Latest Conference Articles

Treatment with dabrafenib (Tafinlar) plus trametinib (Mekinist) resulted in a complete response in 9 of 19 patients with stage IIIb/c BRAF V600 melanoma, according to results from a phase II trial presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

A joint analysis of the "ABC" trials comparing anthracycline versus non-anthracycline treatment in patients with high-risk, HER2-negative breast cancer has failed to demonstrate non-inferiority of the non-anthracycline regimen.

Three years after the pembrolizumab (Keytruda) clinical trial for advanced melanoma that led to the drug's FDA approval, 40% of the patients are still alive.

Clinical trials studying a biomarker-based treatment showed substantially better results than non-personalized treatment methods in a meta-analysis that examined 13,203 patients from phase I trials.

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.

"This combination seems to be well-tolerated by patients with manageable toxicity, and overall efficacy for the small group seems to be favorable."

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>

Second-line treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer proved to be feasible and beneficial, particularly for patients who received nab-paclitaxel in addition to gemcitabine, according to extension data from a phase III trial.

Patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma enrolled on clinical trials have "profoundly improved survival" compared with patients in the general population, suggesting that oncologists who use trial data to prognosticate may be missing the mark, according to researchers whose work was presented at the 2016 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Mismatch repair-deficient gastrointestinal (GI) tumors are highly responsive to checkpoint blockade with anti

Using genomic and proteomic characterization of pancreatic cancer tumors, researchers from Vall d

The latest results from an open-label, phase Ib study of the STAT3 inhibitor BBI-608 (napabucasin) with a standard chemotherapy (FOLFIRI with or without bevacizumab) in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer, have been presented at the ASCO 2016 Gastrointestinal Symposium. Evidence of antitumor activity and a favorable safety profile were seen in phase I studies.

Avelumab, an investigational anti-PD-L1 antibody, showed clinical activity as both a second-line and maintenance therapy in patients, with unresectable gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer, according to data from a phase Ib presented at the 2016 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

An orally administered first-in-class cancer stemness inhibitor, BBI608, administered twice daily with weekly paclitaxel has promising activity in patients with refractory, heavily pretreated metastatic pancreatic cancer; particularly in patients who are taxane naive.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) produced an overall response rate (ORR) of 14% with an acceptable safety profile in patients with gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer, according to data from the phase I/II CheckMate-032 trial.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda), a PD-1 inhibitor, showcased encouraging activity with some adverse events (AEs) when employed as a treatment for patients with advanced PD-L1

Cathy Eng, MD, FACP, medical oncologist, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the combination of bevacizumab with FOLFOXIRI (irinotecan, oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and folinate) as a treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Combining liposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI; MM-398; Onivyde) with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus leucovorin dropped the risk of death in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer by 25% following progression on a gemcitabine-based regimen, according to updated data from the phase III NAPOLI-1 trial.

Preoperative treatment with short-course radiation therapy plus 3 cycles of chemotherapy boosted overall survival (OS) and generated fewer adverse events (AEs) compared to standard chemoradiation for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Patients with either gastrointestinal (GI) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) or NETs of unknown primary origin experienced a 40% or more decrease in their risk of disease progression when treated with everolimus (Afinitor), according to a subanalysis of the phase III RADIANT-4 trial.

Patients with advanced midgut neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) will continue to see major therapeutic benefits from the peptide receptor radionuclide therapy Lu-Dotatate (Lutathera), including an improvement in overall survival and the reduction of progression or death risk by 79%.

Patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who express higher entropy, a measure of T-cell diversity, could translate to a more favorable prognosis

Novel clinical trials are currently assessing the combination of VEGF-targeted agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors as frontline therapies for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Combining a selective class I oral histone deactylase (HDAC) inhibitor with high-dose interleukin (IL)-2 may boost the latter's antitumor effect in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Nivolumab shows consistent survival benefit across subgroups as a second-line treatment for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to data from an analysis of the phase III CheckMate-025 trial.

Gulley says there are currently a variety of phase III studies looking at new treatments for use in bladder cancer, despite some widely-used agents, such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab, already being approved for other cancer types like melanoma and lung cancer, though not bladder cancer.

Adding celecoxib and zoledronic acid to standard treatment extended survival in men with metastatic prostate cancer commencing first-line hormone therapy, according to updated data from the STAMPEDE trial.