GI CANCERS

In an interview with Targeted Oncology™, Cathy Eng, MD, FACP, FASCO, discussed existing and novel biomarkers in anal cancer and ongoing research in the space.

Gavocabtagene autoleucel has been granted orphan drug designation from the FDA and is being investigated in other solid tumors in a phase 1/2 clinical trial.

For patients with neuroendocrine tumors, the chances of dying of cancer were higher than dying of other causes, but mortality largely varies by primary tumor site.

Following the successful completion of the phase 1b analysis, the study of devimistat in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin in biliary tract cancer has moved on to phase 2.

To accompany a newly approved targeted therapy for IDH1-mutated cholangiocarcinoma, the Oncomine Dx Target Test has been approved as a companion diagnostic.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology™, Guru Sonpavde, MD, discussed the safety and efficacy of fixed-dose durvalumab for UTC along with an overview of the ongoing CheckMate 274 trial, which evaluates nivolumab compared to placebo in this patient population. 

Sintilimab in combination with the chemotherapy agents oxaliplatin and capecitabine improved overall survival in patients with unresectable, locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma compared with chemotherapy alone, reaching the predefined primary end point of the phase 2 ORIENT-16 clinical trial.

The first patient has been dosed in a phase 1b/2 trial of AVB-500, a therapeutic recombinant fusion protein, in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel for the treatment of advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Thierry Alcindor, MD, discusses the benefits of adding avelumab to perioperative chemotherapy for the treatment of gastroesophageal cancer in greater detail.

Cathy Eng, MD, FACO, FASCO, discusses how biomarkers are being explored to aid the treatment of anal cancers.

The FDA issued a complete response letter to Incyte Corporation in response to the Biologics License Application for the PD-L1 inhibitor, retifanlimab for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal who have progressed on, or who are intolerant of, platinum-based chemotherapy.

IMPROVED OVERALL and progres-sion-free survival rates were reported for the maintenance frontline combination of avelumab and best supportive care versus BSC alone across subgroups of patients with advanced urothelial cancer.

The heterogeneity of tumors in gastrointestinal cancers continues to pose a challenge, according to Wells Messersmith, MD.

Although the genetic makeup of biliary tract cancer is rich, only recently has the field been able to show the benefit of treating patients with effective targeted agents, in the advanced setting.

ALX148, a CD47 inhibitor in combination with chemotherapy and trastuzumab is a safe and well-tolerated treatment for patients with second-line or greater HER2-positive gastroesophageal junction cancer.

Pembrolizumab has been voluntarily withdrawn from the North American market as a treatment option for patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

The combination regimen was well tolerated with promising preliminary anti-tumor activity in patients with heavily pretreated esophageal cancer, who had not received immunotherapy.

The combination of paclitaxel and GSK2636771 showed encouraging antitumor activity and a manageable toxicity profile and in patients with PTEN-deficient advanced gastric cancer who progressed after first line chemotherapy.

Final overall survival and long-term safety results of the phase 3 NETTER-1 trial were presented during the World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer 2021.

Treatment with avapritinib in Chinese patients with PDGFRA D842V-mutant gastrointestinal stromal tumors revealed promising clinical benefit, according to a bridging study of the NAVIGATOR trial.

Pembrolizumab monotherapy demonstrated improvement in health-related quality of life in patients with previously treated metastatic microsatellite instability-high/ mismatch repair deficient advanced noncolorectal solid tumors, with the biggest improvements seen in those who achieved a complete remission or partial remission.

Dostarlimab achieved durable antitumor responses in patients with non-endometrial mismatch repair–deficient solid tumors treated in an expansion cohort of the phase 1 GARNET trial, according to interim findings presented during the ESMO World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer.

The FDA has accepted the filing of a new drug application for surufatinib to be indicated as treatment of patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors. The FDA set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act target action date of April 30, 2022.

Patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma with Child-Pugh class B liver function experienced a similar tumor size reduction as their Child-Pugh class A counterparts, all treated with lenvatinib, according to a post-hoc analysis of the phase 3 REFLECT study.

The phase 3 LEAP-015 trial is actively looking at the efficacy and safety of the combination of pembrolizumab, lenvatinib, and chemotherapy in the first-line setting for patients with advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma compared with chemotherapy alone.