Research status quo and progression in targeted therapy for advanced gastric cancer

Abstract

With the deeper research of the proliferation, invasion and metastasis mechanisms of the gastric cancer, targeted therapy has become a hot spot in this field. The exploration of targeted agents for gastric cancer is mainly concentrated upon the drugs that target human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family, the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-protein kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/mTOR) and the NF-κB signaling pathways. The targeted drugs relevant to HER family include the Cetuximab, Nimotuzumab, Matuzumab, Panitumumab and Erlotinib which are aimed at HER-1, the Trastuzumab, Pertuzumab and T-DM1 (trastuzumab emtansine) which are aimed at HER-2, and the Lapatinib and Afatinib which are the multi-target agents of HER. The agents which target VEGF signaling pathway include the anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody (Bevacizumab), the anti-VEGFR drugs (Ramucirumab, Apatinib, Sorafenib, Sunitinib and cediranib), and the recombinant fusion protein (Aflibercept). The LY294002, BEZ235 and Everolimus which are aimed at PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway have shown great promise. Bortezomib has been researched more as a new agent which targets NF-κB signaling pathway. Currently, only Trastuzumab, Ramucirumab and Apatinib have been completed the stage 3 clinical trials and succeeded. In future, researches should focus on multi-target agents or applications in combination treatment. This review collects the recent researches and the clinical trials to summarize the current state and progress of research on gastric cancer targeted therapy.