ASCO 18: What to Expect in Colorectal Cancer Research
The American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, IL is just around the corner. This year’s theme is “Delivering Discoveries: Expanding the Reach of Precision Medicine”
From June 2-5, Fight CRC staff and research advocates will be engaging with researchers, clinicians, and other organizations in the US and around the world to discuss how to continue moving the needle forward in colorectal cancer research, ultimately to improve treatment options and survivorship care for patients.
39,000 of the best researchers come together from all over the world to discuss the latest research information about cancer… all wanting to find new treatments… all wanting to do their part in eliminating cancer. There is so much to learn, and we will see it first! -Karen Wehling, Stage IV CRC survivor.
To gain a better idea of topics that will be discussed, we reached out to Fight CRC medical advisory board members, patient and research advocates, and global partners to help us identify which research areas and abstracts are of the greatest interest, and which hold the most promise for patients.
According to Bowel Cancer UK & Beating Bowel Cancer “every year 16,000 people in the UK lose their lives to bowel cancer, but we know research is key to early diagnosis and finding the cures to the disease. Collaboration and cooperation across the whole bowel cancer community is key to accelerating progress, which is why global meetings like ASCO are so fundamental.”
While this is by no means an exhaustive list, we’ve detailed the collective responses below which represent a high level overview of some of the abstracts and research that will be discussed at ASCO 18.
Precision Medicine
Precision medicine discussions in colorectal cancer will cover topics such as the application of recent adjuvant data for 3 months versus 6 months of FOLFOX for individualized patient care and prevention and screening in the general population versus those with high risk.
A few abstracts we’ll be keeping our eyes on include:
1. Abstract 2583: Phase 1/2 precision medicine study of the next-generation BRAF inhibitor PLX8394.
This study is relevant for CRC patients with BRAF mutations. In this study, researchers studied the BRAF inhibitor PLX8394, plus cobicistat which enhances PLX8394 exposure. This combination showed promising activity in solid tumors with BRAF mutations.
2. Abstract 3588: Prognostic evaluation of a new class of liquid biopsy biomarkers in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: Using the tumor microenvironment as a source of protein biomarkers.
CRC tumors can be surrounded by collagen in their microenvironment, which may make it difficult for drugs to enter the tumor thereby decreasing responses to therapy. Researchers investigated a new class of liquid biopsy biomarkers that indicate if collagen is present and discovered that high levels of the collagen proteins were associated with poor overall survival and progression free survival in patients with mCRC. It’s possible that a tumor surrounded by collagen may not respond to therapy because the drug isn’t being delivered effectively.
Understanding the role of precision medicine is necessary to develop targeted treatment options for patients that may result in the greatest benefits.
Immunotherapy Trials
Progress continues to be made in immunotherapy (IO) for colorectal cancer. We’ll be paying close attention to the following abstracts at ASCO.
1. Abstract 3540: First-in-human dose escalation of monalizumab plus durvalumab, with expansion in patients with metastatic microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer.
Researchers investigated combination therapy monalizumab + durvalumab with preliminary data indicating a manageable toxicity profile and anti-tumor activity in MSS CRC patients.
2. Abstract 3011: Association of gut microbiome with immune status and clinical response in solid tumor patients who received on anti-PD-1 therapies.
This study analyzes the gut microbiome of patients who had previously received anti PD-1 therapy and compared patients who responded to therapy (complete or partial response, or stable disease > 6 mos.) to patients who didn’t respond to therapy (disease progression or stable disease lasting less than 6 mos.) Those who responded to therapy had greater diversity and composition in their gut microbiome than those that didn’t respond, suggesting that the gut microbiome may play a role in treatment outcomes.
Following the conference, we’ll take a deep dive into the results from various IO trials, as well as other pertinent studies which show promise for MSS patients.
Clinical Trial Enrollment: Barriers and Facilitators
Clinical trials are an integral part of cancer research. While results from many clinical trials will be presented on at ASCO for colorectal cancer, there will also be a focus on integrating the patient and caregiver voice into clinical trial design and enrollment.
The following abstracts will be interesting to follow for colorectal cancer patients and caregivers.
- Abstract 6566: Addressing Financial Concerns of Cancer Clinical Trial Participants: Longitudinal outcomes of an equity intervention
- Abstract 6573: Prevalence of quality of life (QoL) outcomes and association with survival in cancer clinical trials
- Abstract 2533: Enrolling patients in clinical trials: Advice from close family and friends
- Abstract 2539: Prospective assessment of tumor biopsies as part of clinical trials: Patients; perspectives
Convening Patients, Researchers, and Clinicians
The Fight CRC and Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Immunotherapy working group will convene again at ASCO 18 to discuss the state of the science in immunotherapy, the capacity to grow the Fight CRC Late Stage MSS-CRC Trial Finder, and biomarker testing, among other relevant topics in immunotherapy.
Discussions will also focus on how to implement in-vitro diagnostic assays as an aid to adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II and III CRC patients, and the capacity to incorporate these types of assays into clinical trials.
Research Advocacy in Action
As the most knowledgeable patient advocates in the research world, members of the Fight CRC Research Advocacy Training and Support program will be attending ASCO 18 to stay up to date on current research and the future of CRC treatment, engage with researchers, and critically think about how research translates to patient care.
ASCO provides patients with the opportunity to work hand in hand with healthcare professionals to provide the best patient-oriented treatments and prevention strategies possible, and the conferences allow patients to learn about the latest breakthroughs in cancer therapy.”
-Dr. Chris Lieu, University of Colorado Cancer Center
Research advocates will participate in patient advocacy symposiums, poster walks with clinicians, colorectal cancer research presentations covering topics such as prevention, clinical trials, and survivorship, and the IO working group.
Don’t miss our post-ASCO recap webinar on June 21st at 3:30p ET/ 2:30p CT/ 1:30p MT/ 12:30p PT with Dr. Goldberg, the Director of the West Virginia University Cancer Center and a medical advisory board member for Fight CRC!
Be sure to follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #ASCO18 and keep an eye on @FightCRC and @ReeseFCRC for real time updates during the conference!
The post ASCO 18: What to Expect in Colorectal Cancer Research appeared first on Fight Colorectal Cancer.
Fight Colorectal Cancer
Comments
Post a Comment