CONGRESS NEWS

Updates on melanoma

The treatment of metastatic melanoma patients is a rapidly evolving field with now six new drugs approved by the European Medicine Agency, EMA (vemurafenib, dabrafenib, cobimetinib, ipilimumab, nivolumab and pembrolizumab). The therapeutic options for advanced melanoma can be divided into two groups: treatments impacting on the immune system and targeted agents blocking essential biochemical pathways or mutant proteins that are required for melanoma cell growth and survival. Today, physicians are wondering what is the best strategy: using first-line targeted medications or start with immunotherapeutic agents. At the 2015 European Cancer Conference (ECC), updated and new results were presented in order to answer this question.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2015;9:234–39)

Highlights in genitourinary cancers

From the 25^th till the 29^th of September, Vienna was host for the 18^th ECCO – 40th ESMO European Cancer Congress. Immunotherapy was a very important theme for this year’s venue which hosted 18.500 registered attendees. This report will highlight 4 key studies concerning renal cell carcinoma and metastatic prostate cancer presented during the presidential sessions of the meeting.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2015;9:244–49)

Breast cancer highlights

The amount of new, clinically relevant information for breast cancer oncologists was quite limited at this meeting, but many interesting reviews and debates could be followed. Below you can read a summary of the more remarkable abstracts in the breast cancer field.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2015;9:251–55)

Highlights in head and neck cancer

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2015;9(6):256–59)

Moving beyond the single agent targeting of activated pathways in cancer and emerging therapeutic targets in rare cancers

The ECC meeting is mostly focused on clinical results and some translational medicine. Nevertheless a couple of interesting developmental topics were presented.

Identification of primary drivers in all cancer types is moving along and treatments that match these genotypes are available or in development. One of the next challenges is to increase the initial efficacy of these treatments and overcoming secondary resistance. Indeed, all cancers treated with targeted agents, despite impressive results, ultimately become resistant due to secondary resistance mechanisms. In addition there is also something as “innate” resistance: the primary treatments do not achieve a maximal pathway shutdown and therapeutic efficacy. This is in part due to the pharmacological limitations of small molecules and monoclonal antibodies in the inhibition of the pathways they target. Hitting the same target with specific siRNA’s is generally more effective in shutting down the activated pathway. In addition, this innate resistance is also due to functional responsiveness of the cells that results in the activation of alternative pathways that dampen the effect of the primary treatment. Identification of these functional resistance mechanisms is important, as they would be candidate co-targets for primary targeted therapies. Another major void in our cancer armamentarium is the therapeutic exploitation of recessive cancer genes and tumor suppressor genes.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2015;9:260–62)

Highlights from the 17th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer

From July 1^st till July 4^th, Barcelona was host to the 17^th world congress on gastrointestinal cancer. The meeting again proved to be the premier global event in the field, encompassing malignancies affecting every component of the gastrointestinal tract and aspects related to the care of patients with gastrointestinal cancer, including screening, diagnosis and the latest management options for common and uncommon tumours. This report will touch upon some of the key abstracts presented at the congress. A complete overview of all studies presented during the meeting can be found at www.worldgicancer.com.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2015;9(5):199–201)

Highlights in lung cancer

This report will highlight 8 important phase III studies presented during ASCO 2015 and 5 small but promising phase I/II trials. This year’s ASCO will be remembered for the paradigm shift and step forward in the treatment of lung cancer with immunotherapy via checkpoint inhibitors. Two important phase III trials in second-line NSCLC with anti-PD-1 inhibition were presented at ASCO this year and are discussed below. Also in small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma this approach seems promising.

Other highlights of the ASCO 2015 congress in the field of thoracic oncology include new targeted therapies for patients with defined molecular targets and for patients with acquired resistance after first-line first generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) or first generation ALK inhibitors.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2015;9:122–7)