GI CANCERS

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Gregory L. Beatty, MD, PhD, discussed the science behind the development of metastases in pancreatic tumors, including how metastases differ in various sites in the body. He also reviewed the treatment options for this disease.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology following SOGO 2020, Andrea Cercek, MD, discussed the rising incidence of CRC in young adults in detail. She also advised community oncologists who encounter these patients in their clinics.

"The third independent safety review has once again confirmed the favorable safety profile of our lead product candidate eryaspase, and the trial has now surpassed 75% of the planned target enrollment."

The FDA has approved pemigatinib for the treatment of adult patients with previously treated, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma harboring an FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement.

The FDA granted two Fast Track designations to surufatinib for the treatment of both advanced and progressive pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and extra-pancreatic NETs in patients who are not amenable for surgery, according to a press release from the developer, Chi-Med. The agent was previously granted Orphan Drug Designation by the FDA for this indication.

A liquid biopsy test with the ability to screen for a panel of biomarkers rather than just one can reportedly detect pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common form of pancreatic cancer, in the early stages of disease.

Vincent Picozzi, MD, discusses treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer who undergo surgery. Overall, the landscape lacks data on how to optimally sequence chemotherapy in patients with resectable disease.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Vincent Picozzi, MD, discussed the findings that were presented at the 2020 GI Cancers Symposium for patients with pancreatic cancer and how the results could impact the treatment of this patient population. He also highlighted observations from other pancreatic cancer clinical trials and the evolution of the GI cancer landscape as a whole. 

The FDA has accepted and granted a priority review to a supplemental Biologics License Application for pembrolizumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic solid tumors with tissue tumor mutational burden-high who have progressed following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.

Pembrolizumab demonstrated an improvement in progression-free survival in the first-line treatment of patients with microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair deficient unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer, meeting one of the primary end points of the phase III KEYNOTE-177 trial.

Pembrolizumab demonstrated positive activity in patients with previously treated advanced anal squamous cell carcinoma, regardless of PD-L1 expression, according to the results of the  KEYNOTE-158  trial  presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

PARP inhibitors following platinum-based chemotherapy as well as immunotherapy combinations have shown early signs of efficacy in metastatic pancreatic cancer with homologous recombination deficiency, according to data presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, held January 23 to 25 in San Francisco, California.

In the neoadjuvant setting, physicians treating resectable pancreatic cancer have more treatment options than ever before. Recently, however, the routine use of radiotherapy has been called into question, leading to a debate at the 5th Annual School of Gastrointestinal Oncology, hosted by Physicians’ Education Resource, LLC.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em> at the 5th Annual School of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Jonathan Strosberg, MD explained the importance of having multidisciplinary teams when treating patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

An association was found between a lower risk of grade 3 or higher chemotherapy toxicity with higher body mass indexes and normal albumin, a protein made in the liver, levels in older adult patients with solid tumors, according to an analysis of a prospective, multicenter study.

A sudden surge in the cases of COVID-19 due to pandemic, along with efforts to contain it, has led to multiple challenges that no country has experienced in the last several decades. The global pandemic from COVID-19 poses a unique set of challenges not only for patients with cancer who need their treatment, but also for caregivers, oncologists, and the overall care team.

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.

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 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.

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 FDA has granted Priority Review to the New Drug Application for ripretinib as treatment of patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors. This potential FDA approval has a Prescription Drug User Fee Act target action date of August 13, 2020, according to a press release from Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.<br /> &nbsp;