Gastrointestinal Cancer

The median overall survival was 77.5 months with frontline pembrolizumab vs 36.7 months with chemotherapy in patients with microsatellite instability–high or mismatch repair–deficient metastatic colorectal cancer.

Holly Chitwood, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, AGACNP-BC, shares her real-world experience with circulating-tumor-DNA monitoring in the colorectal cancer setting.

Tammy Triglianos, DNP, ANP-BC, AOCNP, discusses optimal adjuvant treatment approaches for patients with stage III colon cancer.

The FDA has approved pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy to treat adults with locally advanced or metastatic, HER2-negative gastric cancers.

The PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx diagnostic tool will help identify patients with gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma whose disease expresses PD-L1 and who are thereby eligible for pembrolizumab.

The FDA has restricted the indication for gastric cancer to only include patients whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS ≥ 1) as determined by an FDA-approved test.

The median progression-free survival with cabozantinib was 8.3 months vs 3.2 months with placebo among patients with extra-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

The FDA has approved pembrolizumab in combination with chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic biliary tract cancer.

Sotorasib plus panitumumab showed consistent efficacy across key subgroups of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Cancer screening tests may not extend life expectancy; however, they still are valuable for public health.

The approval of FoundationOne CDx as a companion diagnostic for selpercatinib seeks to broaden access to therapies for patients with RET fusion–positive solid tumors.

Nivolumab plus chemotherapy offers patients with gastric and esophageal cancers a reduced risk of symptom burden and a longer time to deterioration.

Immuno-oncology regimens were linked with improved long-term survival among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Lorazepam was associated with worse survival outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer, while alprazolam was associated with improved outcomes.

It is essential to continue to develop and incorporate educational strategies to increase screening for colorectal cancer in our communities.

Circulating tumor DNA analysis is playing an increasingly important role in colorectal cancer treatment decision-making.

The median disease-free survival with GVAX vaccine plus low-dose cyclophosphamide; GVAX plus cyclophosphamide and nivolumab; and GVAX plus cyclophosphamide, nivolumab, and urelumab, was 13.90 months, 26.1 months, and 31.6 months, respectively.

The FDA has approved the therascreen PDGFRA kit to identify patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors who may benefit from treatment with avapritinib.

Magnetic resonance-based imaging alone was 40% accurate in positively predicting pathologic complete response in patients with rectal adenocarcinoma undergoing total neoadjuvant therapy.

A triplet regimen of trifluridine, tipiracil, and bevacizumab has been approved as a treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma who received rivoceranib/camrelizumab achieved a median progression-free survival of 5.6 months vs 3.7 months with sorafenib.

Trastuzumab deruxtecan elicited a confirmed objective response rate of 42% in patients with HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer, according to findings from the phase 2 DESTINY-Gastric02 trial.

By 3 months postsurgery, most older patients with colon or rectal cancer had achieved functional recovery.

The FDA has granted priority review to the biologics license application for zolbetuximab as a treatment for patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

The median overall survival with intra-arterial gemcitabine was 15.7 months vs 10.1 months with intravenous gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel.

Tucatinib was first approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive advanced unresectable or metastatic breast cancer in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine on April 17, 2020.

Mitazalimab and modified FOLFIRINOX produced a 57% objective response rate among patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in the frontline setting.

FOLFOX was associated with lower rates or diarrhea and bowel dysfunction, but higher rates of fatigue, anxiety, nausea, and neuropathy, in data from the phase 2/3 PROSPECT trial.

The FDA has launched a priority review of fruquintinib as treatment for adult patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer.

Adverse experiences, such as smoking and experiencing physical abuse, do not necessarily decrease the frequency of colorectal cancer screenings.