EAU20 Virtual

In this episode (12.08 minutes), Medicom’s correspondent covers 6 presentations from the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO-GI 2023), held in San Francisco (CA, US) from 19-21 January, 2023. The topics discussed are: New standard-of-care for colorectal cancer The phase 3 SUNLIGHT trial demonstrated that bevacizumab plus trifluridine/tipiracil significantly improved overall survival and progression-free survival compared with trifluridine/tipiracil as a single…

Medicom interviewed Kathy Oliver, the Chair and a founding Co-Director of the International Brain Tumour Alliance (IBTA), a not-for-profit organisation that advocates for better treatments, information, support, and quality of life for people affected by brain and central nervous system tumours. She is also involved in a wide range of high-level, multi-stakeholder policy initiatives and is a frequent speaker at…

In patients with rectal cancer, neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT), followed by atezolizumab and bevacizumab resulted in an encouraging complete response rate. The findings of this phase 1 study, presented at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium of 2023, held in San Francisco (CA, USA) from 19 to 21 January, demonstrate that total mesorectal excision (TME) may be prevented in a significant proportion…

Single fraction radiation therapy (RT) outperformed best supportive care (BSC) in reducing hepatic pain in patients with either end-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or liver metastasis. Moreover, the authors reported a trend towards improved survival for patients receiving RT. The results were presented as a late-breaking abstract during the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers symposium of 2023, held in San Francisco (CA, USA) from 19…

Dear reader, Please start the new year with our congress report of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Here are some key points: Checkpoint inhibitors are relevant in the neo-adjuvant treatment of early triple-negative breast cancer. Whether targeting both PD-L1 and Lag-3 (a new target) is superior to single targeting remains to be seen. Trastuzumab deruxtecan outperforms other current…

Residual tumours from Black patients with ER-positive/HER2-negative primary breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy have a higher score of a biomarker of distant metastatic recurrence than tumours from White patients. Black patients with breast cancer have 40% higher death rates compared with White patients [1]. In line with this, Black race is associated with a higher risk of distant recurrence…

Chemo-endocrine therapy has a greater negative effect on cancer-related cognitive impairment compared with endocrine therapy alone in both pre- and postmenopausal women, results from the RxPONDER PRO substudy showed. Breast cancer treatment is associated with cancer-related cognitive impairment. However, the effect of endocrine therapy versus chemotherapy followed by endocrine therapy (chemo-endocrine therapy) is not well understood, nor is the impact…

In vitro studies using DNA barcoded cell-lines demonstrated that resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors is likely due to the expansion of pre-existing resistant clones, suggesting that targeting resistance upfront could delay the acquisition of clinical resistance. Multiple mechanisms of acquired resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors have been identified in clinical and pre-clinical studies [1]. It remains unknown if these mechanisms are pre-existing…

A single assessment of the circulating tumour cell (CTC) count before the start of treatment can guide the treatment decision between chemotherapy and single-agent endocrine therapy in HR-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, results from the STIC CTC trial showed. An elevated number of CTCs (≥5/7.5 mL) is an adverse prognostic factor for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients…

In women carrying a germline pathogenic variant for breast cancer, like BRCA1, BRCA2, or CHEK2, the risk for contralateral breast cancer is also increased, data from a sub-analysis of the CARRIERS study shows. Currently, the precise influence of germline pathogenic variants in ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2, and PALB2 as well as the effects of factors like age, menopausal status, race/ethnicity,…