First-line trifluridine/tipiracil + bevacizumab in patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer: final survival analysis in the TASCO1 study.

Background: Therapeutic options are limited in patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. The use of trifluridine/tipiracil plus bevacizumab (TT-B) in this setting was evaluated in the TASCO1 trial; here, we present the final overall survival (OS) results.

Methods: TASCO1 was an open-label, non-comparative phase II trial.

Trifluridine/tipiracil plus bevacizumab in patients with untreated metastatic colorectal cancer ineligible for intensive therapy: the randomized TASCO1 study.

Background: We designed an open-label, noncomparative phase II study to assess the safety and efficacy of first-line treatment with trifluridine/tipiracil plus bevacizumab (TT-B) and capecitabine plus bevacizumab (C-B) in untreated patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who were not candidates for combination with cytotoxic chemotherapies.

Patients And Methods: From 29 April 2016 to 29 March 2017, 153 patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to either TT-B (N = 77) or C-B (N = 76). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS).

Maintenance treatment with the immunomodulator MGN1703, a Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist, in patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma and disease control after chemotherapy: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Purpose: This phase II study evaluated the synthetic DNA-based immunomodulator and Toll-like receptor 9 agonist MGN1703 as maintenance treatment in metastatic colorectal carcinoma (mCRC).

Methods: Fifty-nine patients with mCRC and disease control after standard first-line chemotherapy were randomised to MGN1703 60 mg (N = 43) or placebo (N = 16).

Results: The hazard ratio (HR) for the primary endpoint [progression-free survival (PFS) from the start of maintenance] was 0.

Caecal diverticulitis, an uncommon mimic of appendicitis.

A 35-year-old man presented with a relatively short history of right iliac fossa pain. With an unremarkable medical history, marginally raised inflammatory markers and examination findings suggestive of acute appendicitis, a preliminary diagnosis was made and the patient listed for laparoscopic appendicectomy. However, intraoperatively, the appendix was deemed normal and, following further exploration, appendicectomy and amputation of an obviously inflamed caecal pole were carried out using a TLC 75 linear stapler.