Cancer Management and Research (Mar 2023)
Role of PD-1 Inhibitors in the Treatment of Esophagogastric Adenocarcinoma: Patient Selection and Reported Outcomes
Abstract
Raisa Epistola,1 Rubens Sperandio,2 Zev Wainberg,3 Syma Iqbal,4 Joseph Chao5 1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA; 2Centro de Oncologia e Hematologia Einstein Família Dayan-Daycoval, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil; 3Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 4Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 5Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA, USACorrespondence: Raisa Epistola; Joseph Chao, Tel +1-310-501-9393 ; +1-626-218-2123, Fax +1 424-306-6646 ; +1 626-301-8233, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Esophagogastric cancers are aggressive malignancies, with poor prognosis despite current standard-of-care therapies. PD-1 inhibitors are a newer class of antitumor agents with the potential to improve outcomes among appropriately selected patients. This review provides an overview of the key trials that have guided the use of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors in the refractory and first-line settings. We highlight recent studies investigating the role of genomic classification in predicting therapeutic activity of PD-1 inhibitors. In addition, there is a discussion of the use of different scoring systems and criteria to determine PD-L1 positivity, the impact on the therapeutic use of immune checkpoint inhibition with anti-PD-1 agents, and the controversies in current methods of PD-L1 testing and their implications in patient selection for anti-PD-1 therapy.Keywords: immunotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibition, PD-L1, gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer
