Gastrointestinal Cancer News

The FDA has awarded 21 clinical research grants for orphan drugs, encompassing more than $23 million during the course of the next 4 years, to develop products for patients with rare diseases, according to a press release.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network Oncology Research Program announced it awarded a grant to study the efficacy of an immunotherapeutic drug and other therapeutic methods as it relates to hepatocellular carcinoma.

A data linkage study from New South Wales, Australia showed hepatitis B-associated hepatocellular carcinoma rates declined in recent years, whereas hepatitis C-associated HCC rates increased.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark —The addition of irinotecan to FOLFOX chemotherapy and bevacizumab improved response rates and prolonged PFS for the first-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer, according to results of the randomized phase 2 CHARTA trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

Delaying surgical resection by 85 to 98 days from completion of chemoradiotherapy was associated with an increased likelihood of pathologic complete response in patients with esophageal cancer, according to data published in JAMA Surgery.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The addition of nintedanib to best supportive care appeared safe and significantly extended PFS in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that is refractory to standard therapies, according to results of the phase 3 LUME-colon 1 study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The addition of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy to surgery extended OS in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, according to phase 3 study results presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The addition of olaparib to paclitaxel demonstrated a trend toward an OS benefit in patients with advanced gastric cancer independently of ATM protein status, according to results of the phase 3 GOLD trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance has updated its Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set quality measures for colorectal cancer screening in response to the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force guidelines, which supported viable alternatives to colonoscopy in an effort to increase flatlining screening rates.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The HemOnc Today and Healio.com/HemOnc team will present comprehensive live coverage from the annual ESMO congress.