Articles related to Oncology, Surgical

Following treatment of the 40 study patients with bevacizumab and atezolizumab, OS was observed in 4 patients with pNETs (20%) and 3 patients with epNETs (15%). The PFS was 14.9 months and 14.2 months in these cohorts, respectively. The findings suggest that clinical responses in patients with NET may follow treatment with the combination of bevacizumab and atezolizumab, with a PFS consistent with effective therapies.

The authors investigated expression of PD-L1 and V-domain Ig-containing suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) in ACC and their associations with clinicopathological features and survival outcomes. They report that a higher VISTA expression intensity, a larger area, and a higher immunoscore were associated with increased risks of disease progression and overall mortality. However, PD-L1 expression in tumor cells or tumor-infiltrating immune cells was not associated with OS or DFS. The study points to the potential value of VISTA, in addition to PD-L1, as an immunotherapeutic target in ACC.

In the study,155 FDA-approved drugs with 136 potentially targetable genes were identified.One-hundred forty-six (94%) of the drugs showed no or low genetically predicted drug response. Although ATC-carrying BRAF mutations can benefit from BRAF inhibitors and this effect might be enhanced by a combined strategy including PIK3CA inhibitors in some of the patients, alterations in BRAFWT ATC are not directly targeted by currently FDA-approved options.

This is a 1.75-hour credit expert round-table featuring members of UPMC faculty. The group dialogue together on the state-of the art in pancreatic cancer and their experience in biliary stenting including advantages of metal versus plastic stenting, and their experience in recent advances in molecular testing of pancreatic cysts, identifying those patients that will benefit from targeted surveillance of pancreatic cancer, and methods of performing PDAC surveillance and their outcomes. They also discuss prevention and management of post-op complications, and pain control in this population.

Hutchmed’s submission was based primarily on two phase 3 trials conducted in China. Even though a bridging study conducted in the US that suggested safety and efficacy similar to that observed in the Chinese study population, FDA responded that a multiregional clinical trial “more representative of the US patient population and in accordance with US medical practice will be required” for resubmission.

These authors found a “consistent positive association between pre-existing thyroid autoimmunity and higher thyroid cancer risk.” There also appears to be a correlation between thyroid antibody levels and related risk. The association appeared stronger in women than in men. The authors do not recommend screening for thyroid cancer in those with thyroid autoimmunity because of the risk of overdiagnosis.