Gastrointestinal Cancer

All improvements in outcomes for patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma have occurred with the use of cytotoxic agents, which will probably remain the mainstay of treatment for advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Gemcitabine monotherapy has been the standard of care for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer for several decades. Despite recent advances in various chemotherapeutic regimens and in the development of targeted therapies, metastatic pancreatic cancer remains highly resistant to chemotherapy.

In light of two recent positive clinical trials for advanced pancreatic cancer, we are currently facing an interesting situation that those of us who treat this disease have not had to deal with previously: what to do with this expanding array of choices?

Researchers have developed a new online risk assessment tool that can accurately estimate an individual’s risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Researchers have identified a potential new method for treating pancreatic cancer, using calcium to overload pancreatic cancer cells and, thus, induce cell death in cancerous cells while sparing healthy cells.

In a new study using mice, researchers show that targeting the protein BMI-1 in colorectal cancer can eliminate the self-renewing cell population and lead to long-term inhibition of tumor growth.

A decreased diversity of gut microbiota was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, according to the results of a new study.

Patients who exhibited certain clusters of symptoms after undergoing surgery for esophageal cancer were at an increased risk for mortality, according to the results of a prospective Swedish cohort study.

Trends in pancreatic mortality have gone in opposite directions for blacks and whites during the last few decades, a pattern which cannot be explained by known risk factors, according to researchers from the American Cancer Society.

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente were able to achieve complete histopathologic response in more than 40% of initially unresectable patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma who underwent prolonged preoperative chemotherapy and were subsequently able to undergo surgical resection.

In this podcast, we discuss whether all male colorectal cancer patients over the age of 60 should be screened for prostate cancer.

The surgical strategies of “classic, reversed, or combined” resection of colorectal cancer and colorectal liver metastases have to be tailored to a specific patient, and all three strategies have a role in the treatment of stage IV colorectal cancer today.

There is limited data available to guide decision making in the management of colorectal liver metastases. Despite a trend toward increased use of perioperative chemotherapy, others have questioned the role of this approach in patients with solitary lesions and a longer disease-free interval.

In a good percentage of patients who have oligometastatic disease confined to a single organ-usually the liver-complete metastasectomy can result in cure. However, once the decision to pursue surgery is made, there remain a number of issues that must be addressed in order to ensure the best possible outcome.

Patients with a high body mass index prior to being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer had reduced survival from the disease and were more likely to present with late-stage cancer, according to the results of a recently published study.

The two drug combination of cetuximab plus brivanib alaninate worsened quality of life and did not improve overall survival in patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer.

No difference in overall survival was seen for surgery with or without FOLFOX4 in patients with initially resectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer, according to the results of a new study.

We discuss colorectal cancer screening with two gastroenterologists, including results from two recently published studies showing long-term effects of screening.

A prospective trial needs to be done in order to create a safe and responsible environment in which to offer patients the watch-and-wait option for rectal cancer.

We also propose that limiting the watch-and-wait strategy to patients with T1/T2N0 rectal cancer and using adequate T staging with MRI will result in improvements in local control and patient outcomes.

Once a patient has been appropriately educated by an informed healthcare provider about the possible benefits of PSA screening, then patient preference as part of shared decision making regarding PSA screening should be considered in all cases.

It may be appropriate to offer prostate cancer screening to carefully selected men with a previous history of colorectal cancer. However, the risks and benefits of establishing the diagnosis in this setting need to be considered and discussed with them.

Not all patients with colorectal cancer are candidates for such screening, however, as a remaining life expectancy of at least 10 years is generally required in order for PSA screening to yield a significant mortality benefit.

This article reviews current evidence in support of a watch-and-wait approach to rectal cancer management, and discusses the challenges and limitations of this approach.

Kinder, gentler cancer therapy is neither of those things if it fails to be as effective in controlling the cancer. When an area of completely clinically regressed cancer is excised, there is commonly residual cancer present.