GI CANCERS

Merck, the developer of pembrolizumab, has announced that the coprimary endpoints of the KEYNOTE-240 trial were not met, as adding the agent to best supportive care failed to improve progression-free or overall survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who were previously treated with systemic therapy.

Hani M. Babiker, MD, shares his advice for community oncologists treating patients with pancreatic cancer.

General Cancer

Frontline treatment with ibrutinib plus nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine did not have a statistically significant benefit in progression-free survival or overall survival compared to placebo plus nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Achieving an objective response to TKI therapy was associated with longer overall survival in patients with previously untreated hepatocellular carcinoma, according to findings of a retrospective analysis presented during the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Regorafenib reduced the risk of progression by 51% compared with placebo in patients with metastatic or unresectable biliary tract cancer who were previously treated with gemcitabine and platinum-based chemotherapy, according to results from the phase II REACHIN trial that were presented at the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. 

Combined BRAF and MEK inhibition induced a promising response rate and survival rates among patients with&nbsp;<em>BRAF&nbsp;</em>V600E&ndash;mutated biliary tract cancer (BTC), according to the results of the ROAR trial that were presented&nbsp;during the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

SB3, a trastuzumab biosimilar, has been granted FDA approval&nbsp;for the treatment of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

Based on findings from the phase I/II NivoRam study, investigators at the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium reported that the combination of&nbsp;nivolumab and ramucirumab is active in patients with&nbsp;previously treated advanced gastric adenocarcinoma.

In findings reported at the&nbsp;2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, 67% of patients with untreated metastatic HER2-positive esophagogastric adenocarcinoma treated with&nbsp;the combination of pembrolizumab, trastuzumab, and chemotherapy&nbsp;remained progression-free at 6 months.

According to findings from the&nbsp;KEYNOTE-181 trial, pembrolizumab demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival in patients with PD-L1&ndash;positive advanced or metastatic esophageal or esophageal junction carcinoma who progressed on standard therapy, marking the first time a PD-1 inhibitor has demonstrated a survival improvement in this patient population.

ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, the company developing varlitinib (ASLAN001), has announced that a phase II frontline trial investigating the&nbsp;pan-HER inhibitor added to mFOLFOX6 in patients with HER1/HER2 co-expressing advanced or metastatic gastric cancer has missed its primary endpoint.