Gastrointestinal Cancer

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.

When one of your patients is diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer, it can be difficult for them to cope with their diagnosis. However, as their Oncology nurse, you can help guide them to reliable patient resources on stomach cancer, like Debbie’s Dream Foundation.

The frontline combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) showed a robust and durable clinical benefit in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) whose tumors are microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H)/mismatch repair deficient (dMMR)—a population with a historically poor prognosis, said Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, FACP.

The FDA approved entrectinib for pediatric and adult patients with certain subtypes of solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer.

PARP inhibitors have shown success in breast and ovarian cancer, and now they may be moving into the pancreatic cancer paradigm, too.