GI ASCO 2015 – Recap

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Resources
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By Keavy McAbee, patient resources

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Fight Colorectal Cancer’s team traveled to San Francisco Jan. 15-17 to attend the 2015 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (also known as GI ASCO), an annual event for medical professionals to share the latest research of gastrointestinal cancers – which include pancreas, small bowel, and hepatobiliary tract; colon and rectum; and esophagus and stomach.

What we learned about colorectal cancer treatments

Phase 1 Trial

This year there were some promising results in Phase I trials like this one: Phase 1 and Pharmacologic Study of MM-151 in Patients With Refractory Advanced Solid Tumors, but these therapies won’t be ready for primetime until further research is completed. (Get more information about Phase I clinical trials.)

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For therapies that may be available sooner rather than later, a new chemo agent - TAS-102 - was discussed, which is in FDA review.

According to Fight CRC Founder Nancy Roach, this treatment could be interesting because “it increased survival for patients who had stopped responding to prior treatment, and the side effects were pretty minimal. Also, it’s an oral drug. This isn’t going to cure people, but it may help people live longer.”

Ramucirumab in colorectal cancer

Another drug that was discussed was ramucirumab, which is approved for lung cancer in the UK. Researchers are looking at ramucirumab in colorectal cancer to see if patients treated with ramucirumab plus FOLFIRI live longer than patients treated with FOLFIRI alone. The study results presented showed potential new options for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer whether they are first diagnosed and receiving initial treatment, or have had the disease worsen during treatment.

Here’s an ongoing clinical trial in the US looking at ramucirumab. 

Note:  It is important to discuss all your options with your doctor. Discuss the risks and benefits of each option, as well as any side effects, and determine together if you are eligible for a clinical trial.

Get more insights from GI ASCO

We go to medical conferences like GI ASCO looking for new information and new findings from researchers that might help patients. We read dozens of posters and listened to presentation after presentation to absorb as much as we could about treatment of liver metastases through targeted radiation, liquid biopsies and the cost of medicine for treatments that show only little benefit from other less costly treatments.

What 2015 Holds for Colorectal Cancer

Tues., Feb. 17 at 1:30pm EST

To share the knowledge from 2015 GI ASCO, we're putting together a free webinar where you'll hear Dr. Al Benson, one of our Medical Advisory Board members, discuss key highlights as they pertain to colorectal cancer from the symposium and what they mean for patients.

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Dr. Al Benson is the associate director of cooperative groups at Northwestern University. He has served on a number of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) committees, and is currently a member of the Task Force on Quality of Cancer Care, the Co-Chair of ASCO's Colorectal Cancer Guidelines Subcommittee, the Stage II Colon Cancer Guidelines Panel and the Guidelines Panel for use of Radiofrequency Ablation for Colorectal Cancer Hepatic Metastases. Dr. Benson's research is primarily in the areas of gastrointestinal cancer clinical trials, cancer clinical trials and biologic therapies.

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Suzanne (left) and Fight CRC's Michell Baker at GI ASCO

In addition to Dr. Benson, Fight CRC advocate and founder of YES! Beat Liver Tumors, Suzanne Lindley, will join us to talk about her experience as a survivor at the conference. Suzanne blogged about her experience at GI ASCO for CURE Magazine and will unpack more experiences on the webinar.

Last, we'll give an overview to our Research Advocate Training and Support (RATS) program at Fight CRC where we train advocates on how to offer an educated patient's perspective into the research process.