The Future Prospects of Immune Therapy in Gastric and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma.

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Walid Shaib, Emory University; Jean Paul A. Nammour, Balamand University; Harpaul Gill, Emory University; Mayur Mody, Emory University; Nabil Saba, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-11-14
• Publisher: MDPI
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2016 by the authors
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm5110100
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• ISSN: 2077-0383
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 11
• Keywords: progress; esophageal cancer; immune therapy
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Health Sciences, Oncology

Abstract

The prognosis of esophageal cancers is poor and novel approaches are urgently needed. Despite improvements in outcomes with transtuzumab and ramucirumab, these improvements added an average of only 2 to 3 months with a median overall survival reported to be around 1 year. Comprehensive genomic sequencing has defined some molecular alterations with potential targets, but the majority of patients still do not benefit from druggable targets. Breakthroughs in immune checkpoint blockade have provided new therapeutic options in many cancers. Programmed death ligand 1 (PDL1) overexpression, a possible biomarker predicting response to immune checkpoint inhibitors, approaches forty percent in esophageal and gastric cancers. Translational and molecular studies have shown that esophageal cancers are possible candidate malignancies for immune checkpoint inhibition. In this review, we plan to highlight the mechanisms, preclinical, and early clinical data that provide insight on the role of immune therapeutics in esophageal cancers.