDAC on NALIRIFOX.

NALRIFOX showed numerically better overall survival vs FOLFIRINOX as frontline treatment in PDAC, per real-world analysis results.

Certepetide plus chemotherapy showed signs of efficacy but failed to improve progression-free survival in metastatic PDAC in the ASCEND trial.

Adding CRT to chemotherapy did not improve RFS in resected gallbladder cancer in the phase 3 ACCELERATE trial.

The combination of pelareorep and modified FOLFIRINOX with or without atezolizumab had an acceptable safety in newly diagnosed metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Zoldonrasib showed preliminary antitumor activity and manageable adverse events in KRAS G12D–mutated PDAC, per phase 1 trial data.

Baseline geriatric assessment vulnerabilities and quality of life scores correlate with overall survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma receiving chemotherapy.

Surufatinib plus TAS-102 showed promising survival benefits with manageable toxicity in refractory metastatic PDAC patients, per phase 2 trial data.

Cabozantinib improved PFS in GI extrapancreatic NETs, except for non-midgut tumors, per CABINET trial results.

Sintilimab plus neoadjuvant CRT improved pathological complete response rates in resectable, locally advanced ESCC, per phase 3 SCIENCE trial.

Patients with appendiceal adenocarcinoma face increased risk of secondary cancers, including colorectal, within 10 years, per 2025 ASCO GI findings.

Tislelizumab combined with irinotecan, paclitaxel, oxaliplatin, and 5-FU/leucovorin proved effective with manageable safety as frontline therapy for advanced HER2-negative, mismatch repair–proficient gastric and GEJ adenocarcinoma in the SYLT-023 trial.

Trastuzumab with chemotherapy showed numerical improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival in HER2-positive gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers.

SHR-1701, a PD-L1 and TGF-ß targeting agent, reduced chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression in patients with HER2-negative gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma.

The phase 3 CheckMate 649 trial showed that nivolumab plus chemotherapy significantly improved long-term overall survival in Chinese patients with advanced gastric, gastroesophageal junction, and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

In patients with advanced ESCC treated with first-line tislelizumab plus chemotherapy, deeper responses and longer time to maximum response were linked to improved overall survival.

The combination of everolimus plus lanreotide showed an improvement in progression-free survival and an acceptable safety profile vs everolimus monotherapy in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Here are the most anticipated abstracts to keep an eye on going into the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

LOAd703, an oncolytic adenovirus with transgenes for 4-1BBL and TMZ-CD40L, has received FDA fast track designation for pancreatic cancer treatment.

The approval of this combination is supported by data from the phase 3 CodeBreaK 300 study.

Mark A. Lewis, MD, discussed the promise of the ESOPEC and TRANSMET trials and the need for their further investigation.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains a challenge to treat due to its complex biology and resistance mechanisms.

2024 saw the establishment of docetaxel, oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil as the preferred regimen for patients with localized adenocarcinoma.

Aman Chauhan, MD, highlights an ongoing phase 2 trial exploring the combination of triapine, a radiation sensitizer, with lutetium 177 dotatate for treating well-differentiated somatostatin receptor–-positive neuroendocrine tumors.

The FDA has approved tislelizumab plus chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed, locally advanced or metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

During a Case-Based Roundtable® event, David H. Ilson, MD, PhD, discussed the outcomes of the CheckMate 649, CheckMate 648, and KEYNOTE-859 trials of chemoimmunotherapy regimens in patients with upper GI cancers.