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Gastrointestinal Cancer
Genomics/Genetics

Avapritinib vs Other Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors for PDGFRA D842V–Mutated Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Data from a study published by Margaret von Mehren, MD, and colleagues in BMC Cancer showed that avapritinib, a platelet-derived growth factor receptor A (PDGFRA) inhibitor, has a “clinically meaningful benefit” for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) with PDGFRA D842V...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer
Neuroendocrine Tumors

Lenvatinib for Previously Treated Advanced Pancreatic and Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors

In a phase II trial (TALENT; GETNE1509) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jaume Capdevila, MD, and colleagues found that lenvatinib produced durable responses in patients with previously treated advanced grade 1 or 2 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Study Details In the...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Grants Accelerated Approval to Pembrolizumab Combination for HER2-Positive Gastric Cancer

On May 5, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with trastuzumab plus fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Gastroesophageal Cancer
Hepatobiliary Cancer
Immunotherapy

More From the FDA ODAC: Votes on Agents for Pretreated Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Gastric Cancer

More news has emerged from this week’s meeting of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC). The group voted 8 to 0 in favor of continuing the accelerated approval for pembrolizumab in sorafenib-pretreated patients with hepatocellular carcinoma; 6 to 2...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Pipeline: Bemarituzumab Granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for FGFR2b-Overexpressing, HER2-Negative Gastric Cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to bemarituzumab as first-line treatment for patients with fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (FGFR2b)-overexpressing and HER2-negative metastatic and locally advanced gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Approves Nivolumab in Combination With Chemotherapy for Metastatic Gastric Cancer and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nivolumab (Opdivo) in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. CheckMate 649 The efficacy of the...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Adjuvant Nivolumab for Resected Esophageal or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy: CheckMate 577

As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Ronan J. Kelly, MBBCh, MBA, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III CheckMate 577 trial has shown a significant improvement in disease-free survival with adjuvant nivolumab vs placebo in patients with resected esophageal or...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Anesthesiologist Volume and Adverse Short-Term Outcomes After Complex Surgery for Gastrointestinal Cancer

In a Canadian study reported in JAMA Surgery, Hallet et al found that higher anesthesiologist volume was associated with reduced risk of short-term adverse postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing complex surgery for gastrointestinal cancer. Study Details The population-based cohort study...

solid tumors
gastrointestinal cancer
genomics/genetics

Vivek Subbiah, MD, on RET Fusion–Positive Cancers: Efficacy of Selpercatinib

Vivek Subbiah, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses data on selpercatinib that showed promising activity across a variety of RET fusion–positive cancers, including treatment-refractory gastrointestinal malignancies. This analysis highlights the need for genomic profiling to identify actionable oncogenic drivers.

colorectal cancer
gastrointestinal cancer

Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, and Axel Grothey, MD, on Liquid Biopsies for Colorectal and Other GI Cancers

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Discrepancies in HER2 Assessment for Metastatic Gastric Cancer

In the German VARIANZ study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Haffner et al found discrepancies between findings in central and local testing of HER2 status in patients with metastatic gastric cancer. In addition, survival outcomes among patients treated with trastuzumab were better...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Pembrolizumab in Microsatellite Instability–High Advanced Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer

In an analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Joseph Chao, MD, and colleagues found improved outcomes with pembrolizumab treatment in patients with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer, irrespective of line of treatment. The findings suggest that...

gastroesophageal cancer
gastrointestinal cancer
immunotherapy

Mary F. Mulcahy, MD, and Crystal S. Denlinger, MD, on NCCN Guidelines Updates: Gastric and Esophageal Cancers

Crystal S. Denlinger, MD, of Fox Chase Cancer Center, and Mary F. Mulcahy, MD, of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, discuss biomarkers for determining treatment; immune checkpoint inhibitors; when to employ such treatments as platinum/fluoropyrimidine and fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki; and other second- or later-line therapies such as paclitaxel, ramucirumab, irinotecan-based regimens, and trifluridine/tipiracil.

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Health-Care Policy

Medicaid Expansion Is Associated With Earlier Diagnosis of Gastric Cancer, Improved Survival

Medicaid expansion caused a decrease in uninsured patients and led to an earlier diagnosis of gastric cancer with an associated increase in 1-year survival, according to research presented by Zhu et al at the Society of Surgical Oncology 2021 International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Adjuvant Nivolumab in Resected Esophageal or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer Following Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Therapy

Adjuvant nivolumab is the first therapy to provide a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in disease-free survival in patients with resected esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancer, according to research presented by Guillaume Piessen, MD, PhD, and colleagues at...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Expert Point of View: Rutika Mehta, MD, MPH

The FIGHT study’s invited discussant, Rutika Mehta, MD, MPH, a gastrointestinal oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, noted the emergence of new biomarkers and their targeted agents in HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer. Two important ones are FGFR2b—now...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Targeting FGFR2b With Bemarituzumab Plus Chemotherapy in Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer

Gastric cancer appears to have a new druggable target: fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (FGFR2b). Targeting FGFR2b with bemarituzumab plus chemotherapy led to clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in progression-free survival, overall survival, and response rate in...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Expert Point of View: Elizabeth Smyth, MD

The overall survival benefit for PD-L1 CPS ≥ 5 tumors in CheckMate 649 is a game-changer. An oxaliplatin doublet plus chemotherapy should become a standard of care for these patients,” according to Elizabeth Smyth, MD, an oncology consultant at Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Nivolumab Plus Chemotherapy: New Standard of Care in Advanced Gastric Cancer?

As first-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer, nivolumab plus chemotherapy leads to significantly improved progression-free and overall survival over chemotherapy alone, investigators reported during a Presidential Symposium of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress ...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

ASCO Names Advance of the Year: Molecular Profiling Drives Progress in Gastrointestinal Cancers

Molecular profiling allows clinicians to identify the molecular and genetic signatures that help to deliver treatments that are highly specific to a tumor. This tool has made possible a number of advances in the past year that are improving care for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. In...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

IMbrave150 Trial: Atezolizumab Plus Bevacizumab Improves Survival in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Richard S. Finn, MD, of Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues, the phase III IMbrave150 trial has shown that anti–PD-L1 plus anti-VEGF therapy with...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Novel Therapies and New Indications for Use in the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Cancers

The past year has witnessed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a number of novel drugs and new indications for treating patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. A summary of these approvals is provided herein. Nivolumab plus ipilimumab: On March 10, 2020, the FDA granted...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Two Studies Validate Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy With Short-Course Radiotherapy or Long-Term Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

In the treatment of resectable, locally advanced rectal cancer, researchers are trying to identify the most effective chemotherapy regimens, the best radiotherapy approaches, and the optimal sequence of these modalities. Two phase III trials presented during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Gastrointestinal Oncology Highlights 2020–2021 Almanac

Cancers of the digestive tract account for 338,090 new cases and 169,280 deaths annually in the United States. Although the overall mortality from these cancers is decreasing, this has been countered by an increase in the incidence of colorectal cancer in young adults. The rising incidence and poor ...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Sara Schottenstein Foundation, Dedicated to Gastric Cancer, Announces Launch

A science-focused organization dedicated to ending gastric cancer, the Sara Schottenstein Foundation recently announced its launch and its new website, http://www.saraschottensteinfoundation.org. Founded by Jeff Schottenstein, MBA, a wealth management professional in San Francisco, the Sara...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Outcomes of Complex Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgeries at Ranked vs Nonranked Hospitals

Patients whose procedures for gastrointestinal malignancies were performed by a surgical team at a hospital ranked as one of America’s “best” by U.S. News & World Report were nearly two and half times more likely to survive the operation than those who had the same procedure done at a nonranked ...

Breast Cancer
Bladder Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Hepatobiliary Cancer
Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee to Review Status of Six Indications Granted Accelerated Approval

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the agency will hold a public meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee on April 27 to 29 to discuss six indications granted accelerated approval that have since reported results from confirmatory trials that have not...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Study Reports Little Benefit to Adding Pembrolizumab to Neoadjuvant Therapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

The addition of pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy (ie, total neoadjuvant therapy) failed to improve a rectal cancer–specific surrogate for survival in patients with locally advanced disease in the phase II NRG-GI002 trial.1 As reported at the 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Long-Term Follow-up of Adjuvant Imatinib for Localized Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Final analysis of a collaborative intergroup study confirmed the efficacy of adjuvant treatment with imatinib in patients with localized gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) in terms of prolonged relapse-free survival. In the high-risk subgroup, there was a trend toward a better long-term imatinib ...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

ASCO Names Advance of the Year: Molecular Profiling Drives Progress in Gastrointestinal Cancers

Molecular profiling allows clinicians to identify the molecular and genetic signatures that help to deliver treatments that are highly specific to a tumor. This tool has made possible a number of advances in the past year that are improving care for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. In...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

FGFR2 Inhibitor Infigratinib Active in Chemotherapy-Refractory Cholangiocarcinoma

The novel targeted agent infigratinib (BGJ398) showed clinically meaningful activity against chemotherapy-refractory cholangiocarcinoma in patients with fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR2) fusions and rearrangements. The confirmed overall response rate was 23% (34% confirmed/unconfirmed), the ...

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Updated Findings Bolster the Use of Checkpoint Inhibitors in Treatment of Liver Cancer

Although optimal regimens are still being determined, checkpoint inhibition has clearly established itself in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, as judged by the number of abstracts on the topic at the 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. The ASCO Post brings readers short summaries of ...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Addition of Andecaliximab to mFOLFOX6 in First-Line Treatment of HER2-Negative Advanced Gastric Cancer

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Manish A. Shah, MD, and colleagues, the phase III GAMMA-1 trial showed no improvement in overall survival with the addition of andecaliximab to modified oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and fluorouracil (mFOLFOX6) in the first-line treatment of...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Expert Point of View: John C. Krauss, MD

The invited discussant of the GARNET study, John C. Krauss, MD, Medical Oncology Director of the Multidisciplinary Colorectal Cancer Clinic, Rogel Cancer Center of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, observed that “impressive” response rates to dostarlimab were demonstrated in a “relatively...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Anti–PD-1 Antibody Dostarlimab Active in Mismatch Repair–Deficient Gastrointestinal Tumors

Dostarlimab, a monoclonal antibody targeting PD-1, showed antitumor activity in patients with mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) gastrointestinal tumors in the phase I GARNET study, reported at the 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium by Thierry André, MD, of Sorbonne University and Saint-Antoine...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Genomics/Genetics
Issues in Oncology
COVID-19

ASCO Names Advance of the Year: Molecular Profiling Drives Progress in Gastrointestinal Cancers

Molecular profiling allows clinicians to identify the molecular and genetic signatures that help to deliver treatments that are highly specific to a tumor. This tool has made possible a number of advances in the past year that are improving care for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. In...

Immunotherapy
Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Colorectal Cancer
Bladder Cancer
Skin Cancer
Sarcoma
Hepatobiliary Cancer

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...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Colorectal Cancer
Gastroesophageal Cancer

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...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Bemarituzumab Plus Chemotherapy Improves Outcomes in Advanced Gastric/Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer

Gastric cancer has a new target: fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (FGFR2b). Targeting FGFR2b with bemarituzumab plus chemotherapy led to clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in progression-free survival, overall survival, and response rates in the randomized phase II ...

gastrointestinal cancer

Rutika Mehta, MD, MPH, on Gastric Cancer: Adjuvant Chemotherapy With S-1 and Docetaxel

Rutika Mehta, MD, MPH, of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, discusses the 3-year regression-free and overall survival results from the JACCRO study, which compared the efficacy of S-1, an oral prodrug of fluorouracil, vs S-1 plus docetaxel after curative resection of stage III gastric cancer (Abstract 159).

gastrointestinal cancer
issues in oncology

Afsaneh Barzi, MD, PhD, on Disparities in Access to Screening and Treatment of GI Cancers

Afsaneh Barzi, MD, PhD, of the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Southern California, discusses reasons for the incomplete understanding of the molecular landscape of minority patients with cancer, lack of screening chief among them. This underrepresentation, Dr. Barzi says, is more marked in gastrointestinal malignancies than other solid tumors, and she recommends ways to improve the outlook.

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Length of Hospital Stay With Laparoscopic vs Open Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer

In the Dutch LOGICA trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, van der Veen et al found that laparoscopic gastrectomy was not associated with shorter hospital stay vs open gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer. Study Details In the trial, conducted at 10 sites in the Netherlands,...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Approves Fam-Trastuzumab Deruxtecan-nxki for Previously Treated Patients With HER2-Positive Gastric Cancers

On January 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu) for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma who have received a prior trastuzumab-based regimen....

gastroesophageal cancer
gastrointestinal cancer
immunotherapy

Zev A. Wainberg, MD, on Gastric/Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma: Bemarituzumab and FOLFOX

Zev A. Wainberg, MD, of UCLA Medical Center, discusses phase II results from the FIGHT study, which combined bemarituzumab with modified FOLFOX6 in first-line treatment of advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. This is reportedly the first randomized trial of any FGFR inhibitor, validating this target in gastric cancer (Abstract 160).

Gastrointestinal Cancer

Study Focuses on Single-Cell Analysis of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis

Researchers profiled more than 45,000 individual cells from patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis and defined the extensive cellular heterogeneity, as well as identified two distinct cell subtypes correlated with patient survival. The findings were published by Wang et al in Nature Medicine....

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Symptom Management

Initiative to Increase Referrals of Patients With Gastrointestinal Cancer to a Specialized Rehabilitation Program

In a single-institution study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Nadler et al describe the development of an intervention at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, that succeeded in increasing referrals of patients with gastrointestinal cancer to a cancer rehabilitation program. As stated by the ...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Avelumab Maintenance vs Continued Chemotherapy After First-Line Induction for Advanced Gastric Cancer

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Markus Moehler, MD, and colleagues, the phase III JAVELIN Gastric 100 trial showed no improvement in overall survival with avelumab maintenance vs continued chemotherapy after first-line induction in HER2-negative, unresectable, locally advanced or ...

Lung Cancer
Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Pipeline: Priority Reviews in NSCLC, Gastric Cancer

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to a PD-1 inhibitor for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and also granted Priority Review to a HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugate for patients with...

Lung Cancer
Kidney Cancer
Leukemia
Solid Tumors
Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer
Prostate Cancer
Genomics/Genetics
Immunotherapy

FDA Pipeline: Priority Reviews in EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer, Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma; Fast Track Designations in CLL and Solid Tumors

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to treatments for EGFR-mutant lung cancer and advanced renal cell carcinoma; granted Fast Track designation to agents in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors; and more....

Hematologic Malignancies
Immunotherapy
Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer

FDA Pipeline: Designations for Treatments of Rare Blood Cancer, B-Cell Malignancies, and Gastric Cancers

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to an antibody-drug conjugate for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN); gave Fast Track designation to a novel chimeric antigen...

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