Perspectives on the Management of Oligometastatic Disease in Esophago-Gastric Cancer.

Gastric adenocarcinoma and esophageal cancer are the fifth and seventh most common cancer types worldwide. At the time of initial diagnosis, up to 50% of esophagogastric cancers present with distant metastatic lesions and are candidates for chemotherapy. Curative surgery in this stage is still an experimental approach.

Pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) in combination with standard of care chemotherapy in primarily untreated chemo naïve upper gi-adenocarcinomas with peritoneal seeding - a phase II/III trial of the AIO/CAOGI/ACO.

Background: Peritoneal metastasis is a common and dismal evolution of several gastrointestinal (GI) tumors, including gastric, colorectal, hepatobiliary, pancreatic, and other cancers. The therapy of peritoneal metastasis is largely palliative; with the aim of prolonging life and preserving its quality. In the meantime, a significant pharmacological advantage of intraperitoneal chemotherapy was documented in the preclinical model, and numerous clinical studies have delivered promising clinical results.

KEYNOTE-585: Phase III study of perioperative chemotherapy with or without pembrolizumab for gastric cancer.

Background: Surgical resection is the only curative treatment option for gastric cancer. Despite widespread adoption of multimodality perioperative treatment strategies, 5-year overall survival rates remain low. In patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, pembrolizumab has demonstrated promising efficacy and manageable safety as monotherapy in previously treated patients and as first-line therapy in combination with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil.

Multimodal treatment in locally advanced gastric cancer.

According to the data of the GLOBOCAN-network of the World Health Organization, there were 952,000 (6.8% of the total) new cases of gastric cancer in 2012, making it the fifth most common malignancy in the world. It represents a substantive change since the very first estimates in 1975 when stomach cancer was the most common neoplasm.

Pressurized IntraPeritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma.

Background: Patients with recurrent malignant epithelioid mesothelioma (MM) after surgery and standard chemotherapy with cisplatin and pemetrexed have limited treatment options.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with recurrent MM undergoing Pressurized IntraPeritoneal/Thoracal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC/PITAC) with doxorubicin 1.5 mg/m and cisplatin 7.

First Clinical Data of Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) as Salvage Therapy for Peritoneal Metastatic Biliary Tract Cancer.

Background: Patients suffering from peritoneal metastasis of biliary tract cancer were treated with pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC).

Patients And Methods: This was a study carried out at a single institution, tertiary referral center certified for therapy of peritoneal disease. Retrospective data analysis was performed of prospective data for PIPAC with intra-peritoneal low-dose doxorubicin (1.

HER2 testing in gastric cancer: results of a German expert meeting.

Valid HER2 testing is essential for optimal therapy of patients with HER2-positive gastric cancer and the correct use of first-line chemotherapy. While testing for HER2 status in breast cancer is routinely performed, this is not the case for HER2 testing in gastric cancer and it is usually only performed on clinician request. An interdisciplinary German expert group (pathologists and clinicians) took the challenges of HER2 testing in gastric cancer as an opportunity to address essential aspects and questions for the practical use of HER2 testing in this indication.

Gallbladder carcinoma: Prognostic factors and therapeutic options.

The outcome of gallbladder carcinoma is poor, and the overall 5-year survival rate is less than 5%. In early-stage disease, a 5-year survival rate up to 75% can be achieved if stage-adjusted therapy is performed. There is wide geographic variability in the frequency of gallbladder carcinoma, which can only be explained by an interaction between genetic factors and their alteration.

The validation of a novel method combining both HER2 immunohistochemistry and HER2 dual-colour silver in situ hybridization on one slide for gastric carcinoma testing.

Background: HER2 status assessment is a prerequisite for the establishment of an appropriate treatment strategy in gastric cancer. Gastric cancers are very heterogeneous and separate evaluations of gene amplification and protein expression lead to uncertainties in localizing distinct clones and are time consuming. This study evaluates the equivalence of the novel method combining both gene and protein platforms on one slide.

The role of radiation therapy for resectable adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction.

Adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction has become a very important subentity, for which multidisciplinary care is the widely accepted treatment approach; however, the role of radiation therapy for adenocarcinoma of gastroesophageal junction remains unclear.

Nab-paclitaxel for metastatic pancreatic cancer: clinical outcomes and potential mechanisms of action.

For almost 15 years there has been stagnation in the systemic treatment of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Recently, several developments seem to indicate clinically relevant improvements in the treatment of patients with metastatic disease. One of these developments is the introduction of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) into the firstline treatment of metastatic disease.

Recent advances and future trends in the targeted therapy of metastatic gastric cancer.

The better understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind gastric cancer has led to the development of new therapeutic strategies that are likely to improve patient outcomes in the near future. Recently, targeting the HER2 and the VEGF pathways with trastuzumab and ramucirumab, respectively, have been found to improve survival, while directed therapies against a number of other pathways are under clinical evaluation. These include the hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor c-MET, the insulin-like growth factor 1, the fibroblast growth factor, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), the epidermal growth factor receptor, and other pathways, as well as relevant immunotherapeutic strategies.