Gastrointestinal Cancer

With the emergence of several targeted treatments that have shown efficacy in individuals with germline pathogenic variants, specifically in DNA mismatch repair, the need for germline genetic testing has become even more pronounced.

The FDA has granted a fast track designation to DKN-01 for the treatment of patients with gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma whose tumors have high DKK1 expression, who have progressed on or after a fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, and HER2/neu targeted therapy, if appropriate.

The advent of immunotherapy has revolutionized multiple areas of cancer treatment, said Timothy Cragin Wang, MD, who added that the transformative potential of the modality has been mild at best in the field of colorectal cancer (CRC).

The FDA has approved copper Cu 64 dotatate injection (Detectnet) for the localization of somatostatin receptor–positive neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), according to an announcement from RadioMedix Inc. and Curium Pharma.

The management of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) continues to become more personalized, with care decisions being based on factors ranging from the patient’s primary tumor location, to performance status, to the presence of specific mutations, according to Axel Grothey, MD, and novel approaches emerging in later lines are helping to further improve outcomes.

Following a period of stagnation, rapid advances have been made in the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to Bradley G. Somer, MD, but as more options emerge in all lines of treatment, sequencing approaches will require careful consideration.

Nivolumab in combination with chemotherapy as a frontline treatment demonstrated a significant survival benefit in patients with metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, or esophageal adenocarcinoma.

The novel multimodal FirstSightCRC test has shown promise in identifying colorectal cancer (CRC), as well as precancerous polyps and advanced adenomas, said Shai Friedland, MD, who added that results from the blood-based assay can inform whether a patient should undergo a colonoscopy.

The FDA granted an orphan drug designation to the oral investigational modified proprietary tyrosine derivative SM-88 as a treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer.

Although pancreatic cancer has been a historically difficult disease to treat, the emergence of novel combinations have allowed for more patients to receive later lines of therapy, and recent advances have inspired a shift to more personalized treatment approaches to improve outcomes, according to Syma Iqbal, MD.

A recent study found a 22% lower risk in developing colorectal cancer in the 3 years after patients took hypertension medications to treat high blood pressure, heart failure, or heart disease.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many elective surgical procedures had been cancelled or rescheduled to maximize hospital capacity and prevent unnecessary exposure for patients, but surgical delays might lead to worse outcomes for certain patients with gastrointestinal cancers.

The combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Avastin) demonstrated comparable clinical activity and safety versus sorafenib (Nexavar) in older and younger patients with previously untreated, unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The FDA has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability–high or mismatch repair deficient colorectal cancer. This marks the first immunotherapy approved for this patient population as a first-line treatment and which is administered to patients without also giving chemotherapy.

The FDA has granted margetuximab an Orphan Drug designation for the treatment of patients with gastric and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer, according to MacroGenics, Inc., the manufacturer of the Fc-engineered monoclonal antibody.

The FDA has approved the combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Avastin) for the treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have not received prior systemic therapy.

The FDA has given a fast track designation to onvansertib for the second-line treatment of patients with KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer.

Pembrolizumab combined with trastuzumab and chemotherapy demonstrated clinical activity in patients with HER2-positive metastatic esophagogastric cancer.

The FDA has granted an orphan drug designation to fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu) for the treatment of patients with gastric cancer, including gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) 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.