Latest Conference Articles

Proinflammatory cytokines were elevated in patients with melanoma undergoing the combination treatment of radiation therapy and the systemic anti–CTLA-4 immunotherapy, ipilimumab.

Abnormal thyroid function tests were reported in up to 15% of patients treated with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab.

Coexisting mutations in BRAF and TERT may be associated with an aggressive phenotype and higher recurrence rates for patients with locally advanced well-differentiated thyroid cancers.

The recent American Thyroid Association guidelines to abstain from cytological evaluation by biopsy for patients with thyroid cancer on the basis of having thyroid nodules ≤1 cm is not advisable.

Kimberly L. Johung, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Therapeutic Radiology, Gastrointestinal Cancer Program, Yale Cancer Center, discusses a study that examined the prognosis of patients with ALK-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer and brain metastases.

Pazopanib demonstrated significant clinical activity for patients with RAI-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer; however, a predictive biomarker for the therapy could not be uncovered.

Researchers have identified molecular markers in medullary thyroid cancer that were associated with response to vandetanib and the development of metastases.

Stephen Huang, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the challenges of pediatric thyroid cancer.

Dual targeting of BRAF V600E–positive papillary thyroid carcinoma with the anti-BRAF V600E agent vemurafenib and the angiogenesis inhibitor sorafenib showed promising clinical activity.

Marcia Brose, MD, PhD, associate professor of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses survival benefit and possible combination strategies with the lenvatinib in patients with radioactive iodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.

The use of radiation therapy has declined despite evidence demonstrating it is often more beneficial than single-agent chemotherapy or observation-alone in patients with low-grade follicular lymphoma.

Pablo Valderrabano, MD, Clinical Research Fellow at Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses molecular markers in thyroid nodules and their connection to cancer incidence.

Aditi Kumar, MD, endocrinology fellow at the University of Mississippi, discusses aggressive multimodal therapy in anaplastic thyroid cancer. A study conducted at the Mayo Clinic, where Kumar was previously a fellow, looked at 29 patients with stage IV, A, B and C anaplastic thyroid cancer, a rare form of thyroid cancer with poor outcomes. Often, patients are not treated at this stage, as options are limited and toxicities from treatments can be high, says Kumar.

The oral multikinase inhibitor cabozantinib showed promise as a second- or third-line therapy in patients with advanced radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.

The progression-free survival benefit with lenvatinib in radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer was observed across common sites of metastasis.

A large survey of endocrinologists found wide variation in management strategies for thyroid nodules that were frequently misaligned with current guidelines, particularly for biopsies by fine-needle aspiration.

Umamaheswar Duvvuri, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology (ENT) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, talks about potential genetic signatures for locally advanced, well differentiated thyroid cancers.

Manisha Shah, MD, Professor of Oncology at Ohio State University Medical Center, College of Medicine discusses cabozantinib in patients with radioiodine- refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.

Pamela L. Kunz, MD, assistant professor of Medicine (Oncology), Stanford University School of Medicine, discusses the potential of immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

Everolimus improved progression-free survival by 7.1 months compared with placebo in patients with lung/gastrointestinal (GI) neuroendocrine tumors, representing a 52% reduction in the risk of progression or death.

Lu-Dotatate demonstrated an unprecedented 79% reduction in the risk of progression or death compared with high-dose octreotide LAR in patients with progressive, metastatic midgut neuroendocrine tumors.

James C. Yao, MD, professor, Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses results of the RADIANT-4 study, which examined the safety and efficacy of everolimus in advanced nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of lung or gastrointestinal origin.

Lowell B. Anthony, MD, professor of Medicine, University of Kentucky, discusses patient exit interviews from the phase III placebo-controlled TELESTAR trial, which evaluated telotristate epitrate in patients with inadequately controlled carcinoid syndrome.

Telotristat etiprate, a novel serotonin synthesis inhibitor, helped reduce daily bowel movements for patients with carcinoid syndrome no longer responding to standard-of-care therapies.

Combining the chemotherapy streptozotocin with drugs that target the mTOR pathway may be an effective way to treat pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

The efficacy of several predictive markers previously thought to determine which patients might respond to temozolomide-based therapy could not be validated for patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Jonathan R. Strosberg, MD, medical oncologist, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, section head, Neuroendocrine Division, chair, Gastrointestinal Department Research Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses results of the phase III NETTER-1 trial for midgut neuroendocrine tumors.

Full surgical resection of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors is associated with a greater than 90% survival rate at five years.

Eric Liu, MD, FACS, surgeon, neuroendocrine tumors, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, discusses some of the most recent medical advancements in the field of neuroendocrine tumors.

David C. Metz, MD, gastroenterologist, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, associate chief, Medical Affairs, Division of Gastroenterology, discusses the increasing incidence of neuroendocrine tumors.