Gastric cancer:current and evolving treatment landscape
- Author:
Sun WEIJING
1
;
Yan LI
Author Information
1. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
- Keywords:
Gastric cancer;
Treatment;
Molecular medicine;
Immunotherapy
- From:Chinese Journal of Cancer
2016;35(8):416-420
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Gastric (including gastroesophageal junction) cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. In China, an estimated 420,000 patients were diagnosed with gastric cancer in 2011, ranking this malignancy the second most prevalent cancer type and resulting in near 300,000 deaths. The treatment landscape of gastric cancer has evolved in recent years. Although systemic chemotherapy is still the mainstay treatment of metastatic disease, the introduction of agents targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular endothelia growth factor receptor has brought this disease into the molecular and personalized medicine era. The preliminary yet encouraging clinical effcacy observed with immune checkpoint inhibitors, e.g., anti-pro-grammed cell death protein 1/programmed death-ligand 1, will further shape the treatment landscape for gastric cancer. Molecular characterization of patients will play a critical role in developing new agents, as well as in imple-menting new treatment options for this disease.
