Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI)

An analysis of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma and elevated α-fetoprotein who received second-line ramucirumab showed a significant improvement in overall survival.

Expanded analysis of the NAPOLI-1 trial's per-protocol population continues to support the benefit of adding the nanoliposomal encapsulation of irinotecan MM-398 to 5-fluorouracil plus leucovorin for the treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who were previously treated with gemcitabine.

Two polymorphisms of a vasodilatory enzyme had significant associations with improved survival in liver cancer treated with an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), data from a retrospective study reported at the 2015 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium showed.

Andrea Wang-Gillam, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, Oncology Division, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, discusses a combination treatment of PF-04136309 with FOLFIRINOX for borderline resectable and locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PC).

Manish A. Shah, MD, talks about a recent phase II study of mFOLFOX paired with the MET inhibitor onartuzumab for the treatment of metastatic, HER2-negative gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEC).

Changing the administration schedule for gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel from weekly to every other week significantly reduced side effects without impacting efficacy as a frontline treatment for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Pamela L. Kunz, MD, assistant professor, Division of Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, discusses the impact of the approval of lanreotide.

The CLARINET study led to the approval of lanreotide (Somatuline Depot) for the treatment of patients with advanced unresectable, metastatic gastrointestinal and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs.)

Patients with advanced, MET-amplified gastroesophageal cancer had a high likelihood of response to an investigational MET inhibitor, results from a preliminary, dose-escalation trial suggested.

Among patients with metastatic gastric cancer treated with the anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody pembrolizumab, the agent showed promising antitumor activity and a manageable toxicity profile.

Chiara Cremolini, MD, discusses findings from the phase III TRIBE trial that combined FOLFOXIRI with bevacizumab as a frontline treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Eric Van Cutsem, MD, PhD of University Hospitals Gasthuisberg/Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, discusses the use of trastuzumab for the treatment of advanced HER2-positive gastric cancer.

Intensifying the chemotherapy component of a standard first-line bevacizumab-containing regimen reduced the risk of death by about 20% and doubled the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

A 'watch and wait' surveillance approach may allow certain patients with rectal cancer to achieve excellent outcomes without immediate surgery.

Patients with newly diagnosed metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who had higher levels of vitamin D in their blood lived a median of 8 months longer and experienced greater disease-free survival after their cancer treatment.

Second-line treatment with the VEGFR2 inhibitor ramucirumab (Cyramza) combined with standard FOLFIRI extended survival by 1.6 months versus FOLFIRI alone in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), according to results from the phase III RAISE trial.

Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses a retrospective study to determine the prognostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are undergoing sorafenib treatment

Ramesh K. Ramanathan, MD, medical director, Clinical Trials Program, Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center, describes the results from an analysis of metabolic response by positron emission tomography (PET) compared with tumor response by computed tomography (CT) from the phase III MPACT trial.

Pamela L. Kunz, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Oncology, Stanford University Medical Center, discusses current and future treatment options for patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

Marc Peeters, MD, PhD, department of oncology, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerpen, Belgium, discusses an analysis of RAS mutations in the phase III study 20050181, which compared panitumumab plus FOLFIRI versus FOLFIRI for second-line treatment of mCRC

Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, discusses the phase II study of a novel transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β1) receptor I kinase inhibitor, LY2157299 monohydrate, in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which was presented at the 2014 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Roberto Bordonaro, MD, discusses first-line treatment options for advanced colorectal cancer (CRC).

Marwan G. Fakih, MD, professor, director, Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, City of Hope, discusses extended RAS mutations in colon cancer.

Studies presented at the 2014 GI Cancers Symposium emphasized the need for full RAS mutational analyses in the management of metastatic colorectal cancer prior to initiating treatment with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies.

Treatment with LY2157299 led to significant reductions in a prespecified biomarker that correlated with increased time to progression and overall survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Add-on treatment with the hedgehog pathway inhibitor vismodegib demonstrated encouraging activity in patients with untreated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Ramesh K. Ramanathan, MD, discusses the potential of identifying actionable targets in appendiceal cancers.

John L. Marshall, MD, from Georgetown University Hospital, on the recent advancements in colorectal cancer.

Robert L. Fine, MD, from the Columbia University Medical Center, discusses the prospective phase II study of CAPTEM for patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

Smitha Krishnamurthi, MD, discusses the results of the RAINBOW TRIAL