March 29th 2023
Co-editor-in-Chief Howard S. Hochster, MD, highlights the most exciting developments from the 2023 Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium hosted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Study Suggests Need to Develop Therapeutic Modalities to Target Early-Onset Appendiceal Cancer
December 26th 2020This study indicated that appendiceal cancer diagnosed among younger individuals harbors a distinct genomic landscape, as compared with appendiceal cancer diagnosed among older individuals.
FDA Grants Priority Review to Pembrolizumab Plus Chemo for Advanced Esophageal or GEJ Cancer
December 17th 2020The FDA granted priority review to a new supplemental biologics license application for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancer.
UDCA May Be Associated with Reduction of Biliary Tract Cancer, Need for Liver Transplantation
November 24th 2020Data from a Japanese cohort of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis suggested ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) was significantly associated with reduced mortality or need for liver transplantation and was also likely to be associated with a reduction of biliary tract cancer.
FDA Grants Priority Review to Trastuzumab Deruxtecan for HER2+ Metastatic Gastric, GEJ Cancer
October 28th 2020The FDA granted priority review to the supplemental biologics license application for trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.
Phase 3 ORIENT-32 Trial Shows Promise for First-Line Treatment Combo in HCC
September 28th 2020The study is evaluating the efficacy and safety of sintilimab injection in combination with bevacizumab biosimilar injection compared to sorafenib in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
Compared to Standard of Care, HAIC Demonstrates Better Safety and Efficacy in Unresectable HCC
September 24th 2020Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin significantly improved overall survival compared with transarterial chemoembolization in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.
Adding Nivolumab to Chemo Improves PFS, Elicits Higher ORR in Gastric/GEJ Cancers
September 24th 2020The addition of nivolumab (Opdivo) to chemotherapy resulted in a statistically significant improvement in PFS and evoked higher ORRs in patients with previously untreated advanced or recurrent gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer.
Phase 3 CheckMate-649 Study Sees Promising Survival Benefit with Frontline Nivolumab, Chemo Combo
September 22nd 2020The combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and chemotherapy led to a statistically significant survival benefit among previously untreated patients with PD-L1–positive advanced gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma.
Phase 3 KEYNOTE-590 Trial Finds Pembrolizumab, Chemo Combo Effective for Advanced Esophageal Cancer
September 21st 2020Frontline pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival, progression-free survival, and objective response rates compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic esophageal cancer.
Trial Evaluating Nivolumab for Patients with Esophageal Cancer Meets Primary End Point of DFS
August 11th 2020Bristol Myers Squibb’s CheckMate-577 trial, which evaluated nivolumab to treat patients with resected esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer, met the primary end point of disease-free survival.
Effect of Lifestyle Factors and Garlic Supplementation on Gastric Cancer Incidence
July 20th 2020This study found that smoking was associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer incidence and mortality, while not drinking was correlated with a stronger beneficial effect of garlic supplementation on gastric cancer prevention.
FDA Issues Complete Response Letter for Pembrolizumab plus Lenvatinib in Unresectable HCC
July 8th 2020Merck and Eisai announced that the FDA issued a complete response letter to its accelerated approval applications for the combination use of pembrolizumab plus lenvatinib to treat patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.