Molecular targeted therapy for advanced gastric cancer

Abstract

Although medical treatment has been shown to improve quality of life and prolong survival, no significant progress has been made in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) within the last two decades. Thus, the optimum standard first-line chemotherapy regimen for AGC remains debatable, and most responses to chemotherapy are partial and of short duration; the median survival is approximately 7 to 11 months, and survival at 2 years is exceptionally > 10%. Recently, remarkable progress in tumor biology has led to the development of new agents that target critical aspects of oncogenic pathways. For AGC, many molecular targeting agents have been evaluated in international randomized studies, and trastuzumab, an anti-HER-2 monoclonal antibody, has shown antitumor activity against HER-2-positive AGC. However, this benefit is limited to only ~20% of patients with AGC (patients with HER-2-positive AGC). Therefore, there remains a critical need for both the development of more effective agents and the identification of molecular predictive and prognostic markers to select those patients who will benefit most from specific chemotherapeutic regimens and targeted therapies.

HNRNPC as a candidate biomarker for chemoresistance in gastric cancer

“…Approximately 70 % of patients are initially diagnosed at an advanced stage when surgical resection is not a viable option [2,3]. Palliative chemotherapy is the main approach for advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patients; however, the prognosis of these patients is very poor, with a 5-year survival rate less than 20 % [4][5][6].…”

Helicobacter pylori Infection Predicts Favorable Outcome in Patients with Gastric Cancer

“…7 . Currently, there is an urgent need to identify novel molecular predictive and prognostic biomarkers that will contribute to the effective use of targeted therapy in patients with gastric cancer, facilitate an understanding of gastric carcinogenesis, and reveal new molecular targets for therapeutic intervention 7,8 .…”

Angiogenic inhibitors in gastric cancers and gastroesophageal junction carcinomas: A critical insight

“…In gastrointestinal malignancies, angiogenesis is a well-known underlying promoter of tumor growth, invasion, and metastases. Based on a solid biologic background [16][17][18], the role of antiangiogenic drugs has been extensively investigated in gastric cancers [19]. Among many other molecules, bevacizumab, sorafenib, and sunitinib have been tested in clinical trials.…”