Trastuzumab Deruxtecan-nxki in HER2-Positive Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: DESTINY-CRC01
In the phase II DESTINY-CRC01 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Salvatore Siena, MD, and colleagues found that trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki produced durable responses in patients with previously treated HER2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer. Study Details In the trial, 78 patients from...
Addition of Celecoxib to Standard Adjuvant Therapy in Stage III Colon Cancer
��As reported in JAMA by Jeffrey A. Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, FASCO, and colleagues, the phase III CALGB/SWOG 80702 (Alliance) trial has shown no disease-free survival benefit with the addition of the cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitor celecoxib to standard adjuvant therapy in patients with stage III...
Risk of Colorectal Cancer and Colorectal Polyps in First-Degree Family Members
Researchers have demonstrated a possible connection between colorectal polyps in close relatives and the risk of developing colorectal cancer. The study, which was published by Song et al in the British Medical Journal, is of potential consequence for cancer screening procedures. Colorectal cancer...
Addition of Neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX to Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Thierry Conroy, MD, and colleagues, the French phase III UNICANCER-PRODIGE 23 trial has shown that intensification of preoperative therapy with FOLFIRINOX (oxaliplatin, irinotecan, leucovorin, fluorouracil [5-FU]) prior to chemoradiotherapy resulted in improved ...
Study Explores Rates of Germline Mutations in Patients With Colorectal Cancer
In a recent study published by Uson Junior et al in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, researchers found one in six patients with colorectal cancer had an inherited cancer-related genetic mutation, which may be linked to a predisposition to the disease. In addition, the researchers...
National Survey Finds Average-Risk Individuals Prefer Stool-Based Tests Over Colonoscopy for Colorectal Cancer Screening
A national survey conducted by Zhu et al to identify patient preferences among colorectal cancer screening modalities to improve population adherence to colorectal cancer screening has found, when presented with a choice, most individuals with an average risk of colorectal cancer prefer stool-based ...
FDA Pipeline: Recent Designations in Urothelial Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Cholangiocarcinoma, and More
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued regulatory decisions related to treatments for urothelial cancer, cervical cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, solid tumors, and colorectal cancer. Acceptance of Two Supplemental Biologics License Applications for Enfortumab Vedotin-ejfv in...
First-Line Pembrolizumab vs Chemotherapy for MSI-H or dMMR Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Health-Related Quality of Life
In an analysis from the phase III KEYNOTE-177 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Thierry André, MD, and colleagues found that pembrolizumab was associated with clinically meaningful improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) compared with chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of...
Estimated Shifts in Cancer Incidence and Death Over Next 2 Decades
In the next 2 decades, rankings of incidence and death across cancer types in the United States will undergo important changes, according to new research published by Lola Rahib, PhD, and colleagues in JAMA Network Open. The study estimates that pancreatic cancer is on course to become the...
Patients of Different Races With Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Exhibit Distinct Genetic Features
Racial differences in genetic mutations were observed among patients with early-onset colorectal cancer, according to data presented by Andreana N. Holowatyj, PhD, MS, during the virtual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2021 (Abstract 101). The incidence of early-onset ...
FDA Approves New Dosing Regimen for Cetuximab in Colorectal Cancer, Head and Neck Cancer
On April 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new dosage regimen for cetuximab (Erbitux) of 500 mg/m2 as a 120-minute intravenous infusion every 2 weeks for patients with KRAS wild-type, EGFR-expressing colorectal cancer or squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. This...
Does Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food and Drink Increase Colorectal Cancer Risk?
Consumption of ultra-processed food and drink could increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer. This was the conclusion of a large study published by Romaguera et al in Clinical Nutrition based on questionnaires about food behaviors completed by around 8,000 people in Spain. The study, the...
Solving the Mystery of Why Colorectal Cancer Is on the Rise in Young Adults
Excluding skin cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most prevalent and lethal cancer among both men and women in the United States.1 Although the risk of developing colorectal cancer increases with age—more than 90% of cases occur in people aged 50 or older2—recent research shows that the...
Molecular Testing in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Understanding How, When, and What to Profile
“In line with the emergence of targeted therapies, molecular biomarker testing in metastatic colorectal cancer has evolved over the past decade,” noted Jeanne Tie, MD, MBChB, FRACP, who acknowledged there is confusion about the best ways to use molecular testing in the clinic. Dr. Tie, who is...
Fam-Trastuzumab Deruxtecan-nxki Shows Benefit in Refractory Colorectal Cancer
Having recently gained approval in metastatic breast cancer, fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) is now proving its worth in metastatic colorectal cancer, according to results of the phase II DESTINY-CRC01 study in patients with HER2-positive disease.1 T-DXd is an antibody-drug conjugate...
KEYNOTE-177: New Analysis Confirms Benefit of Pembrolizumab vs Chemotherapy in Microsatellite Instability–High Advanced Colorectal Cancer
In an updated analysis of the pivotal phase III KEYNOTE-177 trial of pembrolizu-mab for microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer, the benefit of first-line pembrolizumab continued beyond disease progression on the subsequent line of treatment, despite a high crossover to ...
Treating Colorectal Cancer in the Time of COVID-19
The treatment of colorectal cancer has always been something of an art—but never more so than during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spring of 2020, The ASCO Post asked three experts in this malignancy to share their concerns and their approaches to achieving good patient outcomes while minimizing...
KRAS Mutation Status May Predict Outcomes After Hepatic Arterial Infusion Pump Therapy for Unresectable Colorectal Liver Metastases
KRAS mutational status in patients with unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer predicts a worse response to hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) pump chemotherapy, according to research presented by Kolbeinsson et al at the Society of Surgical Oncology 2021 International Conference on...
Circulating Hybrid Cells May Help to Monitor Treatment Response in Patients With Rectal and Esophageal Cancers
An analysis of 58 peripheral blood specimens from patients with rectal and esophageal cancers demonstrated that circulating hybrid cells may be a novel, noninvasive biomarker with potential for monitoring treatment response and disease progression to help guide decisions for further therapy,...
Use of Chemotherapy and Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease in Colorectal Cancer Survivors
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Akushevich et al found that receipt of chemotherapy was associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease in colorectal cancer survivors. As stated by the investigators, “Evidence on the nature of the relationship between...
Using CT Colonography as a Noninvasive Colorectal Cancer Screening Test for Advanced Neoplasia
According to a report published by Pickhardt et al in the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), compared with multitarget stool DNA and fecal immunochemical tests, computed tomography (CT) colonography using a polyp size threshold ≥ 10 mm most effectively targeted advanced neoplasia—preserving...
Complete Mesocolic Excision vs D2 Dissection in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Colectomy for Right-Sided Colon Cancer
In an analysis of early safety outcomes in a Chinese phase III trial (RELARC) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Xu et al found similar surgical complication rates with complete mesocolic excision vs D2 dissection in patients undergoing laparoscopic colectomy for right-sided colon cancer. The...
KEYNOTE-177: New Analysis Confirms Benefit of Pembrolizumab vs Chemotherapy in Microsatellite Instability–High Advanced Colorectal Cancer
In an updated analysis of the pivotal phase III KEYNOTE-177 trial in microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer, the benefit of first-line pembrolizumab continued beyond disease progression on the subsequent line of treatment, despite a high crossover to immunotherapy for...
Addition of Primary Tumor Resection to Chemotherapy for Asymptomatic Primary Colorectal Cancer Tumors and Synchronous Unresectable Metastases
In a Japanese phase III trial (JCOG1007; iPACS) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kanemitsu et al found that the addition of primary tumor resection to chemotherapy did not improve overall survival vs chemotherapy alone in patients with asymptomatic primary colorectal cancer tumors and...
Expert Point of View: Michael J. Overman, MD
The study’s invited discussant, Michael J. Overman, MD, Professor of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, said the findings of the study presented by Henriksen et al1 add to a convincing body of data showing that “the use of circulating...
Predicting Postoperative Recurrence in Stage I to III Colorectal Cancer With Circulating Tumor DNA
Patients with stage I to III colorectal cancer who have a high risk for recurrence may be identified by serial testing of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) after resection, according to a study in which ctDNA proved more reliable than carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) surveillance or standard radiologic...
Delay in Time Between Abnormal At-Home Screening and Colonoscopy May Increase Colorectal Cancer Risk
At-home tests, which measure blood in stool as a potential marker for colon cancer, are often used for colorectal cancer screening. Usage of these tests has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as patients try to avoid clinical visits. However, effectiveness of these screening tools, along with...
Study Shows Aspirin Use Before Diagnosis May Lower Colorectal Cancer Mortality
A recent study found that long-term aspirin use before a diagnosis of colorectal cancer may be associated with lower colorectal cancer–specific mortality. The report, published by Figueiredo et al in JNCI: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, suggests that the findings for prediagnosis...
Socially Distant Drive-by FluFIT Clinics May Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates Among Black Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Administering colorectal cancer screening kits through a socially distant drive-by flu vaccination clinic increased access to colorectal cancer screening among Black Americans, according to results presented by Washington et al at the AACR Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer (Abstract S02-04)....
Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Plus Cytoreductive Surgery for Colorectal Cancer Metastases Does Not Improve Overall Survival
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Quénet et al, the French phase III PRODIGE 7 trial has shown that the addition of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) to cytoreductive surgery did not improve overall survival—and was associated with an increase in postoperative late...
Adjuvant Doublet Chemotherapy for High-Risk Stage II Colorectal Cancer: 3- or 6- Month Duration?
In an analysis of data from the IDEA collaboration reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Timothy J. Iveson, MD, FRCP, and colleagues found that 3 months (vs 6 months) of adjuvant CAPOX (capecitabine and oxaliplatin) may be a potential treatment option for patients with high-risk colorectal...
New Clinical Calculator May Predict Recurrence Risk After Curative Colectomy for Colon Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Weiser et al have developed a "third-generation" clinical calculator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), which incorporates molecular and clinicopathologic characteristics and provides an accurate prediction of disease recurrence...
FDA Pipeline: Priority Reviews for Immunotherapies in Gastric Cancers, Anal Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted Priority Review to nivolumab as either adjuvant or first-line therapy in several types of gastric cancers, as well as to a novel PD-1 inhibitor for locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal. The FDA also...
Addition of Vemurafenib to Irinotecan/Cetuximab in Previously Treated Patients With BRAF V600E–Mutant Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
In a phase II trial (SWOG S1406) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of vemurafenib to irinotecan and cetuximab significantly improved progression-free survival in previously treated patients with BRAF V600E–mutant metastatic...
Duration of Adjuvant Chemotherapy Assessed in Stage III Colon Cancer
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Thierry André, MD, of Sorbonne Université and Hôpital Saint Antoine, Paris, and colleagues, the prospective pooled analysis of six phase III trials in the IDEA collaboration has shown that noninferiority in overall survival for 3 vs 6 months of adjuvant...
High Recurrence-Free Survival Rates in Rectal Cancer After Clinical Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Laura M. Fernandez, MD, of Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, and colleagues found high rates of conditional recurrence-free survival during watch-and-wait surveillance among patients with rectal cancer who maintained a clinical complete response to...
Tenna V. Henriksen, PhD Candidate, on Colorectal Cancer: Circulating Tumor DNA Analysis to Improve Treatment
Tenna V. Henriksen, PhD Candidate, of Aarhus University, discusses her findings on how circulating tumor DNA may help assess recurrence risk and the benefit of adjuvant therapy, and more quickly detect early relapse after treatment in patients with colorectal cancer (Abstract 11).
Prevalence of KRAS G12C Somatic Mutations by Cancer Type, Race, and Sex
In a study reported in a letter to the editor in The New England Journal of Medicine, Nassar et al identified the prevalence of the formerly “undruggable” KRAS G12C mutation across tumor types, race, and sex. As stated by the investigators, a recently reported early-phase clinical trial has shown...
Anti–PD-1 Therapy Dostarlimab for dMMR Gastrointestinal Cancers: Safety and Efficacy Examined
Dostarlimab, a monoclonal antibody targeting PD-1, showed strong and durable antitumor activity in patients with mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) gastrointestinal tumors in the phase I GARNET study, reported Thierry André, MD, of Sorbonne Université and Hôpital Saint Antoine, Paris, and colleagues...
Kai-Keen Shiu, MD, PhD, on Colorectal Cancer: Pembrolizumab vs Chemotherapy for Microsatellite Instability–High Disease
Kai-Keen Shiu, MD, PhD, of the University College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - London, discusses an interim analysis of PFS 2 results (defined as time from random assignment to progression on the next line of therapy or death) from the phase III KEYNOTE-177 trial. This study has already shown that first-line pembrolizumab provides a clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement in PFS compared with chemotherapy in patients with microsatellite instability–high metastatic colorectal cancer (Abstract 6).
Romain Cohen, MD, PhD, on Colon Cancer: Prognostic Value of Tumor Deposits
Romain Cohen, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic and Sorbonne University, discusses a post-hoc analysis of phase III results from the CALGB/SWOG 80702 study, which showed that adding the number of tumor deposits, a negative prognostic factor, to the count of lymph node metastases may improve the accuracy of TNM staging (Abstract 10).
Postsurgical Disease Recurrence in Stage I to III Colorectal Cancer May Be Predicted by ctDNA
Patients with stage I to III colorectal cancer and a high risk for disease recurrence may be identified by serial testing of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) after resection, according to a study in which ctDNA was more reliable than carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) surveillance or standard radiologic...
Study Finds Artificial Intelligence May Help to Identify New Risk Factors for Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer
Electronic health record–based artificial intelligence may help uncover new risk factors in the development of early-onset colorectal cancer, according to study findings presented by Parker et al at the AACR Virtual Special Conference: Artificial Intelligence, Diagnosis, and Imaging (Abstract...
Adding Oxaliplatin to Fluoropyrimidine for Patients With Stage III Colon Cancer and Microsatellite Instability
In a pooled analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cohen et al found that the addition of oxaliplatin to fluoropyrimidine was associated with improved overall and disease-free survival in patients with stage III colon cancer with microsatellite instability (MSI). They also found the ...
Rates of Eligible People Missing Timely Cancer Screenings: A Canadian Analysis
New research published by Abdel-Rahman in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found more than one-third of eligible people miss timely screening tests for colorectal cancer, and at least one-quarter appear to miss timely screening tests for breast and cervical cancers....
Total Neoadjuvant Therapy vs Standard Therapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Kasi et al found that total neoadjuvant therapy was associated with improved pathologic complete response rates vs standard therapy with neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy plus adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with...
Final Overall Survival Results of the IDEA Collaboration: 3 vs 6 Months of Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage III Colon Cancer
Thierry André, MD, and colleagues reported the prospective pooled analysis of six phase III trials in the IDEA collaboration in The Lancet Oncology. The analysis showed that noninferiority in overall survival for 3 vs 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy was not established in patients with stage III...
Intensity of Active Surveillance in Patients With Rectal Cancer Managed With a Watch-and-Wait Approach
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Fernandez et al found high rates of conditional recurrence-free survival during watch-and-wait surveillance among patients with rectal cancer who maintained clinical complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for 1, 3, or 5 years. Study Details In the...
