The management of metastatic pancreatic cancer: expert discussion and recommendations from the 14th ESMO/World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer, Barcelona, 2012

The Need for a New Fluoropyrimidine in Advanced Gastric Cancer Treatment

Fluoropyrimidines have shown efficacy against a variety of cancers and have evolved into a range of different uses and formulations. These drugs have been tested extensively as monotherapies and as part of numerous different chemotherapy combinations. The efficacy and safety profile of bolus intravenous (IV) 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has been improved by continuous IV administration. The availability of the first 5-FU oral form in Europe, capecitabine, has added a clear value in terms of convenience for patients, while forcing physicians and nurses to learn how to manage the toxicity profile of this compound. S-1 is a new oral formulation combining a 5-FU prodrug (tegafur) and two targeted modu…

Treatment sequence of synchronously (liver) metastasized colon cancer

No standards for staging, systemic therapy or the timing of an operation are defined for patients newly diagnosed with synchronous metastases and a primary in the colon. An expert group of radiologists, medical, radiation and surgical oncologists therefore came together to discuss staging and treatment sequence for these patients and came up with a recommendation based on current evidence of potential therapeutic options. The discussion was organized to debate recommendations centred on 5 topics and therefore the position paper is built upon these titles and their subtitles. Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l.