Gastrointestinal Cancer News

BARCELONA — New data presented at the International Liver Congress showed patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection who receive long-term treatment with nucleos(t)ide analogues did not have an increased risk for all cancers. However, a slight increase in the development of colorectal and cervical cancers was observed, suggesting routine screening for these types of cancers among these patients is necessary.

NEW ORLEANS — Alexander Drilon, MD, assistant attending physician with the developmental therapeutics clinic and thoracic oncology service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, presented findings at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting that demonstrated the potential efficacy of the oral anticancer drug entrectinib.

Yoga therapy is an integrative medicine technique that supplements the traditional treatment regimens patients with cancer undergo.

Endoscopic biopsy and endoscopic ultrasound did not perform with sufficient accuracy in detecting pathologic complete response in patients with esophageal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, according to the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

NEW ORLEANS — Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, FRCOG, FACOG, deputy director of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and executive director of the institute’s Center for Immunotherapy, spoke to HemOnc Today at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting about advances in the use of immunotherapy for cancer treatment.

CT colonography performed with a comparable detection rate to flexible sigmoidoscopy as a screening test for colorectal cancer in two randomized clinical trials in Italy.

Fewer perioperative blood transfusions have occurred for oncologic abdominal surgery over the last 9 years, according to results of a retrospective review of a population-based registry.

The cost of oral cancer drugs in their first year on the market has increased significantly since the year 2000, according to a research letter published in JAMA Oncology.

Patients diagnosed with cancer faced an increased risk for common mental disorders — such as depression, anxiety and stress reaction/adjustment disorder — for up to 10 years, according to the results of a matched cohort study conducted in Sweden.

Aspirin use was associated with a 2.7-fold to 3.6-fold decreased risk for developing intrahepatic, perihilar and distal cholangiocarcinoma, according to findings published in Hepatology.