Medscape Conference Coverage, based on selected sessions at the:

2009 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

January 15 - 17, 2009; San Francisco, California

This activity is not sanctioned by, nor a part of, the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Conference news does not receive grant support and is produced independently.

Conference News

Extended Chemotherapy Increases Hepatic Injury

Longer-term chemotherapy caused increased hepatotoxicity and did not improve pathologic response in patients with colorectal liver metastases.
Medscape Medical News, January 26, 2009
Imatinib and Relapse-Free Survival in GIST

Preliminary results show that for GIST patients at high risk for disease relapse after complete resection, imatinib therapy extends relapse-free survival.
Medscape Medical News, January 22, 2009
Delay in Diagnosis and Treatment

Delays in diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer were found to be significant in a tertiary referral center, and could affect patient outcome.
Medscape Medical News, January 21, 2009
Prognostic Value of Markers in Colon Cancer

Researchers report that molecular markers in colon cancer have stage-specific prognostic value, suggesting that the different disease stages actually represent 2 different diseases.
Medscape Medical News, January 20, 2009
Octreotide and Neuroendocrine Midgut Tumors

Results from the first placebo-controlled study suggest that octreotide LAR can slow tumor progression in metastatic neuroendocrine midgut tumors.
Medscape Medical News, January 19, 2009
RAD001 and Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Treatment with RAD001, with or without concomitant octreotide, demonstrated antitumor activity in patients with metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors who had failed standard treatment.
Medscape Medical News, January 19, 2009
DNA Mismatch Repair in Pancreatic Cancer

Genetic variations in DNA mismatch repair are associated with tumor response to preoperative therapy, tumor respectability, and overall survival of patients with pancreatic cancer treated with gemcitabine.
Medscape Medical News, January 19, 2009
GERD-Associated Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

A highly significant interaction between the EGF variant G/G and the presence of GERD was identified among patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma.
Medscape Medical News, January 16, 2009
KRAS Testing in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Testing for KRAS mutations before initiating anti-EFGR therapy in patients with metastatic colon cancer would result in substantial savings to the healthcare system, and would save patients from undergoing ineffective therapy.
Medscape Medical News, January 16, 2009