H. Prenen MD, PhD

Pancreatic cancer: Where are we now and where are we going?

SUMMARY

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancer types. Incidence rates are on the rise in the Western world, transforming it into one of the most common causes of cancer-related death. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the most frequently encountered type and diagnosis often occurs in an advanced stage, hence when curative treatment is no longer an option. Current management strategies are based on the tumour stage and resectability as well as patient characteristics, and should be discussed by a multidisciplinary tumour board. In patients with resectable disease, surgery followed by adjuvant therapy is the golden standard. Neoadjuvant strategies are currently gaining popularity, especially for borderline resectable disease. In the advanced setting, treatment with combination chemotherapy has only modestly improved overall survival. The field of personalised medicine is rapidly evolving and slowly trying to find its way into the classically defined treatment paradigm of pancreatic cancer. In this article, we aim to provide an overview of the current treatment options and highlight future developments.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2021;15(1):11-9)

Highlights in digestive oncology

The annual ESMO meeting was held virtually between 19^th and 21^st September 2020 and covered many interesting abstracts in the field of digestive oncology. In this overview, our main aim was to highlight the data that are most relevant for daily clinical practice. This year, we will discuss the results according to the traditional division in upper and lower gastro-intestinal tract tumours.

Multimodality treatment approach for rectal cancer

SUMMARY

Rectal cancer treatment constitutes a complex exercise. With the exception of very early and metastatic disease were surgery and palliative chemotherapy are respectively the backbone treatment modalities, the optimal treatment strategy for rectal cancer remains a subject of active debate. Different therapeutic options, including local and systemic approaches like different surgical techniques, radiation therapy, chemoradiotherapy and chemotherapy in different sequences and settings are commonly combined in clinical practice. This multimodal treatment strategy improved survival and reduced local recurrence, but the optimal way to combine the different modalities represents a subject of active research. In the coming paragraphs we attempt to answer some of the most important questions, in our opinion, regarding multimodality treatment approach for rectal cancer through a systematic review of the literature.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2020;14(7):311-20)

Highlights in digestive oncology

Summary

At this years’ virtual annual ASCO meeting, a wide range of interesting studies in the field of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer were presented. The aim of this overview is to discuss the most important of these studies, with a particular focus on data that have the potential to be practice changing. For practical reasons, this report will not follow the traditional subdivision in cancers from the upper and lower GI tract, but will rather focus on three major therapeutic strategies: neoadjuvant therapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2020;14(5):183-7)

Highlights in digestive oncology

This report will focus on some of the key studies in the field of digestive oncology, presented during the 2019 annual ESMO meeting. During the congress, many studies were presented from early phase I to large phase III trials. Different approaches to activate the immune system against tumours as well as PARP and CDK4/6 inhibitors were once more at the centre of interest for different types of cancer and settings.

Case report: Seeding metastases after percutaneous vertebroplasty procedure for pathological fracture: a rare complication

SUMMARY

Percutaneous balloon vertebroplasty (PVP) is an effective treatment for pathological vertebral compression fractures in oncological patients. The procedure is considered safe and the analgesic effect is fast and long lasting. Seeding metastases after PVP are a rare complication. At present, there is no standard of care how to prevent or treat this complication. Further research is necessary to determine preventive measures.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2019;13(6): 255–257)

Adjuvant chemotherapy of colon cancer: 3 versus 6 months

Summary

For over a decade, oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy has been the gold standard for resected early colon cancer. Oxaliplatin is known to cause polyneuropathy, which affects quality of life dramatically. In recent years, there has not been any progress in the development of novel agents to replace oxaliplatin as adjuvant therapy. Consequently, there is a growing interest to investigate whether a shorter course of chemotherapy is sufficient. This article will discuss the history of adjuvant treatment in early-resected colon cancer, the toxicity of oxaliplatin, the results from the IDEA meta-analysis and future prospects.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2019;13(6):234–239)