Matsuoka T, Yashiro M. Molecular-targeted therapy toward precision medicine for gastrointestinal cancer: Current progress and challenges. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2021; 13(5): 366-390 [PMID: 34040699 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v13.i5.366]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Masakazu Yashiro, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-machi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan. m9312510@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
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/
World J Gastrointest Oncol. May 15, 2021; 13(5): 366-390 Published online May 15, 2021. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v13.i5.366
Molecular-targeted therapy toward precision medicine for gastrointestinal cancer: Current progress and challenges
Tasuku Matsuoka, Masakazu Yashiro
Tasuku Matsuoka, Masakazu Yashiro, Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
Author contributions: Matsuoka T and Yahiro M performed literature research; Matsuoka T wrote the manuscript and performed the revision and approval of the final version; Yahiro M designed research, coordinated and corrected the writing of the paper.
Supported byKAKENHI (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research), No. 18H02883.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are not any financial or other interests regarding the submitted manuscript that might be construed as a conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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/
Corresponding author: Masakazu Yashiro, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-machi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan. m9312510@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp
Received: January 14, 2021 Peer-review started: January 14, 2021 First decision: February 14, 2021 Revised: March 4, 2021 Accepted: April 21, 2021 Article in press: April 21, 2021 Published online: May 15, 2021 Processing time: 113 Days and 3.3 Hours
Abstract
Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer remains the deadliest cancer in the world. The current standard treatment for GI cancer focuses on 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapeutic regimens and surgery, and molecular-targeted therapy is expected to be a more effective and less toxic therapeutic strategy for GI cancer. There is well-established evidence for the use of epidermal growth factor receptor-targeted and vascular endothelial growth factor-targeted antibodies, which should routinely be incorporated into treatment strategies for GI cancer. Other potential therapeutic targets involve the PI3K/AKT pathway, tumor growth factor-β pathway, mesenchymal-epithelial transition pathway, WNT pathway, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and immune checkpoints. Many clinical trials assessing the agents of targeted therapy are underway and have presented promising and thought-provoking results. With the development of molecular biology techniques, we can identify more targetable molecular alterations in larger patient populations with GI cancer. Targeting these molecules will allow us to reach the goal of precision medicine and improve the outcomes of patients with GI cancer.
Core Tip: Outcomes in metastatic gastrointestinal (GI) cancer are improving with the better understanding and use of targeted therapies. Herein, a review of the literature and recent conference presentations was conducted regarding the topic of targeted therapies for precision medicine in GI cancer. This article clarifies the current evidence for targeted therapies in GI cancer by evaluating the latest data regarding anti- epidermal growth factor receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, vascular endothelial growth factor, phosphatidylinositol-3-hydroxykinase/protein kinase B, tumor growth factor-β, mesenchymal-epithelial transition, wireless network technology, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and immunotherapies.
