CHICAGO—New research on treatments for advanced gastrointestinal cancers was discussed today at a press briefing at the 43
rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
“Treating late-stage cancers of the digestive tract is very challenging,” said A. William Blackstock, MD, professor of radiation oncology at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and moderator of the press briefing. “Today we’ll hear about the first effective, systemic treatment for advanced liver cancer, as well as some important new treatment options for advanced colorectal cancers.”
Study findings include:
- The targeted therapy sorafenib (Nexavar) helps patients with advanced liver cancer live about 44 percent longer—a significant advance in the management of liver cancer, the third leading cause of cancer death globally.
- Chemotherapy given prior to and following surgery to remove liver metastases in patients with colorectal cancer significantly reduces the risk of cancer recurrence.
- Adding the monoclonal antibody cetuximab (Erbitux) to the standard first-line chemotherapy combination reduced the risk of metastatic colorectal cancer growth or spread by 15 percent.
For consumer-oriented information on these studies and more than 120 cancer types and cancer-related syndromes, please refer your readers to ASCO’s oncologist-vetted patient Web site, www.plwc.org.
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