Gastrointestinal Cancer

Ramesh K. Ramanathan, MD, discusses the potential of identifying actionable targets in appendiceal cancers.

John L. Marshall, MD, from Georgetown University Hospital, on the recent advancements in colorectal cancer.

Robert L. Fine, MD, from the Columbia University Medical Center, discusses the prospective phase II study of CAPTEM for patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

Smitha Krishnamurthi, MD, discusses the results of the RAINBOW TRIAL

Single-agent neoadjuvant capecitabine combined with radiation therapy demonstrated similar outcomes as previously established standards of care for patients with stage II or stage III rectal cancer.

The combination of ramucirumab and paclitaxel resulted in a significant prolongation in survival and gains in quality of life when compared to paclitaxel alone for the second-line treatment of patients with metastatic gastric cancer.

Combining two specific anti-cancer vaccines, rather than administering one as monotherapy, doubles the 1-year survival probability in patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), according to the results of a phase II study presented January 14.

An analysis of phase III, second-line data has shown that RAS mutations beyond KRAS exon 2 are negative predictive biomarkers for the EGFR-inhibitor panitumumab in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Margaret A. Tempero, MD, director, Pancreas Center, University of California, San Francisco, gives an overview of new therapies for pancreatic cancer.

Several new drugs have recently shown promise for the treatment of gastric cancer, including rilotumumab, ramucirumab, and anti-HER2 agents, according to a presentation at the 2013 Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium.

The addition of albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel; Abraxane) to standard treatment with gemcitabine significantly lengthens survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, researchers report.

Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPH, director, Gastrointestinal Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the use of aspirin for the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer.

Ramucirumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets VEGFR-2, significantly prolonged survival in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma following progression on first-line therapy, according to results from the phase III REGARD study published in The Lancet.

Margaret A. Tempero, MD, director, Pancreas Center, University of California, San Francisco, discusses the outlook for immunotherapies in pancreatic cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death among African Americans. The CRC mortality rate among African Americans is 29.8% compared with 19.5% among Caucasians.

Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPH, director, Gastrointestinal Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the potential of targeting the c-MET receptor to treat gastrointestinal cancers.

Forty percent of cases of colorectal cancer may be prevented if patients at average risk for the disease undergo a screening colonoscopy every 10 years

The ability of clinicians to improve treatment outcomes that gemcitabine offers for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer is expected to move forward now that the FDA has approved a new indication for nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) as part of a combination regimen, according to researchers.

Paul Ruff, MD, director of Medical Oncology at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, discusses the decision regarding the timing of treatment with aflibercept for patients with colorectal cancer.