Special Reports

Dual blockade of KRAS^G12C and EGFR may overcome treatment resistance in KRAS^G12C-mutated colorectal cancer (CRC). At the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2023 (ESMO 2023), Dr Filippo Pietrantonio of the Medical Oncology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy, presented primary results of the phase III CodeBreaK 300 trial, which demonstrated significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) with sotorasib in combination with panitumumab vs standard care with trifluridine plus tipiracil (T/T) or regorafenib in patients with chemorefractory metastatic CRC (mCRC) harbouring a KRAS^G12C mutation. Discussant Professor Miriam Koopman of Department of Medical Oncology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands, shared her insights into the trial.

 

Polycythaemia vera (PV) is associated with increased risk of thromboembolic and haemorrhagic complications that negatively impact patients’ quality of life (QoL) and disease prognosis. Unfortunately, PV patients may become intolerant of or resistant to current standard therapies, underscoring the need for effective alternative treatments. At the 2023 Asian Myeloid Malignancies Exchange Forum, Professor Claire Harrison of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK, discussed unmet needs in PV management and implications of the superior clinical and molecular responses associated with the Janus kinase (JAK) 1/2 inhibitor, ruxolitinib, in PV patients intolerant of or refractory to standard care.

A 68-year-old male patient presented with bone pain at multiple sites in November 2022. He did not have any other symptoms. He had hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), which were well controlled with amlodipine besylate 5 mg BID and metformin 1 g BID, respectively. He was generally well and had a baseline Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) of 0.

An 80-year-old male presented with rectal bleeding and elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA; 100 ng/mL) in October 2021. Biopsy of rectal tissue showed adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Molecular testing found that the disease was microsatellite instability (MSI)–stable, with no targetable mutations; tumour mutational burden was zero. His Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) score was 1.

Patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL) have poor outcomes with traditional therapies. However, phase 3 clinical trials of tisagenlecleucel, a CD-19 directed chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, have shown improved ORR, CR, PFS and OS in patients with r/r DLBCL, giving hope to these patients. Long-term real-world data from Hong Kong has also shown improved outcomes with tisagenlecleucel in these patients.