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Current Oncology Reports
Published in: Current Oncology Reports 7/2016

01-07-2016 | Translational Oncology (L Vecchione, Section Editor)

Personalised Treatment in Gastric Cancer: Myth or Reality?

Authors: Noelia Tarazona, Valentina Gambardella, Marisol Huerta, Susana Roselló, Andrés Cervantes

Published in: Current Oncology Reports | Issue 7/2016

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Abstract

Despite recent diagnostic and therapeutic advances, the survival of patients with gastric cancer is still poor. The majority of patients are diagnosed with advanced disease and chemotherapy represents the only possible therapeutic approach. However, chemotherapy seems to have reached an efficacy plateau in this setting. Gastric cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease because it emerges from multiple interactions of genetic, environmental and host factors. A better understanding of its molecular characteristics may lead to an improvement of outcomes. The recent molecular classification by The Cancer Genome Atlas project divides gastric cancer into four subtypes that could be taken into consideration in future clinical trials with targeted agents. So far trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody addressing the HER2 receptor, is the only targeted agent approved in the first-line setting, but only in patients overexpressing HER2. Negative data have been obtained in first-line therapy when antiangiogenics, anti-EGFR or anti-MET monoclonal antibodies have been studied in randomised controlled trials. Ramucirumab, a monoclonal antibody binding to VEGFR2, is the only antiangiogenic agent currently recommended in patients progressing after first-line treatment. In this review, we discuss whether personalised therapy may have a role in gastric cancer.
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Metadata
Title
Personalised Treatment in Gastric Cancer: Myth or Reality?
Authors
Noelia Tarazona
Valentina Gambardella
Marisol Huerta
Susana Roselló
Andrés Cervantes
Publication date
01-07-2016
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Current Oncology Reports / Issue 7/2016
Print ISSN: 1523-3790
Electronic ISSN: 1534-6269
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-016-0525-x

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