Gkolfinopoulos S, Papamichael D, Papadimitriou K, Papanastasopoulos P, Vassiliou V, Kountourakis P. Advances in molecular, genetic and immune signatures of gastric cancer: Are we ready to apply them in our patients’ decision making? World J Gastrointest Oncol 2018; 10(7): 172-183 [PMID: 30079143 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v10.i7.172]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Panteleimon Kountourakis, MD, PhD, Attending Doctor, Consultant, Department of Medical Oncology, BOC Oncology Center, 32 Acropoleos Ave, Nicosia 2006, Cyprus. pantelis.kountourakis@bococ.org.cy
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Stavros Gkolfinopoulos, Demetris Papamichael, Panos Papanastasopoulos, Panteleimon Kountourakis, Department of Medical Oncology, BOC Oncology Center, Nicosia 2006, Cyprus
Konstantinos Papadimitriou, Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital of Antwerp, Antwerp 2650, Belgium
Vassilios Vassiliou, Department of Radiation Oncology, BOC Oncology Center, Nicosia 2006, Cyprus
Author contributions: Gkolfinopoulos S and Papamichael D participated in manuscript preparation and revision, approval of the final version; Papadimitriou K and Papanastasopoulos P participated in manuscript preparation, approval of the final version; Vassiliou V participated in manuscript preparation; Kountourakis P participated in conception and design of the review, manuscript preparation and revision, approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr. Kountourakis has nothing to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Panteleimon Kountourakis, MD, PhD, Attending Doctor, Consultant, Department of Medical Oncology, BOC Oncology Center, 32 Acropoleos Ave, Nicosia 2006, Cyprus. pantelis.kountourakis@bococ.org.cy
Telephone: +357-22-847402 Fax: +357-22-841388
Received: March 28, 2018 Peer-review started: March 28, 2018 First decision: April 18, 2018 Revised: May 16, 2018 Accepted: June 13, 2018 Article in press: June 14, 2018 Published online: July 15, 2018 Processing time: 109 Days and 18.9 Hours
Abstract
In the last few years we have witnessed a vast expansion of our knowledge regarding the molecular and genetic profile of gastric cancer. The molecular subtypes described have shed light on the pathogenesis of the disease, thus prompting the development of new therapeutic strategies and favoring a more individualized approach for treatment. Most of the clinical trials for so called targeted therapies could be considered, at best, partially successful. In addition, checkpoint inhibitors have recently been added to our armamentarium in later stages of the disease, and combinations with chemotherapy and targeted agents are currently under development. In view of the rapid advances of molecular oncology, a new challenge for the clinical oncologist arises: The appropriate patient selection for each new therapy, which can be made possible only through the implementation of predictive biomarkers in our therapy decision making.
Core tip: Despite recent advances in cancer therapeutics, the survival of gastric cancer patients with metastatic disease is dismal due to the complexity of the disease, the constant evolution of tumors and our still limited understanding of its biology. It is evident that a wide spectrum of prognostic and predictive biomarkers is needed in order to rationalize our decisions when managing patients with this specific tumor type and tailor our treatment to suit better the individual patient’s unique needs.
