Zev Wainberg, medical-oncologist, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Biography
Dr. Wainberg is an academic medical oncologist at the David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine specializing in gastrointestinal malignancies. I currently serve as the co-director of the GI oncology program and medical director of the Gastro-Esophageal and Pancreas Cancer Center at UCLA with a joint appointment in medicine and surgery. My research focus is on translational research of GI cancers with a particular focus on drug development. I also serve as the director of the Early Phase Clinical Research Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA. I am currently the principal investigator on over 25 clinical trials focused on targeted therapeutics in patients with gastrointestinal cancers.
Summary of presentation
It has long been known that many gastric cancers but mostly diffuse subset have over-expression of the FGFR2 gene and protein. More recently, it has also been recognized that up to 8% of patients have amplification of FGFR2 as well. The FIGHT trial was a randomized Phase II trial that showed a survival advantage of FOLFOX + the monoclonal antibody bemaritizumab over FOLFOX alone in patients pre-selected for FGFR over-expression, which was mostly in patients in >10% staining FGFR. This may represent up to 20% of HER2 negative gastric cancer. Ongoing trials examining the impact of FGFR2 inhibitors will be available in 2025 including the Fortitude 101 and Fortitude 102 studies.