How May Ramucirumab Help Improve Treatment Outcome for Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancers?

Abstract

GI cancers are characterized by high recurrence rates and a dismal prognosis and there is an urgent need for new therapeutic approaches. This is a narrative review designed to provide a summary of the efficacy as measured by overall survival, progression free survival, and safety data from phase 3 randomized controlled GI clinical trials of ramucirumab including those from important pre-specified patient subgroups and evidence from real clinical practice worldwide. Quality of life (QOL) is discussed where data are available. Our aim was to summarize the efficacy and safety of ramucirumab in the treatment of GI cancers using these existing published data with a view to demonstrating how ramucirumab may help improve treatment outcome for patients with GI cancers. The data indicate that ramucirumab is efficacious, safe, and tolerable across the intent-to-treat patient populations as a whole and across several pre-specified subgroups, even those whose disease is traditionally more difficult to treat. Furthermore, survival outcomes observed in real-world clinical practice demonstrate similar data from phase 3 clinical trials even in patients with complications, suggesting that the benefits of ramucirumab translate in actual clinical practice.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C and D Signaling Pathways as Potential Targets for the Treatment of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Narrative Review

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“…GI cancers are overall the most common causes of cancer-related death in men. [ 20 ] A recent study showed that FOLFIRI is an active and well-tolerated regimen after the failure of a fluoropyrimidine/platinum regimen in patients with advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma. Population with poor prognostic features was well represented.…”

RNA methylation‐related inhibitors: Biological basis and therapeutic potential for cancer therapy

“…Cancer is one of the major diseases threatening human health, 1,2 and the incidence and mortality have increased rapidly in the past 20 years 3 . There are an average of 12 000 new cancer cases and 10 000 cancer deaths every day, which corresponds to an average of about 7500 cancer deaths every year.…”

“…Cancer is one of the major diseases threatening human health, 1 , 2 and the incidence and mortality have increased rapidly in the past 20 years. 3 There are an average of 12 000 new cancer cases and 10 000 cancer deaths every day, which corresponds to an average of about 7500 cancer deaths every year. In 2020, there will be an estimated 19.3 million new cancer cases (excluding non‐melanoma skin cancers) and nearly 10 million cancer deaths worldwide.…”