BTN News: With all the new technology and new drugs, it is surprising that the world’s biggest cancer conference focused on drugs we already know. The main news from the event shows a big challenge for doctors: how to make the best “treatment plan” for patients, knowing when to use surgery, drugs, or other methods.
At the 2024 Annual Conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), many doctors came to Chicago, USA, to learn about new treatment ideas. The research showed different ways to treat esophageal cancer and melanoma (a serious skin cancer) and helped with needs for lung cancer patients. Doctors told BBC News Brazil that these new ideas will change how they treat these diseases in hospitals and clinics.
Lung Cancer Treatments Are Improving Survival Rates
Patients with stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer usually cannot have surgery to cure it. The standard treatment is chemotherapy and radiotherapy. But a global study in 2017 found that adding immunotherapy helps these patients live longer. Immunotherapy helps the body’s immune system fight cancer cells.
Since then, combining chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy has become the normal treatment where modern drugs are available. However, some patients with an EGFR gene mutation do not benefit from immunotherapy. A study at ASCO 2024 tested if the drug osimertinib could help these patients.
The study showed good results: patients taking osimertinib lived for 39.1 months without the disease getting worse, compared to 5.6 months for those taking a placebo. Dr. Mariana Laloni from OncoclÃnicas&Co says these results are promising but more questions need answers, like when to use this drug to best manage side effects and costs.
Another ASCO 2024 study checked if palliative care via teleconsultations could work as well as in-person visits for advanced lung cancer patients. The study found remote consultations were just as good, and sometimes better, than face-to-face visits. This is helpful for patients who have trouble traveling to hospitals.
Esophageal Cancer Treatment Sequence Matters for Best Results
Treating esophageal adenocarcinoma, a common cancer of the tube from the mouth to the stomach, has been debated. Some doctors use neoadjuvant therapy (chemo and radiotherapy before surgery), while others use perioperative treatment (chemo before and after surgery).
Researchers in Germany compared these methods and found perioperative treatment was better. Patients using this method lived for 66 months, compared to 37 months for those using neoadjuvant therapy. Perioperative treatment is now the best option for advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma.
Melanoma Treatment Before Surgery Has Many Benefits
The order of treatments was also discussed for melanoma, a deadly skin cancer. Dutch researchers tested different treatments for stage 3 melanoma, where surgery is still possible. They divided 423 patients into two groups: one had two cycles of immunotherapy drugs before surgery, the other had immediate surgery followed by immunotherapy.
After 12 months, 83.7% of patients who had immunotherapy before surgery were cancer-free, compared to 57.2% of those who had surgery first. This shows that pre-surgery immunotherapy is better. Almost 60% of patients who had immunotherapy before surgery did not need more treatment. This method cuts down on treatment time and costs but has higher risks, with 29.7% of patients having serious side effects compared to 14.7% of those treated after surgery.
New Treatment for Penile Cancer Shows Promising Results
Penile cancer affects over 35,000 men each year and is often diagnosed late due to lack of information and stigma. Poor hygiene and not getting the HPV vaccine are major causes. Traditional treatments involve major surgeries and chemotherapy but often do not prolong life much.
To improve this, Dr. Fernando Maluf led a study testing a new mix of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The study included 33 men who had imaging tests every six weeks. The new treatment doubled the response rate compared to old methods, with 75% of patients seeing tumor reduction and 39.4% having significant shrinkage. Patients also had long-term remission, better quality of life, and tolerated the drugs well.
The findings from ASCO 2024 suggest new ways to treat penile cancer, offering hope for better outcomes and quality of life for patients.
