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Review
. 2018 Feb;9(1):196-207.
doi: 10.21037/jgo.2017.06.12.

Current status of immunotherapy and immune biomarkers in gastro-esophageal cancers

Nischala Ammannagari  1 , Ajlan Atasoy  1
Affiliations
Review

Current status of immunotherapy and immune biomarkers in gastro-esophageal cancers

Nischala Ammannagari et al. J Gastrointest Oncol. 2018 Feb.

Abstract

Gastroesophageal (GE) cancers continue to be a significant cause of mortality globally. Despite therapeutic advances in oncology, the prognosis of advanced GE cancer remains exceedingly poor. Immunotherapy has caused a major paradigm shift in the field of oncology. Not all patients benefit from these agents and several studies are trying to identify predictive and prognostic biomarkers to better inform and guide treatment decisions. The potential role of immunotherapy in GE cancers is emerging. These cancer types are molecularly and immunologically heterogeneous, and this heterogeneity influences the tumor microenvironment posing a significant challenge to studying biomarkers of response to immunotherapy. Here in this article, we discuss the need for new therapeutic approaches in GE cancers, review the emerging data on the activity of checkpoint inhibitors and the role of biomarkers in this setting.

Keywords: PD-1; PD-L1; check point inhibition; gastroesophageal cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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