In a randomized clinical trial, Mass General Brigham researchers and their colleagues found that combining inavolisib with the standard two-drug treatment resulted in longer patient survival and slower cancer progression for those with the PIK3CA gene mutation.

The SWOG S2302 Pragmatica-Lung trial, which broke new ground with its streamlined pragmatic design, unusually broad eligibility criteria, and reduced data collection, has quickly answered its primary question, finding that the investigational combination it tested did not significantly extend overall survival compared to standard of care treatments. Importantly, the phase 3 trial’s rapid development and implementation, coupled with its successful enrollment of a group of patients broadly representative of the larger U.S. population, establish Pragmatica-Lung as a paradigm-shifting model for the design and conduct of future large randomized studies.

In a new multi-center study led by Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, researchers have found that aggressive surgery in patients with advanced gallbladder cancer (T3/T4) can lead to high complication and mortality rates, especially in those in the T4 patients that invade adjacents organs  of the disease.