A presenter at the Crohn’s & Colitis Congress outlined some of the newer therapies that have expanded the current “arsenal of tools” for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. “When we think about these therapies, we know that they have truly revolutionized our management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease,” David Choi, PharmD, clinical pharmacy specialist and associate director at the University of Chicago Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, said. “The landscape really has improved, and more and more therapies have come to market. … But I think sometimes we can be a little hesitant to use some of these newer…
Author: Abhay Panchal
A previously unknown type of replicating agent named “obelisks” has been found in genomic data from stool samples – but we know little about what these entities do. A previously unknown type of replicating agent, far smaller and simpler than a virus, has been found in the human gut. These entities have been called “obelisks” by their discoverers.
The US National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has issued guidelines stating that post-surgical circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is an emerging prognostic marker but does not recommend its use or the use of multigene assays to inform recurrence risk or adjuvant treatment for colon cancer patients. While ctDNA, multigene assays, and Immunoscore can provide additional recurrence risk information, the NCCN panel questions their value in predicting whether patients may benefit from additional chemotherapy. The panel suggests the need for additional clinical trials to gather more data. This decision aligns with the European Society for Medical Oncology’s guidelines from 2020, and it…
Delfi Diagnostics has put forward a new cancer monitoring test that searches the blood for broken pieces of tumor DNA, and it is kicking off the test’s launch with a collaboration with Immunocore to explore its use in multiple malignancies. The fragmentome-based liquid biopsy test is currently limited to research use only. Delfi describes it as a highly sensitive means of measuring tumor burden and gauging a cancer’s response or resistance to treatment. “The DELFI-TF assay delivers a genome-wide measure of the proportion of [cell-free DNA] derived from a tumor and it is highly correlated with the mutant allele fraction…
Systematic implementation of a digital risk assessment tool can identify patients with high-risk cancer susceptibility syndromes and other actionable variants, according to new research. Using this tool, the researchers found genetic variants of concern in nearly 16% of patients they tested. “Most of these individuals—and by extension their family members through cascade testing—may not have been diagnosed otherwise,” said Daniel J. Pambianco, MD, who presented the findings at the 2023 annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology. “The perception of hereditary cancer syndromes is that they are relatively rare, but this is not necessarily the case,” Dr. Pambianco noted.…
An initiative at the University of North Carolina health system successfully increased the use of biosimilars in rheumatology and gastroenterology clinics. Clinically stable patients were transitioned from Remicade to biosimilars, Renflexis or Avsola, in 2021. A retrospective review of electronic health records was conducted to compare clinical outcomes. Out of 180 patients, 47.2% were considered appropriate for the switch, and 63.5% successfully switched. Reasons for not switching included patient preference, inability to reach patients, insurance or cost issues, intolerance, and unknown reasons. Adverse effects were reported, with 9.4% attributed to biosimilars. Some patients reported worsened symptoms, but it was challenging…
Motus GI Holdings, Inc. has announced positive results from a study of its second-generation Pure-Vu System, a bowel cleansing system designed to improve endoscopic outcomes. The study, published in the United European Gastroenterology (UGE) journal, demonstrated that the Pure-Vu System can achieve adequate bowel cleansing in patients with a history of inadequate bowel preparation. This can reduce the need for repeat colonoscopies and clinical admissions. The study included 44 patients with previous poor bowel preparation, and the results showed a significant improvement in bowel preparation scores, with 88.6% of patients adequately prepared after using the Pure-Vu System. The system also…
TOPLINE:Biomarker testing completion rates in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) has increased over time in alignment with guidelines and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals, but disparities by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status persist. METHODOLOGY:
Low reimbursement rates have plagued gastroenterology for years. Here’s what gastroenterologists have to say about how it’s affecting the field. Note: These responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Vivek Kaul, MD. Segal-Watson Professor of Medicine in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center: There is the well-known issue of decreasing reimbursement over time for procedures that already have existing CPT codes, and that too in the face of the post-pandemic increased demand, higher costs of doing business and staffing issues. In addition, a real challenge we are facing is the inability…
A new vaccine shows encouraging early results as a potential off-the-shelf treatment for certain patients with pancreatic or colorectal cancer, according to a study co-led by researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). The vaccine targets tumors with mutations (or changes) in the KRAS gene, a driving force in many cancers. This cancer vaccine is different from another type of pancreatic cancer vaccine, which is custom-made for each patient using messenger RNA (mRNA). Both are therapeutic vaccines given after surgery to prevent or delay the cancer from coming back in high-risk patients. “Having a vaccine that’s ‘off-the-shelf’ would make…