Gastrointestinal Oncology Research Articles

Radiomic applications in upper gastrointestinal cancer surgery.

Cross-sectional imaging plays an integral role in the management of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) cancer, from initial diagnosis and staging to determining appropriate treatment strategies. Subjective imaging interpretation has known limitations. The field of radiomics has evolved to extract quantitative data from medical imaging and relate these to biological processes. The key concept behind radiomics is that the high-throughput analysis of quantitative imaging features can provide predictive or prognostic information, with the goal of providing individualised care. Radiomic studies have shown promising utility in upper gastrointestinal oncology, highlighting a potential role in determining stage of disease and degree of tumour differentiation and predicting recurrence-free survival. This narrative review aims to provide an insight into the concepts underpinning radiomics, as well as its potential applications for guiding treatment and surgical decision-making in upper gastrointestinal malignancy. Outcomes from studies to date have been promising; however, further standardisation and collaboration are required. Large prospective studies with external validation and evaluation of radiomic integration into clinical pathways are needed. Future research should now focus on translating the promising utility of radiomics into meaningful patient outcomes.

Outcomes for immuno-chemotherapy based treatment in patients with poorly differentiated extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma.

e14619 Background: Extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (EP-NEC) represents a rare collection of neuroendocrine cancers characterized with a poor prognosis and modest treatment benefit similar to small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). Platinum-based chemotherapy (cisplatin or carboplatin) and etoposide is the preferred 1st line therapy for patients (pts) with metastatic EP-NEC who are not eligible for curative surgery (Frizziero et al. 2019). Studies in pts with advanced SCLC have shown improved progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) with the addition of atezolizumab, an anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, to induction chemotherapy (4 cycles) versus chemotherapy alone (Horn et al. 2018). Prospective trials investigating immune checkpoint inhibitors such as atezolizumab plus chemotherapy have yet to be published in EP-NEC. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all registered pts at the Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology Clinic at Banner-University of Arizona Cancer Center who received at least 1 dose of atezolizumab from 1/2017 through 3/2022 (UAIRB00001593). Criteria for pt selection for analysis was based on the following: pts diagnosed with grade III, Ki 67>20%, poorly differentiated, metastatic EP-NEC and treated with ≥ 1 dose of atezolizumab plus chemotherapy as 1st line treatment. Results: Ten pts received atezolizumab based therapy during this timeframe. 6 pts met criteria for analysis and 4 pts were excluded for alternative diagnoses. 4 pts were female, 2 pts were male, and the average age at diagnosis was 63.8 years. The median number of chemotherapy cycles was 7.0 [4-17]. The median number of atezolizumab doses was 7.5 [6-28]. The median PFS was 7 months (95% CI 5-*). The median overall survival (mOS) was 13 months (95% CI 8-*). The mOS since starting atezolizumab was 12 months (95% CI 8-*). [*Upper bound of 95% CI cannot be determined.] Five pts (83%) demonstrated a partial response per RECISTv1.1. All pt tumors were MMR-proficient/MSI-stable and PD-L1 expression was negative in 3 pts (PD-L1 status unavailable for 3 pts). No hospitalizations related to immunotherapy or chemotherapy were observed. The most common adverse events included nausea, diarrhea and fatigue. One immune-mediated adverse event of thyroid dysfunction was observed and successfully medically managed. Conclusions: Our experience with atezolizumab plus chemotherapy for 1st line EP-NEC pts demonstrated efficacy via high response rate and survival rates above historical experience. Continuing chemotherapy beyond the induction phase until maximum clinical response demonstrated tolerability with manageable side effects. Although the scope is limited due to sample size, this data supports further investigation of this combination. There is an ongoing large, randomized, prospective trial investigating this regimen in frontline, metastatic EP-NEC pts ( NCT05058651 ).

Evaluating embedded geriatric care in gastrointestinal (GI) oncology program for older adults (OA): Feasibility and key learnings.

e24015 Background: Older adults with GI cancers experience frequent interruptions to life-improving care due to emergency department (ED) or unplanned hospital visits (UHV), with estimates ranging from 34-84% for advanced disease. Geriatric assessment can predict survival, toxicity, and completion of planned therapy but has been considered cumbersome for use in oncology practice. Geriatric co-management is now standard within certain primary care and subspecialty practices at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and has resulted in reduced mortality at 1-year, lower incidence of delirium, and improved provider/patient satisfaction. The REACH study (Resilience and Equity in Aging, Cancer, and Health) is a type III hybrid implementation mixed methods study that evaluates the ability of geriatric consultation to improve quality of life and reduce ED/UHV for pre-frail and frail OA diagnosed with GI cancer. Methods: We reviewed early data from the REACH study based in the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) between Jan. 2022–Jan. 2023. Data included REACH-eligible patients scheduled for a new consult visit, OA patients continuing care at DFCI, percentage of patients consented to participate, and percentage of consented patients who completed the frailty questionnaire (EFA). Results: As of 1/31/2023, a total of 815 OA patients age 70+ were screened initially eligible. Consented patients completed the REACH EFA. Among the 815 patients initially eligible, 73.8% of OA patients aged 70-74 continued care at DFCI, along with 74.7% of patients age 75-79, and 73.5% of patients age 80-84. For patients 85 or older, 82.7% of patients continued their oncology care at DFCI. Patients who screened ineligible or declined to participate were due to either not continuing care at DFCI, preferred language other than English/Spanish, or initiating hospice care. From Jan. 2022 to Jan. 2023, n = 30 consented to participate with a 90% completion rate of the full EFA questionnaire (n = 27/30). Conclusions: Data for the REACH study is ongoing. We are now transitioning to a clinical program where consent is no longer needed to complete the REACH EFA questionnaire. DFCI has pivoted to EFA questionnaire being standard of care for OA patients due to its acceptability and importance. Future program efforts will improve patient language access and expand to additional DFCI regional sites around New England to ensure a more diverse population and provide tailored support for those patients who have a higher level of frailty and more complex needs throughout their cancer care journey. Clinical trial information: NCT04674267 .

Reduced symptom burden after implementation of an electronic symptom management program.

12006 Background: The SIMPRO consortium implemented an electronic patient reported outcomes (ePRO) symptom management program as part of routine clinical care for patients (pts) receiving systemic cancer therapy or surgery across six health systems including rural and community cancer centers. To evaluate impact of the Epic-integrated electronic symptom management (eSyM) program on quality of life, pre- and post-implementation surveys were sent to a subset of gastrointestinal, thoracic, and gynecologic medical oncology (MO) and surgical (Surg) patients at all sites. Methods: A survey assessing symptom burden, health literacy, and self-efficacy was administered to separate groups of MO and Surg pts before (Pre-Implementation) and after (Post-Implementation) eSyM deployment. A waiver of documentation of consent was obtained for participation. Questions were derived from validated instruments including PROMIS, a standardized measurement tool for patient-reported symptoms. Surveys were completed 30-90 days after surgery or start of systemic therapy. PROMIS item responses were scored individually then translated into standardized T-scores with a mean of 50 based on an established reference population. Mean T-scores for PROMIS depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference were calculated. Higher T-score correlated with greater symptom burden. Comparison between groups utilized non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis testing. Results: The number of survey responses were 498 MO Pre-Implementation, 518 MO Post-Implementation, 566 Surg Pre-Implementation, and 507 Surg Post-Implementation. MO pts reported significantly lower PROMIS mean T-scores for depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference after eSyM compared to a similar group of MO pts prior to eSyM. Surg pts reported lower T-scores for depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference after eSyM compared to a similar group of Surg pts prior to eSyM, although reduction in pain interference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: eSyM deployment in MO was associated with a significant reduction in patient reported depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference. Surgical pts after eSyM deployment reported significantly lower rates of depression, anxiety, and fatigue. External validation with PROMIS based surveys demonstrated small but meaningful benefits of ePRO symptom monitoring as part of routine clinical care across six diverse health systems. Clinical trial information: NCT03850912 . [Table: see text]

Addressing barriers to increased adoption of DPYD genotyping at a large multisite cancer center.

To describe the implementation of an in-house genotyping program to detect genetic variants linked to impaired dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) metabolism at a large multisite cancer center, including barriers to implementation and mechanisms to overcome barriers to facilitate test adoption. Fluoropyrimidines, including fluorouracil and capecitabine, are commonly used chemotherapy agents in the treatment of solid tumors, such as gastrointestinal cancers. DPD is encoded by the DPYD gene, and individuals classified as DPYD intermediate and poor metabolizers due to certain genetic variations in DPYD can experience reduced fluoropyrimidine clearance and an increased risk of fluoropyrimidine-related adverse events. Although pharmacogenomic guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for DPYD genotype-guided dosing, testing has not been widely adopted in the United States for numerous reasons, including limited education/awareness of clinical utility, lack of testing recommendations by oncology professional organizations, testing cost, lack of accessibility to a comprehensive in-house test and service, and prolonged test turnaround time. Based on stakeholder feedback regarding barriers to testing, we developed an in-house DPYD test and workflow to facilitate testing in multiple clinic locations at Levine Cancer Institute. Across 2 gastrointestinal oncology clinics from March 2020 through June 2022, 137 patients were genotyped, and 13 (9.5%) of those patients were heterozygous for a variant and identified as DPYD intermediate metabolizers. Implementation of DPYD genotyping at a multisite cancer center was feasible due to operationalization of workflows to overcome traditional barriers to testing and engagement from all stakeholders, including physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and laboratory personnel. Future directions to scale and sustain testing in all patients receiving a fluoropyrimidine across all Levine Cancer Institute locations include electronic medical record integration (eg, interruptive alerts), establishment of a billing infrastructure, and further refinement of workflows to improve the rate of pretreatment testing.

Austrian tricentric real-life analysis of molecular profiles of metastatic biliary tract cancer patients.

Metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC) is a rare and aggressive entity associated with poor prognosis. It represents a major challenge for adequate treatment strategies. In recent years, BTC has become a model for precision medicine in gastrointestinal oncology. Therefore, the analysis of the individual molecular profile in BTC patients may lead to targeted therapies for the benefit of patients. In this Austrian, tricentric, real-world, retrospective analysis, we investigated patients diagnosed with metastatic BTC who underwent molecular profiling between 2013 and 2022. In total, 92 patients were identified in this tricentric analysis and 205 molecular aberrations, including 198 mutations affecting 89 different genes in 61 patients were found. The predominant mutations were in KRAS (n=17; 22.4%), TP53 (n=17; 22.4%), PIK3CA (n=7; 9.2%), FGFR2 (n=7; 9.2%), DNMT3A (n=7; 9.2%), IDH1 (n=7; 9.2%), IDH2 (n=6; 7.9%), CDKN2A (n=6; 7.9%), BAP1 (n=4; 5.3%), NF1 (n=4; 5.3%), and NF2 (n=4; 5.3%). Three patients had HER2 amplification. MSI-H status and FGFR2 fusion genes were each observed in two different patients. One patient had a BRAF V600E mutation. Eventually, 10 patients received targeted therapy, of whom one-half derived clinical benefit. Molecular profiling of BTC patients is implementable in routine clinical practice and should be regularly employed to detect and exploit molecular vulnerabilities.

Immunotherapies in non-metastatic gastrointestinal cancers.

Over the last decade, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have emerged as cornerstone in the treatment of many metastatic tumour types, including gastrointestinal cancers. In many solid tumours, the effective therapies in the metastatic field are progressively brought into the curative setting. Consequently, earlier tumoural settings have become a field of experiment for immunotherapies. In melanoma, lung, and bladder cancers, excellent results were recorded, possibly explained by differences in the tumour microenvironment between metastatic and non-metastatic settings. In gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology, nivolumab is the first immune checkpoint inhibitor to become a standard-of-care adjuvant treatment after curative surgery for oesophagal or gastroesophageal junction cancer. We herein discuss the results of a selection of the most relevant studies presented/published over the last 18 months testing immunotherapies in non-metastatic GI cancers. Among immunotherapies, ICI have been investigated in pre-, peri- and postoperative setting across tumour types, alone or in combination with chemo- and/or radiotherapy. Vaccines are also a new field of investigation. Promising results from two studies (NCT04165772 and NICHE-2 study) demonstrating never-seen-before responses to neoadjuvant immunotherapy in MMR deficient (dMMR) colorectal cancers raise hope for improving the patients' outcome and developing organ-sparing strategies in this situation.

HAIC as a potential therapy for esophageal cancer patients with liver metastasis: a retrospective cohort study.

This was a single-arm historical cohort study of ESCC patients with synchronous or heterochronous LM between December 2014 and July 2021 at the Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology. The patients were treated with HAIC for LM, and regular image assessments were performed according to the judgment of the interventional physician. Liver progression-free survival (PFS), liver objective response rate (ORR), liver disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), adverse events (AEs), treatment information, and basic characteristics were observed retrospectively. Overall, a total of 33 patients were enrolled in this study. All included patients received catheterized HAIC therapy, with a median of three (ranging from 2 to 6) sessions. The treatment response of liver metastatic lesions included partial response (PR) in 16 (48.5%) patients, stable disease (SD) in 15 (45.5%) patients, and progressive disease (PD) in two (6.1%) patients, for an ORR of 48.5% and a DCR of 93.9%. The median liver PFS was 4.8 months (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.0-6.6 months), and the median OS was 6.4 months (95% CI: 6.1-6.6 months). Patients who achieved PR at the liver metastasis site after HAIC were more likely to have a longer OS than those who achieved SD or PD. Grade 3 AEs occurred in 12 patients. The most common grade 3 AE was nausea, occurring in 10 (30.0%) patients, followed by abdominal pain in three (9.1%) patients. Only one patient showed grade 3 elevation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and one patient suffered from grade 3 embolism syndrome AEs. Grade 4 adverse events, followed by abdominal pain, occurred in one patient. Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy might be an option as a regional therapy for ESCC patients with LM, as it is acceptable and tolerable.

Zolbetuximab + CAPOX Improves Survival in Advanced Gastric/GEJ Cancer

Zolbetuximab + CAPOX Improves Survival in Advanced Gastric/GEJ Cancer

Highlights from ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium 2023

On January 19-21, 2023, approximately 4000 international gastrointestinal (GI) cancer specialists gathered in San Francisco for the ASCO Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Symposium to celebrate a 20-year milestone and to discuss the latest research and treatment advances in the field. The multidisciplinary experts put the science into context and the attendees were provided with a truly comprehensive view of the latest innovations in GI oncology. The current article highlights some of the most clinically relevant presentations from ASCO GI 2023 Symposium.

Analysis of the efficacy and influencing factors of preoperative P-SOX neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen for progressive gastric cancer-construction of a clinical prediction model.

Preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy is one of the most common treatments for patients with advanced gastric cancer that cannot be completely removed by surgery. Nab-paclitaxel is a nano-formulation of paclitaxel that has been shown to be effective in treating stomach cancer. In addition, oxaliplatin + S-1 (SOX) has been a first-line chemotherapy regimen for gastric cancer, and it has the effect of tumor downstaging, improving the R0 resection rate, and reducing the postoperative recurrence rate, but the side effects are significant. During the application of oxaliplatin, obvious gastrointestinal reactions such as nausea and vomiting can be observed. There may also be blood system side effects such as leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, as well as serious adverse reactions such as peripheral neuropathy. Therefore, we reduced the amount of oxaliplatin in SOX and added nab-paclitaxel on the basis of this, in order to increase the efficacy while reducing the side effects of SOX regimen. We selected 192 patients with advanced gastric cancer admitted to the Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology of Qinghai University Hospital from July 2019 to February 2022, and all were treated with nab-paclitaxel plus oxaliplatin + S-1 neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen, and underwent further surgery after chemotherapy. The tumor regression grade (TRG grade) and response evaluation criteria of solid tumor 1.1 (RECIST1.1) were taken as the dependent variables. According to TRG classification, 120 patients were effective (grade 0, 1, 2 = 62.50%, age: 55.63 ± 9.02 years), 72 patients were ineffective (grade 3 = 37.50%, 55.82 ± 9.21 years), and the effective rate of chemotherapy was 62.50%. According to RECIST1.1, 116 patients were effective (CR + PR = 60.42%, mean age 55.84 ± 9.02 years), 76 patients were ineffective (SD + PD = 39.58%, 55.47 ± 9.19 years), and the effective rate was 60.42%. The factors p < 0.2 in univariate logistic regression analysis were included in multivariate logistic regression analysis, and p < 0.05 was the statistical difference, and statistically significant factors were screened out for modeling and plotted the nomogram. Among them, in the tumor regression grade, the final factors related to effective chemotherapy are the degree of differentiation, cT. stage, tumor diameter, chemotherapy cycle, and the final factors related to effective chemotherapy in the solid tumor response evaluation criteria are the degree of differentiation, cT. stage, tumor diameter. Therefore, we conclude that the regimen of nab-paclitaxel combined with oxaliplatin and S-1 has certain positive significance in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer.

Abstract 3150: Computational cohort discovery and coordinator-led validation to navigate potential research candidates to clinical trials

Abstract The purpose of this study was to improve the identification and solicitation of human subject candidates to augment patient enrollment to clinical trials. In the past, our enrollment efforts involved manual mechanisms that began at the time that cancer patients were presented for care, most commonly at our chemotherapy clinics. We reasoned that computational review of pathology records may be far more efficient, allowing us to screen larger numbers of patients, and may allow us to intercept patients at the time of diagnosis, rather than time of care. We thus implemented a new workflow: (1) computational query of pathology database to filter candidates based on key eligibility criteria; (2) validation of the query using a clinical research coordinator, who can then (3) navigate the patient to the trial. As a proof of concept, starting in August of 2022, we selected two gastrointestinal oncology trials, the COBRA and PACES trial, based on trial eligibility that could be easily extracted using pathologic criteria, and because these trials had low enrollment. We designed computational queries to extract cohorts of potential patients whose surgery dates and pathology staging identified potential clinical trial candidates. A coordinator performed chart-review to validate these candidates. The trial coordinator then contacted the patient’s surgical oncologist, facilitated referral to a medical oncologist, and tracked the number of patients approached and consented. Whereas in a 12-month period preceding this new workflow, we had 0 and 1 patients approached for the PACES and COBRA trial, in the 3-month period following the new intervention, we had 8 and 2 patients approached. These data suggest computational cohort building and subsequent navigation have the potential to improve enrollment onto clinical trials and motivate extension of this work to additional trials. Table(s) Trial # of patients approached pre-intervention Computational Criteria Meeting computational criteria Coordinator validation criteria # of patients validated by coordinator # of patients connected with medical oncologist # of patients approached post-intervention PACES 0 Colorectal cancer, stage T0-T3,N0-1 Date Aug 2021 – July 2022 23 Facility location, No evidence of disease on colonoscopy performed 120 -456 days post-surgery, No chemotherapy, No other malignancy 18 8 8 COBRA 1 Colorectal cancer pT3N0resection date August 2022 – October 2022 18 ≥ 12 lymph nodes assessedPatient locationIf the subject appropriate for active surveillanceSurgery within 14-60 days of randomization 4 0 2 Citation Format: Yonah Ziemba, Kaitlin Parnahay, Paul Ward, Nalan Yurtsever, Sharon Fox, Cheryl Schleicher, Priya Singh-Shiwsankar, Vincent Vinciguerra, Joseph Herman, James M. Crawford, Daniel A. King. Computational cohort discovery and coordinator-led validation to navigate potential research candidates to clinical trials [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 3150.

TREM2+ macrophages suppress CD8+ T-cell infiltration after transarterial chemoembolisation in hepatocellular carcinoma

The immune landscape of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) remains to be clarified. This study aimed to characterise the immune landscape following TACE and the underlying mechanism of HCC progression. Tumour samples from five patients with treatment-naive HCC and five patients who received TACE therapy were collected and subjected to single-cell RNA sequencing. Another 22 paired samples were validated using immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry. To clarify the underlying mechanisms, invitro co-culture experiments and two types of TREM2-KO/WT mouse models, namely, an HCC cell orthotopic injection model and a spontaneous HCC model, were used. A reduced number of CD8+ T cells and an increased number of tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) were observed in the post-TACE microenvironment. TACE therapy reduced the cluster CD8_C4, which was highly enriched with tumour-specific CD8+ T cells of pre-exhausted phenotype. TREM2 was found to be highly expressed in TAMs following TACE, which was associated with a poor prognosis. TREM2+ TAMs secreted less CXCL9 but more galectin-1 than did TREM2- TAMs. Galectin-1 promoted PD-L1 overexpression in vessel endothelial cells, impeding CD8+ T cell recruitment. TREM2 deficiency also increased CD8+ T cell infiltration, which inhibited tumour growth in both invivo HCC models. More importantly, TREM2 deficiency enhanced the therapeutic effect of anti-PD-L1 blockade. This study shows that TREM2+ TAMs play an important role in suppressing CD8+ T cells. TREM2 deficiency increased the therapeutic effect of anti-PD-L1 blockade by enhancing antitumour activity of CD8+ T cells. These findings explain the reasons for recurrence and progression after TACE and provide a new target for HCC immunotherapy after TACE. Studying the immune landscape in post-TACE HCC is important to uncover the mechanisms of HCC progression. By using scRNA sequencing and functional assays, we discovered that both the number and function of CD8+ T cells are compromised, whereas the number of TREM2+ TAMs is increased in post-TACE HCC, correlating with worse prognosis. Moreover, TREM2 deficiency dramatically increases CD8+ T cell infiltration and augments the therapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-L1 blockade. Mechanistically, TREM2+ TAMs display lower CXCL9 and increased Gal-1 secretion than do TREM2- TAMs, with Gal-1 mediating the overexpression of PD-L1 in vessel endothelial cells. These results suggest that TREM2 could be a novel immunotherapeutic target for patients treated with TACE in HCC. This provides an opportunity to break the plateau of limited therapeutic effect. This study has the value of understanding the tumour microenvironment of post-TACE HCC and thinking a new strategy of immunotherapy in the field of HCC. It is therefore of key impact for physicians, scientists and drug developers in the field of liver cancer and gastrointestinal oncology.

Biomarker testing in colorectal cancer.

Christopher Lieu, co-director of gastrointestinal medical oncology and the associate director for clinical research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center (Aurora, CO, USA) discusses the importance of biomarker testing in metastatic colorectal cancer to inform personalized patient care.

Palliative gastrointestinal surgical oncology–outcomes after palliative care consultation: retrospective observational study

ObjectivesPalliative surgery aims to relieve patients’ symptoms and improve quality of life with surgical interventions. While a multidisciplinary approach has been found beneficial for critically ill patients, limited evidence supports...

Comment on "Crosstalk between gut microbiota and COVID-19 impacts pancreatic cancer progression".

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a global burden, further exacerbating the occurrence of risk events in cancer patients. The high risk of death from pancreatic cancer makes it one of the most lethal malignancies. Recently, it was reported in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology that COVID-19 influences pancreatic cancer progression via the lung-gut-pancreatic axis, and the authors provided insights into the intrinsic crosstalk mechanisms in which the gut microbiota is involved, the characteristics and effects of inflammatory factors, and immunotherapeutic strategies for treating both diseases. Here, we review the latest cutting-edge researches in the field of the lung-gut-pancreatic axis and discuss future perspectives to address the severe survival challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Artificial intelligence in pancreatic cancer: diagnosis, limitations, and the future prospects-a narrative review.

This review aims to explore the role of AI in the application of pancreatic cancer management and make recommendations to minimize the impact of the limitations to provide further benefits from AI use in the future. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted using a combination of MeSH keywords, including "Artificial intelligence", "Pancreatic cancer", "Diagnosis", and "Limitations". The beneficial implications of AI in the detection of biomarkers, diagnosis, and prognosis of pancreatic cancer have been explored. In addition, current drawbacks of AI use have been divided into subcategories encompassing statistical, training, and knowledge limitations; data handling, ethical and medicolegal aspects; and clinical integration and implementation. Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computational machine systems that accomplish a set of given tasks by imitating human intelligence in an exponential learning pattern. AI in gastrointestinal oncology has continued to provide significant advancements in the clinical, molecular, and radiological diagnosis and intervention techniques required to improve the prognosis of many gastrointestinal cancer types, particularly pancreatic cancer.

Using video consultations for clinical assessment and decision of treatment readiness before chemotherapy: A mixed-methods study among patients with gastrointestinal cancer and oncology nurses.

To investigate the feasibility of clinical assessment and decision of treatment readiness before chemotherapy using video consultations, as perceived by gastrointestinal cancer patients and oncology nurses. In addition, to estimate reductions in travel time for patients and environmental carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In a mixed-method study, patients with gastrointestinal cancer who participated in at least one video consultation during April-October 2019 completed a questionnaire on socioeconomic status, time and kilometers saved on travel. Kilometers saved were converted into reduced CO2 emissions. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. Patients (n = 15) participated in semi-structured individual interviews, and five oncology nurses participated in a focus group interview. A total of 84/119 patients (71%) consented to video consultation and responded to the questionnaire. 69% were male, with a mean age of 66 years. For 46% of patients, a video consultation saved more than an hour of travel time. Avoiding a median travel distance of 120 km per patient (range, 2-450 km) reduced CO2 emissions by 7018 lb. Video consultations had other positive effects on patients, including avoiding waiting rooms, having more energy, and experiencing more focused interactions with nurses. Technical issues occurred rarely. Nurses found technical issues more troublesome, sometimes precluding complete assessments. They reported a need to rethink nursing practice to effectively provide care during video consultations. Video consultations reduced CO2 emissions. In addition, they were beneficial for patients with gastrointestinal cancer. However, providing an optimal clinical assessment and decision of treatment readiness before chemotherapy requires testing patient equipment, technical skills and new oncology nursing competencies.

Factors associated with weekend emergency department visits in patients with GI cancer.

813 Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers account for highest ED revisits among cancer patients. Weekend ED visits are also associated with higher mortality. We aimed to analyze factors associated with weekend ED visits among GI cancer patients. Methods: Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) database was queried from 2009 to 2017 for ED visits with GI primary tumor. ED visits were characterized by demographic, socioeconomic factors, hospital characteristics and primary cancer. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed. Data was analyzed using Stata. Results: From 2009 to 2017, 6,862,077 ED visits associated with GI cancer were analyzed and 1,811,111(26.4%) visits were on weekend. Weekend visits were associated with increased in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR] 1.06; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.04-1.). Weekday mortality was 3.8%, while weekend was 3.9%. Weekend visits were negatively associated with presentation in 2013-2017 as compared to 2009-2012 (OR 0.96; 0.95-0.97), Northeast hospitals (OR 0.89; 0.88-0.91) compared to Midwest, teaching hospital status (OR 0.96; 0.95-0.97) compared to non-teaching and metastatic cancer (OR 0.96; 0.95-0.97) compared to non-metastatic cancers. Compared to colon, weekend admissions were also negatively associated with anorectal (OR 0.96; 0.95-0.98) and hepatobiliary cancers (OR 0.96; 0.95-0.98). Conclusions: Presentation between 2013 to 2017, teaching hospital status, Northeast hospitals and metastatic stage were associated with fewer weekend ED visits. These findings could be potentially explained by increased and primary care utilization. There was a statistically significant association between mortality and weekend admissions, however the absolute difference was only 0.1%. Possible explanations include potential differences in staffing, interventions and procedures over the weekends compared to weekdays. In comparison to colon, anorectal and hepatobiliary cancer patients are less likely to have weekend ED visits while pancreatic cancer patients are more likely to have weekend ED visits. Our findings may help GI oncologists identify patients at risk of weekend ED visits.[Table: see text]

Advanced prompting as a catalyst: Empowering large language models in the management of gastrointestinal cancers

&lt;p&gt;Large Language Models' (LLMs) performance in healthcare can be significantly impacted by prompt engineering. However, the area of study remains relatively uncharted in gastrointestinal oncology until now. Our research delves into this unexplored territory, investigating the efficacy of varied prompting strategies, including simple prompts, templated prompts, in-context learning (ICL), and multi-round iterative questioning, for optimizing the performance of LLMs within a medical setting. We develop a comprehensive evaluation system to assess the performance of LLMs across multiple dimensions. This robust evaluation system ensures a thorough assessment of the LLMs' capabilities in the field of medicine. Our findings suggest a positive relationship between the comprehensiveness of the prompts and the LLMs' performance. Notably, the multi-round strategy, which is characterized by iterative question-and-answer rounds, consistently yields the best results. ICL, a strategy that capitalizes on interrelated contextual learning, also displays significant promise, surpassing the outcomes achieved with simpler prompts. The research underscores the potential of advanced prompt engineering and iterative learning approaches for boosting the applicability of LLMs in healthcare. We recommend that additional research be conducted to refine these strategies and investigate their potential integration, to truly harness the full potential of LLMs in medical applications.&lt;/p&gt;