Immunotherapeutic Agents for Gastric Cancer

Hilal KARAKAŞa , Burak BİLGİNa
aAnkara City Hospital, Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara, Türkiye

Karakaş H, Bilgin B. Immunotherapeutic agents for gastric cancer. In: Şendur MAN, ed. Current Immunotherapy Landscape for Solid Tumors. 1st ed. Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri; 2024. p.77-81.

ABSTRACT
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been a turning point for many solid and hematological malignancies and have significantly improved survival by changing the treatment algorithm. Unresectable or recurrent gastric cancer(GC) has a poor prognosis, with overall survival (OS) of approximately 12-15 months. Patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC) therefore have an unmet medical need. Gastric cancer (GC) is a malignancy associated with a high somatic mutational burden, which is a potential marker for predicting response to ICIs. In addition, positive expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) has been observed in 25-65% of patients with GC, and genomic alterations and epigenetic regulation of the PD-L1 gene have also been observed in GC. Therefore, the use of ICIs is essential to improve survival outcomes in patients with AGC.

Keywords: Gastric cancer; nivolumab; pembrolizumab; PD-L1; immunotherapy

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