Gastrointestinal Cancers

Lutathera (Lutetium Lu 177 Dotatate) First Radioactive Drug Approved for Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Lisa A. Raedler, PhD, RPh, Medical Writer

Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), also known as carcinoids and islet-cell tumors, are tumors of the neuroendocrine cells that occur in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. GEP-NETs are heterogeneous and complex. Although relatively rare, GEP-NETs are more common than other tumors of the GI tract, including stomach and pancreatic carcinomas combined.

Caroline Helwick

Patients who undergo gastrectomy are at high risk for poor bone health and vitamin D deficiency and should be assessed and treated for this, according to researchers from Australia who described these issues at the 2016 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Christine Erickson

Although immunotherapy drugs targeting programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) have proved to be effective in patients with melanoma and lung cancer, new data from 2 recent studies suggest that these drugs may also be effective in patients with certain gastrointestinal cancers.

Wayne Kuznar

Phase 3 data from a global clinical trial indicated an improvement in overall survival (OS) when the investigational angiogenesis inhibitor ramucirumab was added to chemotherapy as second-line therapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Alice Goodman

Patients with gastric or gastroesophageal cancer commonly experience long-term complications from treatment that compromise their quality of life (QOL), according to self-reported answers to an Internet-based survey questionnaire. Difficulty swallowing appears to be universal, and other problems range from dry mouth and taste changes to cardiovascular disease, according to a study presented at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium held in San Francisco, California.

Patients with gastric or gastroesophageal cancer commonly experience long-term complications from treatment that compromise their quality of life (QOL), according to self-reported answers to an Internet-based survey questionnaire. Difficulty swallowing appears to be universal, and other problems range from dry mouth and taste changes to cardiovascular disease, according to a study presented at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Symposium held in San Francisco, California.

Cristi Radford, MS, CGC

CHICAGO—At the ASCO session “Moving the Bar in Upper GI Malignancies,” 2 speakers examined whether recent trials of targeted agents are clinically meaningful or just statistically positive, and whether value is being gained for the enormous amount of money being spent in treating noncolo rectal gastrointestinal (GI) cancer.

Eileen Mary O’Reilly, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, weighed in by examining the bottom line of the major trials.

Anne C. Kratz, RN, BSN, OCN, Joseph Bubalo, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, Lindsay C. Overton, MD, Michael C. Heinrich, MD, FACP

Case Presentation
Chief complaint: Abdominal pain and weight loss for 3 months.