Esophagogastric cancer: Targeted agents

Summary 

Because of the poor prognosis for patients with locally advanced and metastatic esophageal, gastroesophageal junction and gastric cancers, increasing attention has focused on the integration of targeted agents into current therapies. The molecular targets of these agents include epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or its receptor, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and components and regulators of the cell cycle. In this review article, we briefly discuss pre-clinical data and the rationale for targeting these pathways and summarize the results of clinical trials to-date, including completed and ongoing phase III evaluations.

Keywords: Esophageal cancer, Gastroesophageal cancer, Gastric cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma, Adenocarcinoma, Targeted therapy, Epidermal growth factor receptor, Vascular endothelial growth factor, Monoclonal antibody, Tyrosine kinase inhibitor