Updates on immunotherapy of gastrointestinal cancers and practical challenges

VernacularTitle:免疫治疗在胃肠道肿瘤中的研究进展及实践挑战
Author: Fan CHEN ¹ ; Feng WANG ; Ruihua XU
Author Information

1. 中山大学肿瘤防治中心肿瘤内科，广州　510060
Keywords: Gastrointestinal neoplasms; Immunotherapy; Microsatellite status; Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2
From: Chinese Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery 2024;27(1):24-34
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are the most common tumors of the digestive system, and their high morbidity and cancer-related mortality dramatically threaten the health of the population. With the researching progress of immunotherapy, its use in the treatment of GI cancers in the perioperative and advanced stages is becoming more and more important. Currently, immunotherapy has become the standard first-line treatment for MSI-H late-stage colorectal cancer, while in the first-line treatment of late-stage gastric cancer, immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy and HER2-targeted drugs (in HER2-positive patients) has also achieved significant efficacy and long-term survival benefits. Advances in immunotherapy in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment and in the second- and later-line treatment of late-stage GI cancers have demonstrated its promising therapeutic potential. However, there is still an urgent need for future studies to explore more immunotherapy combination strategies for patients with GI cancers, especially with MSS colorectal cancers.