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In the phase III DESTINY-Gastric04 trial, use of the antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) was compared head to head with the monoclonal antibody ramucirumab and paclitaxel in patients with previously treated, HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction...
In an interim analysis of the phase III LEAP-015 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Shitara et al examined the survival benefit of adding lenvatinib-pembrolizumab to chemotherapy in patients with advanced/metastatic gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma. Study Details In the open-label...
In a Japanese phase II study (NO LIMIT, WJOG13320G) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kawakami et al evaluated whether first-line nivolumab plus low-dose ipilimumab showed activity in patients with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) advanced gastric/esophagogastric junction ...
Results from an international phase III clinical trial found that treating patients with stage II, III, and IVA resectable gastric cancer and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer with perioperative durvalumab and FLOT chemotherapy (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) helped...
The international phase III DESTINY-Gastric04 clinical trial found that second-line treatment with fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki can help people with advanced HER2-positive gastric cancers that have grown during first-line treatment live about 3 months longer. These findings further support the...
In a French phase III trial (PRODIGE 51-FFCD-GASTFOX) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Zaanan et al found that a modified FLOT (fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) regimen known as TFOX (docetaxel, folinic acid, oxaliplatin, and fluorouracil) improved outcomes vs FOLFOX (folinic acid,...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) released its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) in 1996, covering eight tumor types. Today, guidelines are available for more than 60 tumor types, subtypes, and related topics. During the NCCN’s 30th Annual...
Stomach cancers are increasingly being diagnosed at less advanced, more treatable stages—a shift that marks major progress in detecting one of the deadliest forms of cancer, according to a study presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2025 (Abstract Sa1374). “These trends suggest that...
In an analysis from the phase III RATIONALE-302 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lu et al found that the presence of NOTCH1 mutation was associated with improved overall survival in patients receiving second-line tislelizumab vs investigator’s choice of chemotherapy for advanced...
Neoantigen-specific tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab led to responses among patients with metastatic gastrointestinal cancers, according to the results of a study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health published in Nature...
Neoadjuvant therapy that combines chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and the investigational PD-1 inhibitor sintilimab led to a significantly higher pathologic complete response rate in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, according to data presented at the 2025 ASCO...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted traditional approval to the PD-L1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) with trastuzumab, fluoropyrimidine-, and platinum-containing chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of adults with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic...
A large proportion of individuals may be unaware of the risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and cancer among men, according to a recent consumer survey commissioned by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Zhang et al, final outcomes of the Chinese phase III RESOLVE trial showed improved overall survival with adjuvant S-1 and oxaliplatin (SOX) and perioperative SOX vs adjuvant capecitabine/oxaliplatin (CapOx) in patients with locally advanced gastric or...
In a German phase III trial (ESOPEC) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Hoeppner et al found that perioperative chemotherapy with fluorouracil/leucovorin/oxaliplatin/docetaxel (FLOT) improved overall survival vs preoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients undergoing surgery for locally ...
In a Chinese phase I trial (KYM901) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ruan et al found that CMG901—a first-in-class claudin 18.2–targeting antibody-drug conjugate—had manageable toxicity and activity in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer. CMG901 comprises a...
A genetic mutation long believed to drive the development of esophageal cancer may play a protective role early in the disease, according to a recent study published by Ganguli et al in Nature Cancer. The findings could help physicians identify which patients are at greater risk of developing...
Adding chemoradiation to perioperative chemotherapy improves pathologic complete response rates in patients with resectable gastric cancer but does not extend overall survival, according to data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 20241 and published...
New research may expand on existing evidence that a healthy diet may protect against gastrointestinal cancers and improve disease outcomes, according to a recent study published by Abebe et al in the European Journal of Nutrition. Background Gastrointestinal cancers including esophageal, gastric,...
In an Italian phase III study (ARMANI) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Randon et al found that switch maintenance with ramucirumab/paclitaxel was associated with significantly improved progression-free survival vs continuation of first-line oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy in patients with advanced...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of imatinib (Imkeldi) oral solution, the first oral liquid formulation of the drug to treat certain types of leukemias and other cancers. Background In 2024, an estimated 9,280 patients will be diagnosed with chronic myeloid...
In the final per-protocol analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-811 trial, an overall survival benefit was shown by adding the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab to trastuzumab and chemotherapy in treatment-naive, unresectable, HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.1...
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 in Barcelona featured several groundbreaking trials with the potential to significantly influence clinical practice. These studies highlighted the benefits of new combination immunotherapy strategies and innovative approaches in the...
A phase II clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of a triple combination of radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy in patients with unresectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma found that the therapy was effective in shrinking tumors, allowing for surgery, and ...
In addition to our in-depth analysis of important clinical trials presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, there is always room for more coverage from The ASCO Post, including these brief summaries of other presentations of interest. They focus on a potential...
In a phase IIa study (DisTinGuish) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Klempner et al found that use of the DKK1-neutralizing antibody DKN-01 in combination with tislelizumab and chemotherapy showed activity in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Pavlakis et al, the phase III INTEGRATE IIa study showed improved overall survival with regorafenib plus best supportive care vs placebo vs best supportive care in patients with refractory advanced gastric/esophagogastric junction cancer. Study...
On October 18, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved zolbetuximab-clzb (Vyloy), a claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2)-directed cytolytic antibody, with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of adults with locally advanced unresectable or...
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) announced the introduction of two new risk calculators to inform physician-patient decision-making in thoracic surgery. Engineered using contemporary data from the STS General Thoracic Surgery Database, the interactive tools may provide surgeons with accurate, ...
In the final per-protocol analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-811 trial, an overall survival benefit was shown by adding the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab to trastuzumab and chemotherapy in treatment-naive, unresectable, HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.1...
Investigators have found that administering fluorouracil (5-FU) through continuous infusion and omitting the bolus component in patients undergoing commonly used treatment regimens targeting metastatic gastrointestinal cancers may improve tolerability without reducing treatment efficacy or...
Although esophageal cancer in the United States is relatively rare, affecting about 22,400 people each year and making up about 1% of all cancer cases,1 the disease is common in East and Central Asia countries. Nearly 90% of patients with esophageal cancer in Asia are diagnosed with the squamous...
Although esophageal cancer in the United States is relatively rare—affecting about 22,400 people each year and making up about 1% of all cancer cases—the disease is common in East and Central Asian countries. Nearly 90% of patients with esophageal cancer in Asia are diagnosed with the squamous cell ...
Fecal microbiota transplants may improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy in patients with gastrointestinal cancers, according to a recent study published by Kim et al in Cell Host & Microbe. Background Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized cancer treatment, many patients...
The phase III ESOPEC trial, conducted in Germany, compared two regimens for locally advanced esophageal cancer and found an overall survival benefit with the perioperative FLOT protocol over the neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy CROSS regimen. The results were presented during the Plenary Session of...
In patients with advanced HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer and disease control after oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy, “switch” maintenance with paclitaxel plus ramucirumab in the phase III ARMANI trial significantly improved both progression-free and overall survival,...
Investigators have uncovered the potential benefit of undergoing alcohol rehabilitation and maintaining abstinence in patients with alcohol dependence at risk of developing alcohol-associated cancers, according to a recent study published by Schwarzinger et al in The Lancet Public Health. The...
On November 16, 2023, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was approved with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for first-line treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval ...
As reported in The Lancet by Ken Kato, MD, and colleagues, the Japanese phase III JCOG1109 NExT trial showed that neoadjuvant triplet chemotherapy was associated with superior overall survival vs doublet chemotherapy among previously untreated patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell ...
For patients with locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma that can be treated with surgery, chemotherapy administered before and after surgery improved survival compared to chemoradiotherapy before surgery. The research was presented by Hoeppner et al at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract...
Jens Marquardt, MD, of the University of Lübeck, and Jens Hoeppner, MD, of the University of Bielefeld, discuss findings from the ESOPEC trial, which showed that perioperative chemotherapy (fluorouracii, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, docetaxel) and surgery improves survival in patients with resectable esophageal adenocarcinoma when compared with neoadjuvant chemoradiation (41.4 Gy plus carboplatin and paclitaxel) followed by surgery (LBA1).
In the phase II RELATIVITY-060 study, results of which were reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Susanna Hegewisch-Becker, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of the LAG-3–blocking antibody relatlimab to first-line nivolumab plus chemotherapy did not improve the objective...
In a Chinese phase III trial (CRTCOESC) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jia et al found that neither capecitabine nor XELOX (capecitabine, oxaliplatin) improved 2-year overall survival vs cisplatin/fluorouracil as part of definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with...
A simple oral rinse may lead to early detection of gastric cancer, according to new findings presented by Perati et al at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2024 (Abstract 949) and simultaneously published in Gastroenterology. Background Gastric cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality...
Treatment with the first-in-class PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody cadonilimab plus XELOX (capecitabine, oxaliplatin) chemotherapy demonstrated a survival advantage for patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma as first-line treatment, regardless of PD-L1...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved trastuzumab-strf (Hercessi), a biosimilar to trastuzumab (Herceptin), for the treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer and gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. Trastuzumab-strf is indicated for adjuvant treatment of...
In a French noncomparative phase II trial (PRODIGE 59-FFCD 1707-DURIGAST) reported in JAMA Oncology, Tougeron et al found limited activity of FOLFIRI (leucovorin, fluorouracil, and irinotecan) plus durvalumab or durvalumab/tremelimumab in the second-line treatment of advanced...
The PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody cadonilimab plus chemotherapy improved progression-free and overall survival in patients with untreated, HER2-negative, locally advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer—including those with PD-L1–low tumors—compared with...
In an analysis of 9-year outcomes of a Chinese trial (ESECC) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Liu et al found that endoscopic screening for esophageal cancer was associated with numeric benefit vs no screening in terms of the incidence of esophageal cancer and esophageal cancer–related ...
The combination of the small molecule inhibitor of VEGFR fruquintinib and the chemotherapy paclitaxel presents a potential new second-line treatment of patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, according to data presented during the ASCO Plenary Series: February...