- Author:
Hee Yeon LEE
1
;
Yoon Ho KO
Author Information
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords: Stomach neoplasms; Therapeutics; Molecular targeted therapies; Immunotherapy
- MeSH: Biomarkers; Humans; Immunotherapy; Lung Neoplasms; Melanoma; Microsatellite Instability; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Mortality; Population Characteristics; Prognosis; Stomach Neoplasms
- From:Korean Journal of Medicine 2018;93(1):14-24
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
- Abstract: Despite advances in cancer therapy, gastric cancer has a poor prognosis and high cancer-related mortality. Based on the molecular characteristics of cancer, specific targeted therapies have shown clinical benefits for various tumors. In addition, immunotherapy using immune checkpoint inhibitors has led to a paradigm shift in cancer treatment and shown remarkable results in some solid tumors. Although immunotherapy has been actively applied to gastric cancer, the efficacy is unsatisfactory compared with other solid tumors, such as melanoma and lung cancers. This is because of the complex mechanism of gastric cancer, tumor heterogeneity, heterogeneity among patients, and the absence of appropriate biomarkers to predict response. An effective new cancer treatment strategy that combines targeted therapies and various immunotherapies based on biological markers such as tumor mutation burden and microsatellite instability is urgently needed. Furthermore, customized treatment is necessary to overcome tumor heterogeneity.