The Use of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Treating Locally Advanced and Metastatic Gastric Cancer: A Literature Review

Abstract

Relevance: Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant neoplasms and ranks fifth in cancer incidence worldwide. The only curative approach to localized gastric cancer is radical surgery with or without prior chemotherapy. But chemotherapy is the main treatment method for metastatic or locally advanced gastric cancer. Later stages of gastric cancer are highly resistant to chemotherapy; therefore, there is a need for modern treatment approaches. Particular attention is paid to therapy for metastatic/locally advanced gastric cancer.
 
 The study aimed to describe the possibilities of using immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) to treat metastatic or locally advanced gastric cancer.
 
 Methods: The data from modern literary sources of recent years were studied using specialized scientific search engines: Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science for the possibility of promising application of various immunotherapeutic approaches in treating metastatic or locally advanced gastric cancer.
 
 Results: The article describes modern methods of treatment of metastatic or locally advanced SC using ICIs, including PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4, demonstrates the mechanisms of immunological surveillance, characteristics of PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA-4, and their significance in suppressing the T-cell response. The effectiveness of using ICIs, particularly PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4, has been established in the first and subsequent lines of therapy.
 
 Conclusion: ICIs are a recent finding in antitumor therapy. Frequent resistance of gastric cancer to chemotherapy urges the use of ICIs to treat advanced gastric cancer.