The 2022 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) was held from September 9 to 13 in Paris, France. In this podcast, David Ilson, MD, PhD, FASCO; Sumanta (Monty) Pal, MD, FASCO; and Tian Zhang, MD, discuss highlights in gastrointestinal and genitourinary cancers presented at this year’s meeting.

Advances in treating gastrointestinal cancers

Dr. Ilson describes several studies about treating various types of gastrointestinal cancers, which are cancers that develop in the digestive tract. First, he describes the phase 3 LEAP-002 clinical trial, which was examining whether adding the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to the targeted therapy drug lenvatinib (Lenvima) helped people with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma of the liver live longer. [1:58]

Next, he discusses research in colorectal cancer. First, he describes the phase 2 NICHE-2 clinical trial, which evaluated whether using a combination of the immunotherapy drugs nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) to treat locally advanced colon cancer with a molecular feature called high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) before surgery reduced how many people had cancer found at the time of surgery. [3:35] Then, he describes the phase 3 FRESCO-2 clinical trial, which studied whether the targeted therapy drug fruquintinib could help people with metastatic colorectal cancer who had received all other standard treatments live longer. [5:55] Finally, he describes 2 promising targeted therapy drugs for advanced colon cancer discussed at the meeting, sotorasib (Lumakras) and adagrasib, which work by targeting KRAS G12C mutations. [7:24]

Then, Dr. Ilson describes the phase 2 DESTINY-Gastric02 clinical trial, which was seeing whether the targeted therapy drug trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) helped shrink the cancer and, if so, for how long in people with HER2-positive stomach cancer that had not been stopped by previous treatment with the targeted therapy drug trastuzumab (available as a biosimilar). [8:46]

New research in genitourinary cancers

Dr. Pal and Dr. Zhang discuss several studies in genitourinary cancers, which are cancers in the urinary tract and in male reproductive organs. First, they discuss 4 studies in localized kidney cancer, all of which were studying whether various treatments helped lower the risk of recurrence after surgery to remove the cancer [12:16]:

• The phase 3 PROSPER clinical trial, which was studying nivolumab given both before and after surgery in people with renal cell carcinoma

• The phase 3 IMmotion010 clinical trial, which was studying the immunotherapy drug atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in people with renal cell carcinoma who had received surgery and had an increased risk of the cancer coming back

• The phase 3 CheckMate914 clinical trial, which was evaluating the combination of nivolumab with ipilimumab given after surgery to people with renal cell carcinoma with a high risk of the cancer returning

• An update from the KEYNOTE-564 phase 3 clinical trial, which was studying pembrolizumab given after surgery in people with renal cell carcinoma with a high risk of the cancer returning

Also in kidney cancer, they discuss the phase 3 COSMIC-313 clinical trial, which tested whether adding the angiogenesis inhibitor cabozantinib (Cometriq) to nivolumab and ipilimumab in people with previously untreated, advanced renal cell carcinoma helped delay cancer growth. [17:37]

Then, they discuss a study in treating advanced bladder cancer. The phase 1b/2 EV-103 clinical trial explored whether the combination of the targeted therapy drug enfortumab vedotin (Padcev) with pembrolizumab helped shrink the tumors in people with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who could not receive cisplatin chemotherapy. [21:16]

Finally, they discuss 2 studies in treating prostate cancer. First, they discuss the phase 3 PRESTO clinical trial, which was evaluating whether intensified hormonal therapy helped stop prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels from increasing after surgery for prostate cancer. [23:46] Then, they discuss the phase 3 PROpel clinical trial, which was seeing whether adding the targeted therapy drug olaparib (Lynparza) to the hormonal therapy abiraterone (Zytiga) helped slow or stop the growth of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. [25:37]

Dr. Ilson is an attending physician and member at Memorial Hospital and a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is a 2022 Cancer.Net Specialty Editor for Gastrointestinal Cancers. Dr. Pal is co-director of City of Hope's Kidney Cancer Program and is the head of the kidney and bladder cancer disease team at the institution. He is the 2022 Cancer.Net Associate Editor for Genitourinary Cancers. Dr. Zhang is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and is a medical oncologist at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is a 2022 Cancer.Net Specialty Editor for Genitourinary Cancer.

Disclosure information for this podcast’s speakers can be found in their individual biographies linked to in the paragraph above.

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