Posts by Peter W. PENG

The 18th International Liver Cancer Association (ILCA) Annual Conference took place in Toronto, Canada, from October 17-19, 2024. During the conference, Prof. Richard S. Finn of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA presented subgroup data from the real-world REFINE study, highlighting that patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) who received transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or transarterial radioembolization (TARE) in addition to regorafenib had better survival trends. Oncology Frontier invited Dr. Yunfei Yuan from the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center to discuss and provide insights on this study.

The final results of the KEYNOTE-522 trial confirm the potential of pembrolizumab to change patient management, though careful patient selection and toxicity monitoring are essential.

From October 24-27, 2024, the 9th Academic Symposium of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA) China Chapter took place in Wuhan. In the field of liver cancer adjuvant therapy, Dr. Minshan Chen from the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center presented new treatment strategies. Oncology Frontier invited Prof. Chen for an in-depth interview, where he shared insights on this topic. Prof. Chen highlighted that traditional postoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is becoming outdated, as it shows limited efficacy in addressing large liver tumors and residual micro-lesions. In contrast, hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC), validated through a decade of clinical research, has proven highly effective for advanced liver cancer. HAIC not only shrinks tumor size for resectability but also shows promising results for large tumors and patients with vascular invasion. Prof. Chen emphasized that in liver cancer treatment, patient survival and quality of life should be prioritized over the focus on recurrence alone.

Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) is a validated treatment for liver cancer, yet the influence of the immune microenvironment on treatment response and survival remains unclear. At the 18th International Liver Cancer Association (ILCA) Annual Conference, a recent study shed light on the complex relationship between the immune microenvironment in liver cancer patients prior to SIRT and its impact on treatment response and survival. Oncology Frontier invited Dr. Lin Zhang, from the Hepatobiliary Interventional Radiology Department at Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, to provide an expert analysis. With a detailed breakdown of the data and expert interpretation, this study offers valuable insights into the role of the local immune state in liver cancer treatment, paving the way for personalized and combination therapy strategies.

From September 25 to 29, 2024, the highly anticipated 27th Chinese Clinical Oncology Annual Conference and CSCO Annual Meeting took place in Xiamen. Dr. Rongbo Lin of Fujian Cancer Hospital shared key findings from his team’s research in gastric cancer. During the conference, Oncology Frontier conducted an in-depth interview with Professor Lin, discussing the clinical applications of the POFI and POF regimens for advanced gastric cancer.

At the 2024 SIBCS conference, Dr. Li Ma from The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University presented on the topic “Advances and Controversies in Breast Surgery and Pathology.” He addressed various hot topics, including: “Can axillary dissection be completely avoided in patients with 1–2 positive sentinel lymph nodes? Can axillary dissection be omitted after downstaging lymph nodes with neoadjuvant therapy? Does bilateral mastectomy lower the risk of contralateral cancer but not improve mortality rates? Is screening necessary for HER2-ultra-low expression? What factors influence the accurate diagnosis of HER2-negative and HER2-ultra-low expression?” Following the presentation, Oncology Frontier interviewed Dr. Ma to discuss these advancements and controversies and invited him to share his insights on potential updates in the breast surgery and pathology sections of the 2025 “Little Red Book.”

In clinical practice, several criteria are available for evaluating liver transplant candidates, such as the Milan Criteria, UCSF Criteria in the U.S., Ontario Criteria in Canada, and domestic standards like the Fudan Criteria and Hangzhou Criteria in China. Among these, the Milan Criteria are the most widely adopted. However, differences in survival outcomes based on these criteria suggest the need for refinement. At the recently held 2024 International Liver Cancer Association (ILCA) Conference, a study utilizing data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) compared survival rates between patients evaluated under the Milan Criteria and the Ontario Criteria. Oncology Frontier invited Dr. Zilin Cui from Tianjin First Central Hospital to introduce and review the study.