​ Microsatellite instability (MSI), characteristic variations in the length of tandem nucleotide repeats across the genome, has been seen in a wide variety of cancers, including colon cancer, gastric cancer, endometrium cancer, ovarian cancer, hepatobiliary tract cancer, urinary tract cancer, brain cancer, and skin cancers. Researchers' discovery of the important role played by Werner syndrome helicase (WRN) in MSI-high (MSI-H) tumors presents a new opportunity for the development of targeted th...

​ Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), the most common type of esophageal cancer, is highly deadly, with only 20% of patients surviving five years from diagnosis. It is resistant to standard chemoradiotherapy treatments and has few targeted therapies. "Targeted therapies are virtually non-existent," remarked Kishore Guda, DVM, PhD, Associate Professor in the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center of Case Western Reserve University. "Treatment advancements are also slowed because we don't know exactly what...

The FDA's recent approval of trifluridine/tipiracil tablets (Lonsurf®, Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) for heavily pretreated metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma represents a significant development for patients with gastric cancer, the third most frequent cause of cancer-related death. In this interview with i3 Health, Kohei Shitara, MD, speaks about the significance of this approval. Dr. Shitara was the lead author of the phase 3 TAGS study (NCT0...

Gastric cancer, the fifth most common cancer worldwide and the third most common cause of cancer-related death, is particularly difficult to treat because most patients present with advanced or metastatic disease. However, patients with metastatic disease now have a new treatment option through the FDA's recent approval of trifluridine/tipiracil tablets (Lonsurf®, Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.). Trifluridine/tipiracil, a fixed combination of the nucleoside metabolic inhibitor trifluridine and t...

Why is esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) significantly more common among European Americans than among African Americans, even though both groups experience similar rates of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a relative risk factor for this condition? Researchers have found the reason, along with a potential means to end this disparity. "We've known for a long time that esophageal adenocarcinoma primarily affects Caucasians and very rarely affects African Americans," stated David G. Beer, PhD...