Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Gastrointestinal Cancers: The Current Status and Emerging Paradigms

Abstract

Immunotherapy is a rapidly evolving treatment paradigm that holds promise to provide long-lasting survival benefits for patients with cancer. This promise, however, remains unfulfilled for the majority of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, as significant limitations in efficacy exist with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in this disease group. A plethora of novel combination treatment strategies are currently being investigated in various clinical trials to make them more efficacious as our understanding of molecular mechanisms mediating resistance to immunotherapy advances. In this article, we summarize the current status of immune checkpoint blockade in GI cancers and discuss the biological rationales that underlie the emerging treatment strategies being tested in ongoing clinical trials in combination with ICIs. We also highlight the promising early results from these strategies and provide future perspectives on enhancing response to immunotherapy for patients with GI cancers.

Keywords

• clinical trials
• combination strategies
• gastrointestinal cancers
• immune checkpoint inhibitors
• primary resistance