Patient Preferences for Metastatic Prostate Cancer Treatment: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

Background: To examine the preference weightings for risk/benefit attributes of therapy in metastatic prostate cancer (mPC) patients, encompassing hormone-sensitive (mHSPC) and castration-resistant (mCRPC) settings.

Patients And Methods: A noninterventional cross-sectional survey employing a discrete choice experiment was conducted, recruiting 200 mHSPC and 100 mCRPC patients within 5 years of diagnosis from the urology and oncology specialty clinics between Feb 2023 and Jul 2023. Patients were randomized into 2 blocks of 9 questions, choosing 1 out of 2 medication profiles consisting 5 attributes, each with 3 levels, determined from a group interview of 5 patients.

Expert consensus on the optimal management of BRAF-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer in the Asia-Pacific region.

The burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) is high in the Asia-Pacific region, and several countries in this region have among the highest and/or fastest growing rates of CRC in the world. A significant proportion of patients will present with or develop metastatic CRC (mCRC), and BRAF-mutant mCRC represents a particularly aggressive phenotype that is less responsive to standard chemotherapies. In light of recent therapeutic advances, an Asia-Pacific expert consensus panel was convened to develop evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with BRAF-mutant mCRC.

Effectiveness and safety of continuous low-molecular-weight heparin versus switching to direct oral anticoagulants in cancer-associated venous thrombosis.

Given the existing uncertainty regarding the effectiveness and safety of switching from low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) to direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with cancer-associated venous thrombosis (CAT), we conducted a comprehensive population-based cohort study utilizing electronic health database in Hong Kong. A total of 4356 patients with CAT between 2010 and 2022 were included, with 1700 (39.0%) patients switching to DOAC treatment.

Recent Advances in Systemic Therapy for Advanced Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: The incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCCA) is rising around the world. The disease is becoming a major global health issue. Conventionally, most patients with cholangiocarcinoma present with advanced disease and systemic therapy is the mainstay of treatment.

Multicentre phase II trial of cabozantinib in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment.

Background & Aims: Prospective data on treatment after immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are lacking. We conducted a phase II multicentre study on cabozantinib after ICI treatment in HCC.

Methods: This is an investigator-initiated, single-arm, clinical trial involving academic centres in Hong Kong and Korea.

Addressing the risk and management of cardiometabolic complications in prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy and androgen receptor axis-targeted therapy: consensus statements from the Hong Kong Urological Association and the Hong Kong Society of Uro-Oncology.

Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the foundational treatment for metastatic prostate cancer (PCa). Androgen receptor (AR) axis-targeted therapies are a new standard of care for advanced PCa. Although these agents have significantly improved patient survival, the suppression of testosterone is associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic syndrome.

Clinical Management of Gastrointestinal and Liver Toxicities of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed the treatment paradigm for various types of cancer. Nonetheless, with the utilization of these groundbreaking treatments, immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are increasingly encountered. Colonic and hepatic involvement are among the most frequently encountered irAEs.

A territory-wide real-world efficacy and toxicity analysis of abiraterone acetate versus docetaxel in 574 Asian patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.

Introduction: Abiraterone acetate (ABI) or docetaxel (DOC), in addition to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), are current treatment options for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). No randomized head-to-head trial has compared these 2 mHSPC treatments, and real-world data regarding their outcomes in Asian patients are lacking.

Patients And Methods: The medical records of mHSPC patients who began upfront ABI or DOC treatment in addition to ADT at seven public oncology centers in Hong Kong between 2015 and 2021 were reviewed.

The role of lenvatinib in the era of immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently presents as advanced stage with poor prognosis and high mortality. Systemic treatment is the treatment of choice for advanced disease. In 2007, the first multi-kinase inhibitor (MKI) sorafenib was approved and shown to modestly prolong overall survival (OS).

Preclinical evaluation of the VEGF/Ang2 bispecific nanobody BI 836880 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma models.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is endemic to parts of Asia and overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α are common in NPC. Anti-vascular agents have known clinical activity in patients with recurrent/ metastatic NPC and in this study, we investigated the anti-tumor effect of BI 836880, a humanized bispecific nanobody against VEGF and angiopoietin-2 (Ang2), in preclinical models of EBV-positive and EBV-negative NPC. The efficacy of BI 836880 was also compared with bevacizumab, a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody against VEGF.

Camrelizumab plus rivoceranib versus sorafenib as first-line therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (CARES-310): a randomised, open-label, international phase 3 study.

Background: Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors combined with an anti-angiogenic tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (TKI) has been shown to improve overall survival versus anti-angiogenic therapy alone in advanced solid tumours, but not in hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, a clinical study was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of the anti-PD-1 antibody camrelizumab plus the VEGFR2-targeted TKI rivoceranib (also known as apatinib) versus sorafenib as first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: This randomised, open-label, international phase 3 trial (CARES-310) was done at 95 study sites across 13 countries and regions worldwide.

Role of chemotherapy in patients with nasopharynx carcinoma treated with radiotherapy (MAC-NPC): an updated individual patient data network meta-analysis.

Background: The meta-analysis of chemotherapy for nasopharynx carcinoma (MAC-NPC) collaborative group previously showed that the addition of adjuvant chemotherapy to concomitant chemoradiotherapy had the highest survival benefit of the studied treatment regimens in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Due to the publication of new trials on induction chemotherapy, we updated the network meta-analysis.

Methods: For this individual patient data network meta-analysis, trials of radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy in patients with non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma that completed accrual before Dec 31, 2016, were identified and updated individual patient data were obtained.

The evolving role of lenvatinib at the new era of first-line hepatocellular carcinoma treatment.

Emergence of multi-targeted kinase inhibitors (MTIs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have changed the landscape of management in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Combination therapy involving ICI has superseded sorafenib as the first-line treatment option for advanced HCC due to their superior response rates and survival benefits based on recently published phase III trials. However, the role of first-line lenvatinib remains uncertain as no prospective trials have compared its efficacy with ICI in advanced HCC.

Hot on the trail in the TME: Clues from a trilogy of checkpoint inhibitor trials in nasopharyngeal cancer.

In this issue of Cancer Cell, Yang et al. report the third in a series of phase III trials that demonstrates the survival benefit of combining a PD-1 inhibitor with chemotherapy in nasopharyngeal cancer. A gene expression analysis identifies "hot" and "cold" tumor signatures with prognostic and predictive significance.