Health Rounds: Experimental treatment slows advanced colon cancer, improves survival in trial

Arcus Biosciences

28/05/2024 19:04

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    By Nancy Lapid
       May 28 (Reuters) - Hello Health Rounds Readers! Today we
highlight another study to be presented at the year's most
important oncology meeting this weekend, a combination therapy
that slowed progression and improved survival in advanced colon
cancer. We also have a study that shows you're never too old to
start on statins, and another example of racial disparities in
the U.S. healthcare system.
    Health Rounds is taking Thursday off but will return with
more cutting edge medical science on Tuesday.  
    
    Arcus treatment slows advanced colorectal cancer
    A new treatment approach including a pair of experimental
immunotherapy drugs being developed by Arcus Biosciences
 RCUS.N  demonstrated promising results for patients whose
advanced colorectal cancer continued to spread despite standard
treatment, according to data from a mid-stage trial.
    The amount of time during and after treatment when the
cancer did not worsen - known as progression-free survival (PFS)
- averaged 6.2 months in the 75 patients who received a
combination of the Arcus immunotherapies etrumadenant and
zimberelimab plus a common chemotherapy regimen.
    That compared to a PFS of 2.1 months for the 37 patients who
received only Bayer’s  BAYGn.DE  Stigarva (regorafenib), which
has previously been shown to significantly improve survival in
treatment‐refractory metastatic colorectal cancer.
    The median overall survival with the combination treatment
was double at 19.7 months compared to 9.5 months for those who
received Stigarva alone.
    "The improvement in both progression-free survival and
overall survival observed with the ... combination represents a
significant advancement in the management of refractory
metastatic colorectal cancer,” said study leader Dr. Zev
Wainberg of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center,
who will present the findings at the American Society of
Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago this weekend. 
    The results of the study also showed treatment with the
novel combination therapy either partially or completely shrank
tumors in 17.3% of patients. For patients on Stigarva only, 2.7%
had tumor shrinkage.
    “These results pave the way for further exploration of this
promising treatment approach," Wainberg said.
    
    Statins prevent heart disease even in the very old
    Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs can help prevent
development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) regardless of how
old patients are when treatment begins, a new study found. 
    Even in people who made it to age 85 or beyond without
having coronary heart problems or strokes, the benefits and
safety of starting therapy with statins for preventing those
outcomes were clear, according to a report published on Monday
in Annals of Internal Medicine. 
    In patients younger than 75, the benefits of statins for
primary prevention - for preventing a first heart attack or
heart disease – are well documented. Studies in older patients
had been lacking, until now.
    At the University of Hong Kong, researchers used health
record data to calculate the effects of starting versus not
starting statin therapy in roughly 43,000 closely matched people
ages 75 to 84, and 6,000 closely matched people age 84 and
older. They all had no history of heart disease but did carry 
risk factors such as unhealthy cholesterol levels plus high
blood sugar, obesity, smoking, diabetes, or high blood pressure.
    Over the course of 5 years, the risk of developing CVD was
reduced by 6% overall in patients ages 75-84 and by 15% in
patients over age 85, researchers found. The effects were even
stronger in patients who adhered very closely to the treatment
instructions. 
    There were no increased risks of muscle or liver problems in
the treated patients, the researchers also found. 
    “Considering the increasing burden related to CVD in the
aging population, our study results support the prescription of
statin therapy for primary prevention of CVD in old and very old
adults,” the researchers concluded.

    Cancer treatments lacking at U.S. minority serving hospitals
    U.S. cancer patients get sub-par care at hospitals that
primary serve minority patients, a new study found.
    Researchers analyzed information from the National Cancer
Database on roughly 2.9 million patients treated for cancer of
the breast, prostate, lung, or colon at 1,330 hospitals between
2010 and 2019.
    At minority-serving hospitals, defined as facilities that
serve at least twice as many minority patients as other
hospitals in the same region, receipt of definitive treatment
such as surgery or radiation was 17% less likely in breast
cancer patients. It was 31% less likely in prostate cancer
patients, 27% less likely in lung cancer, and 19% less likely in
those with colon cancer, compared to patients treated at other
nearby hospitals. 
    These disparities persisted even after researchers took
various socio-demographic and clinical factors into account, the
researchers reported in the journal Cancer.
    They estimate that if treatment rates at minority serving
hospitals were improved to match those at other facilities,
thousands of additional patients would receive definitive cancer
treatment over 10 years. 
    “Access to care is a significant factor contributing to
racial differences in cancer mortality, alongside biological
differences,” study leader Dr. Quoc-Dien Trinh of Brigham and
Women’s Hospital in Boston said in a statement. 
    “Improving services at hospitals that primarily serve
minority populations could be a crucial part of a wider effort
to achieve healthcare equity.”
    

 (Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
 ((nancy.lapid@thomsonreuters.com))