April 8th 2024
The liquid biopsy combining miRNA and CA19-9 had the best validation rates for detecting pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
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Equalizing Inequities™ in Multiple Myeloma Care: Shining a Light on Current Barriers and Opportunities for Improved Outcomes
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Medical Crossfire®: Critical Questions on Diagnosis, Sequencing, and Selection of Systemic and Radioligand Therapy Options for Patients with GEP-NETs
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Community Practice Connections™: 8th Annual School of Gastrointestinal Oncology®
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2024 Miami International Symposium of Gastrointestinal Oncology (ISGIO)
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Community Oncology Connections™: Overcoming Barriers to Testing, Trial Access, and Equitable Care in Cancer
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The Next Wave in Biliary Tract Cancers: Leveraging Immunogenicity to Optimize Patient Outcomes in an Evolving Treatment Landscape
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Community Practice Connections™: 5th Annual Precision Medicine Symposium – An Illustrated Tumor Board
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Gemcitabine/Irinotecan/Celecoxib in Pancreatic Cancer
December 4th 2004Unresectable pancreatic cancer has few therapeutic options and adismal prognosis. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression is increasedat the RNA and protein levels in most human pancreatic cancers. Thepurpose of this trial was to determine whether the addition of a COX-2inhibitor to chemotherapy was beneficial. To date, 11 patients with inoperablepancreatic cancer have been treated with the combination ofgemcitabine (Gemzar), irinotecan (Camptosar), and celecoxib(Celebrex) at 400 mg orally twice daily. Encouraging pain relief, improvementin performance status, and decreases in CA 19-9 andcarcinoembryonic antigen levels have been observed.
From the results of recent studies, it is likely that multimodality therapy with chemotherapy and radiation treatment may improve the overall outcome of locally advanced upper gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies, including esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, and biliary tract carcinomas. However, more effective, more optimal, and less toxic chemotherapy regimen(s) with concomitant radiotherapy are needed beyond the concurrent continuous-infusion fluorouracil (5-FU) with radiation that is commonly applied in general practice. Epirubicin (Ellence), cisplatin, and irinotecan (Camptosar) are all active cytotoxic chemotherapy agents in upper GI cancers. Two phase I studies were designed to test the tolerability of the combination of radiotherapy with infusional 5-FU, epirubicin, and cisplatin (ECF) or 5-FU, irinotecan, and epirubicin (EIF) in the treatment of locally advanced upper GI malignancies.
Pemetrexed in Pancreatic Cancer
November 2nd 2004Single-agent gemcitabine (Gemzar) is the standard of chemotherapyfor advanced pancreatic cancer, with no phase III trials to date havingshown significantly improved survival with gemcitabine-based combinationsvs single-agent treatment. The multitargeted antifolate agentpemetrexed (Alimta) shows synergistic effects in vitro in combinationwith gemcitabine, and activity and good tolerability when used as singleagenttreatment in advanced pancreatic cancer. In a phase II trial inpatients with advanced pancreatic cancer, the combination ofgemcitabine at 1,250 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 plus pemetrexed at 500mg/m2 on day 8 after gemcitabine every 21 days resulted in a mediansurvival of 6.5 months and a 1-year survival rate of 29%. Neutropeniawas the primary toxicity, with grade 4 toxicity in 51% of patients. Thepromising results of this trial prompted the initiation of a phase IIItrial comparing gemcitabine at 1,000 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, and 15 every28 days vs the 21-day gemcitabine/pemetrexed regimen given with vitaminsupplementation in patients with pancreatic cancer. The primaryoutcome measure was overall survival, with secondary measures includingresponse rate, progression-free survival, and quality of life.While an increase in response and time to progression was reported forthe gemcitabine/pemetrexed combination, there were no significantdifferences in survival between treatment arms.
GEMOX Shows Significant Clinical Benefit vs Gemcitabine in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
September 1st 2004The 30 reports in this special supplement to Oncology News International represent highlights of ongoing major clinical trials and new research presented at ASCO 2004 regarding state-of-the-art chemotherapeutic management of gastrointestinal and other cancers. Important developments in capecitabine as adjuvant therapy, novel targeted agents, and new combinations are discussed.
Early Results Promising for Autologous HSP Vaccine in Pancreatic Cancer
March 1st 2004This special "annual highlights" supplement to Oncology News International is a compilation of some of the major advances in the management of gastrointestinal cancers during 2003–2004, as reported in ONI. Guest editor Dr. James L. Abbruzzesecomments on the reports included herein and discusses advances in the clinical management of GI cancers, with a focus on developments in targeted therapy, newcombinations, adjuvant therapy, and what to watch for in 2004.
Intraoperative RT Useful in Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer
March 1st 2004This special “annual highlights” supplement to Oncology News International is acompilation of some of the major advances in the management of gastrointestinalcancers during 2003–2004, as reported in ONI. Guest editor Dr. James L. Abbruzzesecomments on the reports included herein and discusses advances in the clinicalmanagement of GI cancers, with a focus on developments in targeted therapy, newcombinations, adjuvant therapy, and what to watch for in 2004.
Celecoxib Plus Chemotherapy Promising in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
March 1st 2004This special "annual highlights" supplement to Oncology News International is a compilation of some of the major advances in the management of gastrointestinal cancers during 2003–2004, as reported in ONI. Guest editor Dr. James L. Abbruzzesecomments on the reports included herein and discusses advances in the clinical management of GI cancers, with a focus on developments in targeted therapy, newcombinations, adjuvant therapy, and what to watch for in 2004.
Aspirin Raised Pancreatic Ca Risk in Large Nurses’ Study
March 1st 2004This special “annual highlights” supplement to Oncology News International is acompilation of some of the major advances in the management of gastrointestinalcancers during 2003–2004, as reported in ONI. Guest editor Dr. James L. Abbruzzesecomments on the reports included herein and discusses advances in the clinicalmanagement of GI cancers, with a focus on developments in targeted therapy, newcombinations, adjuvant therapy, and what to watch for in 2004.
New Combinations, Increased Use of Markers Predicted in GI Cancers
March 1st 2004This special “annual highlights” supplement to Oncology News International is acompilation of some of the major advances in the management of gastrointestinalcancers during 2003–2004, as reported in ONI. Guest editor Dr. James L. Abbruzzesecomments on the reports included herein and discusses advances in the clinicalmanagement of GI cancers, with a focus on developments in targeted therapy, newcombinations, adjuvant therapy, and what to watch for in 2004.
Radiation Sensitizers and Targeted Therapies
December 1st 2003Chemotherapeutic agents that are highly responsive to ionizing radiationand enhance the effectiveness of radiation treatment are termedradiation sensitizers. Radiation sensitizers act in a number of ways tomake cancer cells more susceptible to death by radiation than surroundingnormal cells, and several such compounds are now available forthe treatment of solid tumors. This review discusses the biology thatunderlies chemotherapy and radiation interactions for oneradiosensitizerSMQ-8212-SMQgemcitabine (Gemzar). It also provides a brief assessmentof how to modify treatment regimens for various cancers to maximizethe radiosensitization potential of gemcitabine in order to furtherincrease efficacy. Newer molecularly targeted agents and their antitumorpotential as monotherapy or in combination with radiation arealso reviewed.
Aspirin Raised Pancreatic Ca Risk in Large Nurses’ Study
December 1st 2003PHOENIX, Arizona-Chronic regular aspirin use may dramatically increase women’s risk of pancreatic cancer, according to results from a prospective study of 88,378 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study, one of the largest US studies of major risk factors for chronic disease.
Update on Combined-Modality Treatment Options for Pancreatic Cancer
December 1st 2003Cancer of the pancreas remains a formidable challenge in oncology.This malignancy ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer deathin the United States in 2003, with an estimated 30,700 new cases to bediagnosed and 30,000 deaths. Although gains have been achieved inthe clinical management of these patients, this malignancy is rarelycurable. Long-term survival is limited to patients undergoing resection.For patients with localized but unresectable malignancy, radiationtherapy combined with fluorouracil, gemcitabine (Gemzar), orpaclitaxel has shown modest improvements in survival and symptompalliation. However, there has been significant progress in the diagnosticevaluation of pancreatic cancer patients, which has aided cliniciansin caring for these patients and in selecting therapies. The use ofcomputed tomography, endoscopic ultrasonography, and laparoscopytechniques will be discussed. Newer techniques of radiation therapy,such as intraoperative electron-beam radiation therapy and threedimensionalconformal radiation therapy, with the integration of newbiologically targeted agents may provide new avenues of research andprogress in this disease.
Irinotecan and Fixed-Dose-Rate Gemcitabine in Advanced Pancreatic and Biliary Cancer: Phase I Study
September 1st 2003It is a continuing challenge for oncologists to effectively treatadvanced/metastatic pancreatic and biliary cancer. Both irinotecan(CPT-11, Camptosar) and gemcitabine (Gemzar) have shown activityagainst these diseases with different mechanisms. Preclinical andclinical data also suggest additive or synergistic effects of the combinationof these two agents with few or no overlapping toxicities. Phosphorylationof gemcitabine, a process of intracellular activation of theagent, is dose-rate dependent. It has been suggested that the fixed-doserateinfusion of gemcitabine increases the concentration of intracellulartriphosphate gemcitabine, which in turn may result in more objectiveresponses and longer median survival compared to the standard infusion.This phase I study tests the toxicity of the combination of irinotecanwith fixed-dose-rate infusion of gemcitabine, and determines thedose of the combination for phase II investigation.
Erlotinib/Gemcitabine Ups Survival in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
March 2nd 2003This special “annual highlights” supplement to Oncology News International (ONI)is a compilation of selected news on important advances in the management ofgastrointestinal cancers over the past year, as reported in ONI. Guest Editor, Dr.James L. Abbruzzese, comments on the reports included herein and discussesdevelopments in the clinical management of GI cancers, with a look at the impactof targeted agents with cytotoxic chemotherapy, first-line and adjuvant therapies foradvanced disease, and the role of statins and COX-2 inhibitors in prevention.
SuperGen Submits First NDA Module for Pancreatic Cancer Drug
February 1st 2003DUBLIN, California-Super-Gen Inc. has begun submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for Orathecin, an oral camptothecin, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer patients who are refractory/resistant to available therapies. The submission will occur on a rolling basis and is ex-pected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2003. The submission will contain data on more than 2,700 patients treated under Orathecin study protocols, the company said in a news release.
Telomerase Potential Cancer Biomarker
February 1st 2003SEATTLE-Telomerase may be an early biomarker of pancreatobiliary malignancies, and telomerase enzyme immunostaining represents a potential breakthrough in screening for and diagnosing cancer in patients with biliary strictures, Tarun Mullick, MD, said at the president’s plenary session of the 67th Annual Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG abstract 3).
Pancreatic Cancer: Epidemiology, Genetics, and Approaches to Screening
December 1st 2002Drs. Konner and O’Reilly have provided a thorough review of current perspectives on pancreatic cancer. The disease is lethal, difficult to diagnose in its early stages, and resistant to standard chemotherapy regimens. Surgery can be curative if performed when the tumor is small (< 2 cm), but only a minority of patients have small tumors.
Pancreatic Cancer: Epidemiology, Genetics, and Approaches to Screening
December 1st 2002The review by Drs. Konner and O’Reilly addresses a number of important issues in pancreatic cancer. Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is a devastating disease,[1] not only because it will occur in approximately 30,000 Americans this year, and perhaps 200,000 people worldwide, but also because of its high associated mortality. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the least treatable and, therefore, most lethal of all cancers. Fully 95% of all patients with an established diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas will die of their disease.
Pancreatic Cancer: Epidemiology, Genetics, and Approaches to Screening
December 1st 2002Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Treatment has limited efficacy, and 5-year survival rates remain less than 5%. Insights from epidemiology and discoveries in molecular genetics have laid
Docetaxel Plus Gemcitabine Promising in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
November 1st 2002ORLANDO-In a randomized multicenter phase II study of advanced pancreatic carcinoma by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Gastrointestinal Cancer Group, the combination of docetaxel (Taxotere) and gemcitabine (Gemzar) was "promising" relative to docetaxel/cisplatin (Platinol), Manfred P. Lutz, MD, of University Hospital, Ulm, Germany, said at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (abstract 498).
Taxoprexin Pivotal Studies Begin in Melanoma and Pancreatic Cancer
November 1st 2002KING OF PRUSSIA, Pennsylvania-Protarga, Inc. has received comments from the FDA that allow it to proceed with two separate phase III clinical studies of its new cancer drug Taxoprexin Injection (DHA-pacli-taxel) for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and pancreatic cancer. Taxoprexin is made by linking the fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to paclitaxel, the company said in a news release.
Pemetrexed/Gemcitabine Promising in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
September 1st 2002ORLANDO-The combination of pemetrexed (Alimta) and gemcitabine (Gemzar) is active in pancreatic cancer with acceptable toxicity and a promising 32% 1-year survival rate, according to an oral presentation at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (abstract 499).
Pemetrexed/Gemcitabine Promising in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer
September 1st 2002ORLANDO-The combination of pemetrexed (Alimta) and gemcitabine (Gemzar) is active in pancreatic cancer with acceptable toxicity and a promising 32% 1-year survival rate, according to an oral presentation at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (abstract 499).
Role of Octreotide in Pancreatic Cancer
September 1st 2002Cancer of the pancreas is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Of the 28,000 patients diagnosed each year, more than 95% will die of pancreatic cancer. Therefore, the focus of therapy for most patients is palliative care. In fact, the most active single-agent therapy for advanced disease-gemcitabine (Gemzar)-was first compared to fluorouracil (5-FU) with relief of disease symptoms as a primary end point. However, the survival with gemcitabine remains approximately 6 months for advanced disease, and no new agent, either alone or in combination, has exceeded this time frame in phase III study.
Current Status of Gastroenteropancreatic Tumor Management
September 1st 2002Gastroenteropancreatic tumors, although relatively rare, present management problems that may last many years, in comparison with the usually more aggressive adenocarcinomas whose management may encompass a far briefer span of time. In general, 50% of such tumors are insulinomas, while gastrinomas comprise 25%, and nonfunctional tumors 20% VIPomas and glucagonomas are the predominant lesions of the remaining 5%. Clinical diagnosis is usually made on the presence of the classical symptom complex. In uncertain circumstances or covert presentations, the critical diagnostic biochemical test is plasma chromogranin A as well as measurement of the specific peptide.
First Test to Monitor Pancreatic Cancer Receives FDA Clearance
July 1st 2002Fujirebio Diagnostics recently announced that its CA 19-9 radioimmunoassay for monitoring of pancreatic cancer patients received marketing clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The CA 19-9 radioimmunoassay is the first