Top 5 Papers
#1
Source: Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology | Authors: Kudo M, Dong J, et al. — 40 centres, China and Japan | Published: August 25, 2026
Score: 13/20 — Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology base (8) + Phase III RCT (+3) + primary-endpoint progression benefit, HR 0.71, p=0.0089 (+2) = 13
TALENTACE randomised 342 patients with untreated, TACE-eligible hepatocellular carcinoma to on-demand transarterial chemoembolisation plus atezolizumab and bevacizumab, or to TACE alone. The trial met its primary endpoint: median TACE progression-free survival was 11.30 months with the combination versus 7.03 months with TACE alone (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.55-0.92, p=0.0089). Overall survival remains immature at the first interim analysis and shows no separation so far — 34.53 versus 35.38 months (HR 0.96, 99.62% CI 0.58-1.58). This is the first positive Phase 3 read on adding checkpoint blockade plus anti-VEGF to embolisation on that trial's own primary endpoint, but TACE-PFS is a composite of local progression and re-treatment need, not survival. The practice question stays open until the OS curves mature.
Post angle: First Phase 3 win for TACE + atezo/bev on its primary endpoint in HCC — TACE-PFS 11.3 vs 7.0 mo. But OS is flat and immature. Is TACE-PFS the endpoint that should move practice? #GIOnc #HCC #LiverCancer
#2
Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology | Authors: Sunakawa Y, Tsuji A, et al. — multicentre, Japan (jRCTs061180022) | Published: August 27, 2026
Score: 12/20 — JCO base (8) + randomised Phase II (+2) + biomarker- and sidedness-guided selection (+1) + colleague engagement (+1: one GI oncology KOL posted it within 48h) = 12
The final analysis of the randomised Phase II DEEPER trial compared modified FOLFOXIRI plus cetuximab against modified FOLFOXIRI plus bevacizumab in first-line RAS/BRAF wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer. In the overall per-protocol set there was no difference in either progression-free or overall survival between the two biologics. The signal is confined to the left-sided RAS/BRAF wild-type subgroup, where cetuximab produced a median PFS of 14.8 versus 11.9 months (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.52-0.97, p=0.029) and a median OS of 50.2 versus 40.2 months (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.53-1.05). A ten-month median OS gap is not a small effect, but it sits in a subgroup of a Phase II trial whose overall comparison was flat, and the OS confidence interval crosses 1. This reinforces sidedness as a first-line selection variable rather than settling it.
Post angle: DEEPER final analysis: cetuximab beats bevacizumab with FOLFOXIRI only in left-sided RAS/BRAF WT mCRC — mOS 50.2 vs 40.2 mo. Overall analysis? No difference. Subgroup truth or subgroup noise? #GIOnc #CRC #PrecisionMedicine
#3
Source: ESMO Open | Authors: Tougeron D, Lordick F, et al. — multicentre, international | Published: August 27, 2026
Score: 11/20 — ESMO Open base (6) + long-term follow-up of a Phase III RCT, scaled down from a new randomisation (+2) + sustained overall survival benefit, HR 0.61 (+2) + colleague engagement (+1: one GI oncology KOL posted it the same week) = 11
This post hoc, exploratory analysis of the Phase III RATIONALE-306 trial reports outcomes with a minimum follow-up of 45.2 months in the PD-L1 Tumour Area Positivity >=5% subgroup of first-line advanced or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Tislelizumab plus chemotherapy produced a median overall survival of 19.1 versus 10.0 months against placebo plus chemotherapy (HR 0.61), with median progression-free survival of 8.2 versus 5.5 months (HR 0.50) and an objective response rate of 71.5% versus 41.4%. A near-doubling of median OS that persists at close to four years is an unusually durable signal for this disease. The caveat is structural: this is a post hoc subgroup analysis, so the effect size should be read as descriptive rather than as a formally tested estimate.
Post angle: RATIONALE-306 at 45 months: tislelizumab + chemo nearly doubles median OS in PD-L1 TAP-high oesophageal squamous cancer, 19.1 vs 10.0 mo. Post hoc, but the durability is hard to argue with. #GIOnc #EsophagealCancer #Immunotherapy
#4
Source: JHEP Reports | Authors: Takeuchi Y, Otsuka M, et al. — multicentre, Japan | Published: August 28, 2026
Score: 9/20 — JHEP Reports base (6) + randomised Phase II (+2) + secondary progression-free survival signal only, primary endpoint missed and OS flat (+1) = 9
This randomised Phase 2 trial tested whether adding cisplatin-based hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab improves outcomes in 70 patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. The primary endpoint was not met: objective response rate was 45.7% with the triplet versus 28.6% with atezolizumab-bevacizumab alone (p=0.095). Progression-free survival did favour the addition of arterial chemotherapy, at 8.3 versus 6.6 months (HR 0.53, p=0.036), but overall survival was flat at 28.1 versus 31.0 months (HR 0.95, p=0.88). Read alongside TALENTACE in the same edition, this is the honest counterweight: intensifying locoregional delivery on top of systemic immunotherapy moved one secondary endpoint and nothing else. In a 70-patient trial with a negative primary, that is hypothesis-generating rather than practice-informing.
Post angle: Adding cisplatin HAIC to atezo/bev in unresectable HCC missed its primary endpoint (ORR 45.7% vs 28.6%, p=0.095). PFS improved, OS flat. The negative trial that belongs next to TALENTACE. #GIOnc #HCC #LiverCancer
#5
Source: Clinical Cancer Research | Authors: Schlechter BL, Segal NH, et al. — multicentre, US and UK | Published: August 28, 2026
Score: 8/20 — Clinical Cancer Research base (6) + Phase Ib, excluded from the study-type bonus (0) + durable survival in a population with no approved immunotherapy option, 36-month OS 33% (+2) = 8
This extended follow-up reports an expanded Phase 1b cohort of 123 heavily pretreated patients with microsatellite-stable metastatic colorectal cancer and no active liver metastases, treated with the Fc-enhanced anti-CTLA-4 antibody botensilimab plus the PD-1 antibody balstilimab. The objective response rate was 21% (95% CI 14-29) and median overall survival was 21.2 months (95% CI 16.2-23.8), with 33% of patients alive at 36 months; median progression-free survival was 4.0 months. Efficacy was consistent in patients previously exposed to later-line agents. Microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer is the setting in which checkpoint blockade has repeatedly failed, so a third of a refractory cohort alive at three years is the number worth carrying forward. The absence of active liver metastases remains the explicit selection boundary, and this is still a single-arm Phase 1b dataset rather than a randomised comparison.
Post angle: MSS colorectal cancer without active liver mets: botensilimab + balstilimab gives ORR 21% and 33% of patients alive at 3 years across 123 heavily pretreated patients. The tumour IO was supposed to never work in. #GIOnc #CRC #Immunotherapy
Additional Papers of Interest
-
Clinical Cancer Research — T-DM1 across 95 patients in five HER2-amplified cohorts gave an overall ORR of 23%, but the colorectal cohort recorded 0 of 7 responses; the salivary gland cohort drove the positive signal, making this a pan-tumour result with an explicitly negative GI read
-
Gastric Cancer — 51 patients with severe peritoneal metastases, a population routinely excluded from pivotal trials, reached a median OS of 7.4 months and median PFS of 3.8 months on mFOLFOX6, with an ascites response rate of 36%
-
Lancet Oncology — Fokas and Hofheinz put the STAR-TREC 12-month results, covered in the August 25 edition, alongside TESAR and argue the organ-preservation evidence base is now strong enough to reshape how early rectal cancer is discussed with patients
-
JAMA Oncology — across 14,655 patients, biosimilar-only use of bevacizumab, rituximab or trastuzumab was associated with a $3,820 lower mean monthly payer cost and $39.50 lower monthly out-of-pocket cost; colorectal cancer accounted for 13.6% of the cohort
Back to all digests