Current approaches to immunotherapy in noncolorectal gastrointestinal malignancies

Authors

  • Victor Hugo Fonseca de Jesus A.C. Camargo Cancer Center. Departamento de Oncologia Médica
  • Tiago Cordeiro Felismino A.C. Camargo Cancer Center. Departamento de Oncologia Médica
  • Milton José de Barros e Silva A.C. Camargo Cancer Center. Departamento de Oncologia Médica
  • Virgílio de Souza e Silva A.C. Camargo Cancer Center. Departamento de Oncologia Médica
  • Rachel P. Riechelmann A.C. Camargo Cancer Center. Departamento de Oncologia Médica

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6061/clinics/2018/e510s

Keywords:

Immunotherapy, Gastrointestinal, Neoplasms

Abstract

Noncolorectal gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies are among the most frequently diagnosed cancers. Despite the undeniable progress in systemic treatments in recent decades, further improvements using cytotoxic chemotherapy seem unlikely. In this setting, recent discoveries regarding the mechanism underlying immune evasion have prompted the study of molecules capable of inducing strong antitumor responses. Thus, according to early data, immunotherapy is a very promising tool for the treatment of patients with GI malignancies. Noncolorectal GI cancers are a major public health problem worldwide. Traditional treatment options, such as chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, monoclonal antibodies and antiangiogenic agents, have been the backbone of treatment for various stages of GI cancers, but overall mortality remains a major problem. Thus, there is a substantial unmet need for new drugs and therapies to further improve the outcomes of treatment for noncolorectal GI malignancies. ‘‘Next-generation’’ immunotherapy is emerging as an effective and promising treatment option in several types of cancers. Therefore, encouraged by this recent success, many clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors and other strategies in treating noncolorectal GI malignancies are ongoing. This review will summarize the current clinical progress of modern immunotherapy in the field of noncolorectal GI tumors.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2019-02-18

Issue

Section

Review Articles

How to Cite

Jesus, V. H. F. de, Felismino, T. C., Silva, M. J. de B. e, Silva, V. de S. e, & Riechelmann, R. P. (2019). Current approaches to immunotherapy in noncolorectal gastrointestinal malignancies. Clinics, 73(Suppl. 1), e510s. https://doi.org/10.6061/clinics/2018/e510s