Gastrointestinal Cancer

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has drastically affected the way that hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is treated, making nurse adaptability crucial in recent months.

The FDA has approved ripretinib (Qinlock) for the fourth-line treatment of patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST).

The implementation of a multidisciplinary team, which has demonstrated a marked survival advantage compared with single-provider care, is critical in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), particularly as it relates to the evolving role of radiation, surgical resection, liver transplantation, and systemic treatment, explained Neehar Parikh, MD.

A number of treatment options exist for patients with localized hepatocellular carcinoma, including surgical resection, transplantation, ablation, stereotactic body radiotherapy,, and embolization.

The FDA has granted an accelerated approval to an updated dosing schedule for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to include an every-6-weeks option at 400 mg across all indications in adult patients.

The FDA approved the combination use of encorafenib and cetuximab for the treatment of adult patients with BRAFV600E-positive metastatic colorectal cancer.

A flood of targeted therapy and immunotherapy options to both the first- and second-line settings of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has had significant implications on the treatment of patients in this space and will likely create challenges regarding sequencing, said Richard S. Finn, MD.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the treatment of previously treated patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Key elements that should inform treatment decisions for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) include molecular profiling, tumor sidedness, and microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H)/mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) status, according to Michael J. Overman, MD.

The results of genetic testing could change a patient's treatment regimen.

There are socioeconomic and ethnic disparities in young adults who receive a diagnosis of colorectal and gastric cancers, according to Amir Khan, MD, from City of Hope.

The FDA's recent approval of olaparib for BRCA-positive pancreatic cancer is improving outcomes for many patients.

Supplements are well-tolerated (and can be beneficial) to patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, according to a small study.

Encorafenib (Braftovi) plus cetuximab (Erbitux) with or without binimetinib (Mektovi) demonstrated longer maintenance of quality of life (QoL) on patient-reported assessments over current standard of care in the treatment of patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer.

Surufatinib improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with placebo in patients with low- or intermediate-grade advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) for whom there is no effective therapy, according to a preplanned interim analysis of the phase III SANET-p trial (NCT02589821) that was completed by an independent data monitoring committee (IDMC).

The FDA has granted an orphan drug designation to durvalumab (Imfinzi) and tremelimumab for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The metastatic pancreatic cancer paradigm has expanded to include frontline maintenance therapy with the PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza), as it recently received the green light from the FDA with a December 2019 approval.

Here are the top 5 Oncology Nursing News® stories for November 2019.

Patients with neuroendocrine tumors have seen a slew of new treatment options, but experts believe these options need much more study before their promise is fully realized.

Several late-stage therapies, including targeted agents and immunotherapies, are being evaluated for patients with relapsed/refractory colorectal cancer (CRC) who have progressed on first- and second-line therapies.

Wnt emerges as an exciting and favorable pathway for the treatment of patients with CRC.

The NDA for Blueprint Medicines' agent avapritinib will be split into two separate submissions for patients with GIST.

Results from the randomized phase 3 POLO trial are in, and the quality of life data shows promise for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who harbor a germline BRCA gene mutation.

Popular noninvasive colorectal cancer screening test, Cologuard, recently received permission from the FDA to expand its test.