Deirdre J. Cohen, MD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses emerging agents for the treatment of patients with gastric cancer.

Inhibitors have been developed in gastric cancer to target both HER2 and VEGF, Cohen explains. These agents provide meaningful survival benefits for patients, she adds. In addition to other agents in development, Cohen says there is an explosion of studies investigating immunotherapy agents.

An expansion phase Ib study looked at the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with PD-L1—positive tumors. Results showed an overall response rate of approximately 22% and a median time to response of 8 weeks, she says. A second phase Ib study examined avelumab as second-line and maintenance therapy, which also demonstrated encouraging responses. Phase III data is needed to confirm these findings. 

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Deirdre J. Cohen, MD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses emerging agents for the treatment of patients with gastric cancer. 


Dr. Deirdre Cohen on Emerging Agents in Gastric Cancer

Deirdre J. Cohen, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Clinical Cancer Center, NYU Medical Oncology Associates, at the Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses the normal role of the hedgehog signaling pathway and potential cancers that the upregulation of the pathway may be implicated in.

The hedgehog pathway plays an important role in embryogenesis development, tissue repair, and stem cell maintenance. Upregulation of the pathway can lead to the development of gastric cancers, epithelial malignancies, basal cell carcinoma, and medulloblastoma — a disease in which it was first implicated.

Dr. Deirdre Cohen, from NYU Medical Oncology Associates, Addresses the Role of the Hedgehog Pathway

Dr. Cohen Addresses the Role of the Hedgehog Pathway

Deirdre J. Cohen, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Clinical Cancer Center, NYU Medical Oncology Associates, at the Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses some of the results demonstrated in trials that examined selective inhibition of the hedgehog pathway.

Cohen states that 100% of sporadic basal-cell carcinomas demonstrate activity in the hedgehog pathway. The agent vismodegib (GDC-0449), an investigational, oral, small-molecule agent, has shown efficacy in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) by inhibiting the hedgehog pathway, which is implicated in over 90% of BCC cases. The overall response rate to this agent was approximately 50%, with measurable variations based on whether the disease was locally advanced or metastatic.

BCC is one example where hedgehog inhibition is very successful, however in epithelial malignancies it has failed to demonstrate any efficacy. Investigations are still underway to determine if this pathway plays a role in gastroesophageal cancer.

Dr. Deirdre Cohen, NYU Medical Oncology Associates, Discusses Hedgehog Pathway Inhibition

Deirdre J. Cohen, MD

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Dr. Deirdre Cohen on Emerging Agents in Gastric Cancer

Dr. Cohen Addresses the Role of the Hedgehog Pathway

Dr. Cohen Discusses Hedgehog Pathway Inhibition