M. Rasschaert MD, PhD

Highlights in head and neck cancer

SUMMARY

The ASCO annual meeting was held from the 31^st of May until the 4^th of June 2024 in a live and virtual format. During this Meeting, HPV vaccination shows first encouraging prevention results towards head and neck cancer incidence in young persons. Intensity-modulated proton therapy beats intensity-modulated photon therapy as definitive treatment of oropharyngeal cancer regarding toxicity profile. Promising chemotherapy-free regimens are at the horizon in first-line treatment of recurrent/metastatic HNSCC, though more studies in larger patient populations are needed. Also HPV-targeting immunotherapy is entering in the neoadjuvant and metastatic HNSCC setting, studies are running. Antibody-drug conjugates are prudently looking for a place in later-line treatment of HNSCC. Metronomic chemotherapy shows a clinically very relevant OS benefit for ECOG 2 patients. Immunotherapy is promising in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment of locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. FAPI PET-CT beats ¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT as imaging for medullary thyroid carcinoma.

In this report, the most important headlines will be discussed, with comments on the clinical relevance of the different studies.

(Belg J Med Oncol 2024;18(5):181–90)

Nivolumab/ipilimumab-induced cerebral vasculitis in stage IIIc melanoma: A case report

SUMMARY

Immunotherapy has revolutionised cancer therapy for specific tumour types. The dismal prognosis of melanoma patients with advanced stage has improved but remains poor. With the increasing use of these monoclonal antibodies, toxicities are becoming more prevalent. Neurological adverse events are still rare but have an enormous impact on the continuum of care. This study reports a case of a 70-year-old man with stage IIIc melanoma who presented with cerebral vasculitis after rechallenge therapy with ipilimumab/nivolumab.

(Belg J Med Oncol 2023;17(4):128–31)

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)

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)

Highlights in gastro-intestinal oncology

Although none of the submitted abstracts in the field of gastro-intestinal oncology reached the presidential sessions of ESMO 2018, some practice-changing and promising data were presented especially in the field of immunotherapy. This report summarises the highlights in the field of colorectal, anal and upper digestive tract cancer.

Highlights in gastro-intestinal cancer

The 2018 annual meeting of the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) was once more hosted in Chicago. Over 40,000 oncologists attended this years’ convention. This report will summarize the highlights from the gastro-intestinal cancer sessions at the meeting.

Highlights in gastrointestinal oncology

ESMO 2017 featured the presentation of several practice changing data in the field of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. The first part of this report will summarize the key data presented in the field of gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction (GEJ), biliary, gallbladder, biliary, pancreatic and hepatocellular cancer. In the second part, the focus is turned to colorectal cancer.

(BELG J ONCOL 2017;11(7):340–348)