Gastrointestinal Cancer

This review covers symptoms and complications in patients with late-stage pancreatic cancer, including venous thromboembolism, anorexia-cachexia, pain, and depression.

Optimal supportive care for patients with pancreatic cancer is essential. Putting these interventions into practice requires that oncologists and oncology teams incorporate innovations at both the individual and the system level.

FDA approval of palliative chemotherapy is largely based on disease-free and overall survival, quality of life, and symptom reduction; the latter should be routinely measured by the treating oncologist. Physician assessments of symptoms underreport symptom severity compared to patient-reported symptom assessments.

Colorectal cancer patients testing positive for Lynch Syndrome on MSI and IHC were most likely to seek genetic counseling when contacted by a genetic counselor.

In a new study, researchers found that higher body mass index was associated with a risk of CTNNB1-negative colorectal cancer, while higher physical activity was associated with a lower risk for this type of disease.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved the multi-kinase inhibitor regorafenib (Stivarga) yesterday, for the treatment of patients with unresectable metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) that no longer respond to imatinib and sunitinib.

Assigning patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) to undergo surgical resection of residual tumor after disease control with maintenance imatinib was beneficial to patient survival, according to the results of a retrospective study presented at the ASCO 2013 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

An international group of researchers have collaborated on an unbiased genome-wide analysis of colorectal cancer, coming up with three distinct molecular subtypes that are potentially clinically relevant and are varying in their biology and clinical outcomes.

An oral fluoropyrimidine, S-1, used as an adjuvant therapy in Japanese patients with resected pancreatic cancer has shown an improved overall survival compared with the standard adjuvant therapy gemcitabine (Gemzar).

The same week that bevacizumab (Avastin) received a new indication for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, results from two phase III trials involving the drug were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2013 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI) held January 24–26 in San Francisco.

In this interview we discuss the latest treatments and research for gastrointestinal cancers with Dr. Cathy Eng, associate professor, department of gastrointestinal medical oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Adding the chemotherapy docetaxel to active symptom control in advanced esophagogastric adenocarcinoma improves survival of patients. These are the results of the phase III COUGAR-02 trial.

The use of imatinib mesylate preoperatively for a maximum of 12 months resulted in a high rate of complete microscopic resection in a group of patients with marginally resectable gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), according to the results of a phase II trial.

Using a large genome-wide study of more than 28,000 individuals, three new genetic links to colorectal cancer have been identified, holding the potential for new therapeutic targets.

Researchers have developed a relatively simple breath analysis testing volatile organic compounds that may one day be used as a way to screen for colorectal cancer.

A new study shows two chemotherapy drugs prevalent in the clinic-gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil-may influence the immune response in a way that facilitates tumor growth.

Colon cancer patients whose diet consists more of carbohydrates and foods that cause high blood-sugar levels had an increased risk of cancer recurrence and death, according to a new study.

We describe areas where major inroads were initially achieved by targeting angiogenesis and by unraveling pathways in the heterogeneous tumors of mesenchymal origin-spurred by the identification of c-Kit–activating mutations in GIST and the regressions that ensued when tumors harboring these mutations were exposed to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib (Gleevec).

Treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) with regorafenib after prior treatment failure with both imatinib and sunitinib resulted in a PFS survival benefit for patients across all prespecified subgroups.

Maintenance therapy with a new immunomodulator agent called MGN1703 improves progression-free survival over placebo in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, according to a new study presented at the ESMO 2012 Congress.

The FDA has approved the multikinase inhibitor regorafenib (Stivarga) to treat patients with colorectal cancer that has metastasized following previous treatment.

A new oral treatment is showing promise in relapsed, refractory colorectal cancer. Patients given TAS-102, an antitumor agent, showed improved survival and reduced risk of death compared to those given a placebo.

Researchers in Germany have found that longer-term follow-up would still lower risk of colorectal cancer development among patients who had an adenoma detected and removed.

As we look forward, we suggest that the priority should be to further our understanding of the tumor’s interactions with its microenvironment and with the immune system. We think that such an understanding will be critical for advances in locally advanced rectal cancer therapy.

The preferred integrated treatment modality for locally advanced rectal cancer is preoperative radio(chemo)therapy followed by total mesorectal excision, though certain aspects of this standard are still debated.