Novel immunotherapeutic strategies of gastric cancer treatment

J Biomed Biotechnol. 2011:2011:437348. doi: 10.1155/2011/437348. Epub 2011 Dec 27.

Abstract

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most common cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer-related deaths, accounting for 10.4% of cancer deaths worldwide. Despite the improvements, estimated cure rates for patients with advanced stages remain poor, and in the metastatic setting, chemotherapy is the mainstay of palliative therapy and results in objective response rates (ORRs) of only 20-40% and median overall survivals (OS) of 8-10 months. Therefore, many investigators believe that the potential for making significant progress lies in understanding and exploiting the molecular biology of these tumors to investigate new therapeutic strategies to combat GC, such as specific immunotherapy. In this paper, we analyze the different approaches used for immune-based (especially dendritic and T cells) therapies to gastric cancer treatment and discuss the results obtained in preclinical models as in clinical trials.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / immunology
  • Adenocarcinoma / therapy*
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / immunology*
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / therapeutic use
  • Antigen-Presenting Cells / immunology
  • Antigen-Presenting Cells / metabolism
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / immunology
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / therapy*
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology*
  • Dendritic Cells / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy
  • Killer Cells, Natural / immunology*
  • Killer Cells, Natural / metabolism
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy / methods
  • Stomach Neoplasms / immunology
  • Stomach Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / metabolism

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A