Background: Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death. With greater understanding of the molecular basis of carcinogenesis, targeted agents have led to a modest improvement in the outcome of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patients.
Methods and results: We conducted an overview of the published evidence regarding the use of targeted therapy in AGC patients. Thus far, the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) pathway, angiogenic pathway, and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt-mammalian target of rapamycin pathway have emerged as potential avenues for targeted therapy in AGC patients. The promising efficacy results of the Trastuzumab for Gastric Cancer trial led to the approved use of trastuzumab-based therapy as first-line treatment for patients with HER-2+ AGC. On the other hand, the Avastin® in Gastric Cancer trial evaluating bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy did not meet its primary endpoint of a longer overall survival duration despite a significantly higher response rate and longer progression-free survival time in patients in the bevacizumab arm. Phase III data are awaited for other targeted agents, including cetuximab, panitumumab, lapatinib, and everolimus.
Conclusion: Recent progress in targeted therapy development for AGC has been modest. Further improvement in the outcome of AGC patients will depend on the identification of biomarkers in different patient populations to facilitate the understanding of gastric carcinogenesis, combining different targeted agents with chemotherapy, and unraveling new molecular targets for therapeutic intervention.