CAR-T Cell Therapy—An Overview of Targets in Gastric Cancer

Abstract

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancies and, unfortunately, still has a high mortality rate. Recent research points to CAR-T immunotherapy as a promising treatment for this disease. Using genetically engineered T cells designed to target a previously selected antigen, researchers are able to harness the natural anti-tumor activity of T cells. For therapy to be successful, however, it is essential to choose antigens that are present on tumor cells but not on healthy cells. In this review, we present an overview of the most important targets for CAR-T therapy in the context of GC, including their biologic function and therapeutic application. A number of clinical studies point to the following as important markers in GC: human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, carcinoembryonic antigen, mucin 1, epithelial cell adhesion molecule, claudin 18.2, mesothelin, natural-killer receptor group 2 member D, and folate receptor 1. Although these markers have been met with some success, the search for new and improved targets continues. Key among these novel biomarkers are the B7H6 ligand, actin-related protein 2/3 (ARP 2/3), neuropilin-1 (NRP-1), desmocollin 2 (DSC2), anion exchanger 1 (AF1), and cancer-related antigens CA-72-4 and CA-19-9.

Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) in patients with gastric cancer: A meta-analysis

“…Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) including nivolumab and pembrolizumab has been emerging as a novel treatment strategy for advanced GC [ 6 ]. Recent research points to CAR-T immunotherapy as a promising treatment for GC [ 7 ]. Prognostic markers including platelet count, CA 19–9, CEA, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are reported to be highly associated with prognosis of GC [ 8 ].…”

Tumor Profiling at the Service of Cancer Therapy

“…Active immunotherapy is composed of CAR-T antibodies, which are harvested, modified T cells from the patient that are genetically altered to specifically recognize cancer cells when infused back into the patient. The features and implications of CAR-T technologies are extensive and far beyond the scope of this review, but comprehensive reviews can be found in (41)(42)(43)(44).…”

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell Therapy for Digestive Tumor

“…Experimental analysis showed that the proliferation of M28Z10-T cells in vitro was no different from that of normal T cells, but compared with normal T cells, M28Z10-T cells had a stronger specific anti-tumor effect on gastric cancer cells and could induce a stronger immune response. In addition, tumor size, weight and peripheral blood T cell ratio of different M28Z10-T cell injection methods were examined respectively in the experiment, and it can be clearly concluded that the antitumor effect of peritumor(p.t) injection is significantly stronger than that of intravenous(i.v) injection, which will have a certain guiding significance for future clinical application [19,20].…”