European-Australasian consensus on the management of advanced gastric and gastro-oesophageal junction cancer: current practice and new directions

Abstract

Gastric carcinoma and gastro-oesophageal junction (GC/GEJ) carcinoma remain a significant global problem, with patients presenting with symptoms often found to have advanced or metastatic disease. Treatment options for these patients have broadened in recent years with new chemotherapy agents, agents targeting angiogenic pathways and the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Most initial advances have occurred in the refractory setting, where it is important to balance treatment benefits versus toxicity and patient quality of life. In the first-line treatment of advanced/metastatic GC/GEJ, platinum- and fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy protocols remain the backbone of therapy (with or without HER2- targeted therapy), with the FOLFIRI regimen offering an alternative in patients deemed unsuitable for a platinum agent. Microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair-deficient cancers have been shown to benefit most from ICIs. In unselected patients previously treated with doublet or triplet platinum- and fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy and second-line chemotherapy with irinotecan or taxanes have formed the backbone of therapy with or without the addition of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 inhibitor ramucirumab in addition to paclitaxel. Beyond this, efficacy has been demonstrated with oral trifluridine/tipiracil and with single-agent nivolumab, in selected refractory patients. In this review, we highlight the positive evidence from key trials that have led to our current practice algorithm, with particular focus on the refractory advanced disease setting, discussing the areas of active research and highlighting the factors, including biomarkers and the influence of ethnicity, that contribute to therapeutic decision-making.