The efficacy, safety and ideal treatment duration of an adjuvant epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) for patients with resected EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were not known until 2014, when this study was initiated. In this phase 3 ICTAN trial (GASTO1002, NCT01996098), patients with completely resected, EGFR-mutated, stage II-IIIA NSCLC after adjuvant chemotherapy were assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive icotinib (125 mg, three times daily) for 12 months, to receive icotinib for 6 months, or to undergo observation. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS). This trial was terminated early. A total of 251 patients were randomized. Adjuvant icotinib for 12 months significantly improved DFS (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.27-0.61; P < 0.001) and overall survival (OS; HR: 0.55, 95% CI, 0.32-0.96; P = 0.032) compared with observation. Adjuvant icotinib of 6 months also significantly improved DFS (HR: 0.41, 95% CI, 0.27-0.62; P < 0.001) and OS (HR: 0.56, 95% CI, 0.32-0.98; P = 0.038) compared with observation. Adjuvant icotinib for 12 months did not improve DFS (HR: 0.97; P = 0.89) or OS (HR: 1.00; P = 0.99) compared with 6 months of this drug. Rates of adverse events of grade 3 or higher were 8.3%, 6.0% and 2.4% for the 12-month icotinib, 6-month icotinib, and observation groups, respectively. Adjuvant icotinib for 12 months or 6 months following adjuvant chemotherapy improved DFS and OS compared with observation in patients with resected EGFR-mutated stage II-IIIA NSCLC with a manageable safety profile, supporting it as a potential treatment option.

Single-agent maintenance poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition may represent an effective strategy in patients with advanced/metastatic endometrial cancer responding to platinum-based chemotherapy, including for molecular subtypes with suboptimal options. To explore this approach, we initiated the randomized phase IIb UTOLA trial (NCT03745950). Female patients without progression following front-line platinum-based chemotherapy for advanced/metastatic endometrial cancer were randomized 2:1 to twice-daily maintenance oral olaparib 300 mg or placebo until progression or intolerance, stratified by p53 status, mismatch repair status, and response to initial chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) in the intention-to-treat population. Secondary endpoints were PFS in subgroups, time to second progression or death, time to first and second subsequent therapy, objective response rate, overall survival, patient-reported outcomes, and safety. In the intention-to-treat population (n = 145), there was no PFS difference between olaparib and placebo (median 5.6 vs. 4.0 months, respectively; hazard ratio 0.94, 95% confidence interval 0.65-1.35; p = 0.74). However, intriguing numerical PFS effects were observed in exploratory analyses of pre-specified subgroups (p53-abnormal, complete response to initial chemotherapy, chromosomal instability). There was no overall survival difference between treatments. Grade 3/4 adverse events occurred in 36% versus 10% of olaparib- versus placebo-treated patients and were consistent with the olaparib safety profile in other cancers. Maintenance olaparib did not improve PFS, but promising numerical effects in subsets of patients warrant prospective evaluation.

Anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) immunotherapy and platinum-based chemotherapy are key components of first-line treatment for advanced Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction (G/GEJ) cancer. However, the role of immune cells infiltrating the tumor microenvironment (TME) in predicting both therapy responses is still unclear.

This post-hoc analysis of the LASRE trial aims to evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on surgical difficulty and oncological outcomes in patients undergoing laparoscopic or open resection for low rectal cancer.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Perioperative therapies, including neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy, have improved outcomes, but combining them with antiangiogenic drugs may offer further benefits. This study evaluated the 3-year efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant sintilimab, anlotinib, and chemotherapy in resectable NSCLC patients from the TD-NeoFOUR trial.

Recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has a high recurrence rate after first-line immunotherapy or chemoimmunotherapy. The presence of a high density of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in HNSCC tumors was shown to be associated with improved clinical outcomes. One-time autologous TIL cell therapy was evaluated in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC.

An increasing number of early-stage breast cancer (EBC) survivors and limited health care resources have raised interest in developing digital methods for communication between patients and health care personnel. In 2015, Helsinki University Hospital (HUS) Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) launched a digital solution called Noona (Helsinki University Hospital; Noona Healthcare) for patients with cancer, which allows patients to report their symptoms or side effects and ask questions with a computer or smart mobile device.

Adding a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor to gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GemCis) has shown survival benefits in advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC). Dual inhibition of PD-1/PD-L1 and TIGIT may act synergistically, and further enhance antitumor effects. ZSAB-TOP was a single-arm, multicenter, phase 2 study (NCT05023109) evaluating efficacy and safety of first-line tislelizumab (a PD-1 inhibitor) plus ociperlimab (a TIGIT inhibitor) and GemCis in advanced BTC. Eligible patients received tislelizumab (200 mg) and ociperlimab (900 mg) on day 1 until unacceptable toxicity or disease progression, in combination with cisplatin (25 mg/m²) and gemcitabine (1000 mg/m²) on days 1 and 8 of a 21-day cycle for a maximum eight cycles. The primary endpoint was confirmed objective response rate (ORR) evaluated by the investigator, which was compared with a historical ORR of 25% with GemCis, with a statistical superiority setting at p ≤ 0.05. From March 8, 2022, to January 18, 2023, 45 patients were enrolled. Among the 41 patients in the efficacy analysis set, the confirmed ORR was 51.2% (95% CI 35.1-67.1), achieving the statistical superiority criteria (p = 0.0003). Patients who had TIGIT+/PD-L1+ (n = 16) tended to have a numerically greater confirmed ORR (75.0% [95% CI 47.6-92.7]). After a median follow-up of 14.6 months, median progression-free survival was 7.7 months (95% CI 6.0-9.4), with a median overall survival of 17.4 months (95% CI 11.7-not reached). Treatment-related adverse events of grade ≥3 occurred in 60.0% of patients; immune-mediated adverse events of any grade was observed in 42.2%, with the majority being grade 1 or 2. In conclusion, first-line tislelizumab and ociperlimab plus GemCis yielded clinically promising tumor response and survival outcomes in advanced BTC and were generally well tolerated without new safety signals.

Docetaxel and capecitabine combination have not previously been studied in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This study aimed to evaluate the combination's safety and efficacy in this population.

Enfortumab vedotin (EV), a novel antibody-drug conjugate directed against Nectin-4, was explored in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in cohorts 3 and 4 of the open-label, multicohort, Phase 2 EV-202 study (NCT04225117).

This trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of anti-programmed cell death 1 antibody (SCT-I10A) and anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody (SCT200) in patients with previously treated advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) (trial registration number: NCT04229537).

The efficacy and safety of conventional first-line chemotherapeutic regimens for the treatment of advanced biliary tract carcinomas (ABTCs) have been unsatisfactory.

Qu-yu-jie-du (QYJD) decoction is an established traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulation. For over ten years, there has been empirical evidence in support of its benefits for colorectal cancer patients, yet RCT validation for it as a postoperative maintenance therapy is lacking. Despite achieving no evidence of disease (NED) status after curative-intent resection in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), up to 60 % of patients relapse within five years, with no guideline-recommended maintenance therapy.

This study investigates factors affecting symptom severity at discharge in patients who have undergone lobectomy and sublobar resection via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for pulmonary nodules, including both benign and malignant cases.

Patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) have a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. The authors report the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab in participants with recurrent GBM enrolled in the phase 2, multicohort LEAP-005 study (NCT03797326).

To investigate the early effect of esketamine on the tumor metastatic microenvironment in patients with lung cancer.

The textbook outcome has emerged as a valuable metric for quality assessment in oncological surgery. However, its application and impact within randomized controlled trials involving patients with low rectal cancer remain underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and predictors of textbook outcome in patients with low rectal cancer undergoing laparoscopic or open resection.

POD1UM-201, an open-label, single-arm, phase II multiregional study, evaluated efficacy and tolerability of retifanlimab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) in chemotherapy-naive patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC).

In the phase 3 FRESCO (NCT02314819) and FRESCO-2 (NCT04322539) studies, fruquintinib vs placebo, plus best supportive care, significantly improved overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). These studies were conducted in temporally and geographically diverse populations that received distinct prior therapies; FRESCO patients were less pretreated than FRESCO-2 patients. This analysis assessed the efficacy and safety of fruquintinib in a less pretreated global population than the FRESCO-2 intention-to-treat (ITT) population.

Neoadjuvant ± adjuvant immunotherapy improves event-free survival (EFS) versus adjuvant immunotherapy alone for high-risk resectable Stage III melanoma. However, the optimal regimen balancing efficacy and tolerability is unknown. T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT) is a promising immune checkpoint whose therapeutic potential in Stage III melanoma is underexplored.