title: Anti-HER agents in gastric cancer: from bench to bedside.
abstract: Despite some advances in the past few years, the search for effective treatment modalities for advanced gastric and gastro-esophageal junction cancer is far from over. Available data clearly demonstrate that the development of new drugs will have little, if any, chance of success if it is not guided by in-depth knowledge of disease biology. However, using biologic agents to target key molecular pathways, such as those regulated by human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family members, may be effective. Indeed, the positive results achieved by the anti-HER2 agent trastuzumab in a phase III trial in HER2-positive patients support this approach. Many new anti-HER molecules are now under evaluation for the treatment of gastric and gastro-esophageal junction cancer, but so far attempts to identify reliable predictive factors from phase I and II trials have produced inconclusive results. In addition, large phase III trials are still being conducted in molecularly unselected populations. Refining patient selection is essential to maximize the benefit of targeted agents, to avoid significant toxicities and for the development of alternative therapeutic approaches in patients who have nonresponsive disease.
authors.affiliation: UO Oncologia Medica 2 Universitaria, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, Istituto Toscano-Tumori, Via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy. lorenzo.fornaro@ gmail.com
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fornaro
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lucchesi
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caparello
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vasile
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caponi
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ginocchi
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Masi
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falcone
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D004943:Esophagogastric Junction; D006801:Humans; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human