Gastrointestinal Cancer

The FDA has granted an orphan drug designation to the HER2-targeted natural killer cell engager therapy, DF1001, as a potential therapeutic option for patients with esophageal cancer.

Sarbajit Mukherjee, MD, MS, discusses considerations to inform when to initiate immunotherapy in gastroesophageal cancer.

Sameek Roychowdhury, MD, PhD, discusses the efficacy and safety data reported with infigratinib in FGFR2-positive cholangiocarcinoma, nuances to treatment with the agent, and ongoing research efforts to further improve outcomes in this population.

Gastrointestinal cancer is increasingly viewed through a multidisciplinary lens, and the 2021 International Society of Gastrointestinal Oncology Annual Meeting produced intriguing developments in the armamentarium.

John L. Marshall, MD, discusses the potential utility of trastuzumab deruxtecan in HER2-positive gastric cancer.

Dr. Yarchoan underscores the unique characteristics of fibrolamellar carcinoma, treatment options for these patients, and ongoing research efforts to expand the limited paradigm in this disease.

The FGFR inhibitor infigratinib demonstrated promising clinical activity and a manageable safety profile in previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma whose tumors harbor FGFR2 gene fusions or rearrangement.

Incidence of pancreatic cancer incidence rose overall from 2000 to 2018, with a significant increase in women younger than 55 years, especially those aged 15 to 35 years.

Dr. Jain and Dr. Spaggiari highlight key advancements in the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases, patient and disease factors to consider during surgical and systemic treatment decisions, and the importance of multidisciplinary care in this patient population.

Geoffrey Y. Ku, MD, discusses the rationale to evaluate zanidatamab in combination with chemotherapy in HER2-expressing gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.

Rachna T. Shroff, MD, MS, discusses unmet needs in advanced biliary tract cancer.

Daniel Catenacci, MD, discusses navigating HER2 testing in gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.

Julie K. Heimbach, MD, discusses the need for multidisciplinary care in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

John L. Marshall, MD, discusses the results of the phase 2 DESTINY-Gastric02 trial in HER2-positive gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers.

Although the addition of eryaspase to chemotherapy improved overall survival over chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, the difference in benefit was not found to be statistically significant, missing the primary end point of the phase 3 TRYbeCA-1 trial.

The combination of durvalumab and chemotherapy resulted in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival compared with chemotherapy alone when used in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced biliary tract cancer, meeting the primary end point of the phase 3 TOPAZ-1 trial.

Mark Yarchoan, MD, discusses unique characteristics of fibrolamellar carcinoma.

Rachna T. Shroff, MD, discusses the importance of targeted therapy in advanced biliary tract cancer.

John Raymond Zalcberg, PhD, MBBS, discusses the rationale for intra-patient dose escalation with ripretinib, as was examined in the phase 3 INVICTUS trial in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

David Zhen, MD, discusses the need for novel therapies in poorly differentiated small-cell-type neuroendocrine tumors.

The European Commission has approved nivolumab plus fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based chemotherapy for the frontline treatment of adult patients with HER2-negative advanced or metastatic gastric, gastroesophageal junction, or esophageal adenocarcinoma whose tumors have a PD-L1 combined positive score of 5 or higher.

Fibrolamellar carcinoma is an extremely rare form of liver cancer that affects approximately 1 in 5 million Americans. However, because the disease appears so infrequently, it may be underdiagnosed.

Heloisa P. Soares, MD, PhD, discusses advances in the management of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Dr. Ilson discusses treatment sequencing for patients with gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer, the integration of immunotherapy into the frontline setting, and key ongoing studies in the field.

Hepatocellular cancer, the most common primary liver malignancy, is the fourth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally.

John L. Marshall, MD, discusses key findings from the phase 2 DESTINY-Gastric02 trial examining fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki in patients with HER2-positive gastric cancer.

A single, high priming dose of tremelimumab plus durvalumab resulted in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival vs sorafenib when used in the frontline treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma who had not previously received systemic therapy and were not eligible for localized treatment.

Sameek Roychowdhury, MD, PhD, discusses future research directions with FGFR inhibitors in patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

Daniel Catenacci, MD, discusses recent updates in gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The tide is starting to turn toward more effective frontline systemic therapies for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma as a result of the introduction of a novel immune-oncology combination.