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Review
. 2023 May 6;13(5):796.
doi: 10.3390/biom13050796.

Therapeutic Advances in the Treatment of Gastroesophageal Cancers

Jenny J Li  1 , Jane E Rogers  2 , Kohei Yamashita  1   3 , Rebecca E Waters  4 , Mariela Blum Murphy  1 , Jaffer A Ajani  1
Affiliations
Review

Therapeutic Advances in the Treatment of Gastroesophageal Cancers

Jenny J Li et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

Gastroesophageal cancers are a group of aggressive malignancies that are inherently heterogeneous with poor prognosis. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, esophageal adenocarcinoma, gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, and gastric adenocarcinoma all have distinct underlying molecular biology, which can impact available targets and treatment response. Multimodality therapy is needed in the localized setting and treatment decisions require multidisciplinary discussions. Systemic therapies for treatment of advanced/metastatic disease should be biomarker-driven, when appropriate. Current FDA approved treatments include HER2-targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, novel therapeutic targets are under development and future treatments will be personalized based on molecular profiling. Herein, we review the current treatment approaches and discuss promising advances in targeted therapies for gastroesophageal cancers.

Keywords: esophageal cancer; gastric cancer; immunotherapy; targeted therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

J.J.L., J.E.R. and K.Y. have no conflict of interest. R.E.W. serves on the medical advisory board for Astellas. M.B.M. serves on the advisory board for AskGene. J.A.A. is an ad hoc paid advisor to BMS, Merck, Amgen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Zymeworks, Daiichi, Taiho, Oncotherics, OncLive, GRAIL, Novartis, GEneos, Arcus, Servier, Gilead, and BeiGene.

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Supplementary concepts