title: A review on biomarkers for prediction of treatment outcome in gastric cancer.
abstract: Currently, therapeutic management of gastric cancer is mainly based on clinical data and histological features. Although several new treatment options have recently been introduced, inter-individual variability of response and drug resistance are still a challenge. Many promising markers have been identified to predict prognosis and likelihood of response to therapy, in order to tailor treatment regimens on the basis of patients' individual features. However, despite recent developments in gene sequencing and molecular diagnostics, many biomarkers still have a controversial role. Published data are often contradictory and at the moment, no molecular marker, other than Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) status for trastuzumab-based treatment, has entered the mainstream of clinical practice. The primary obstacle to the identification of reliable markers lies in technical difficulties in quantitatively assessing molecular alterations; genome-wide analyses are also often misleading due to the complexity of biological processes. Nevertheless, many biomarkers are being evaluated in clinical trials in order to identify criteria for stratifying patients and establish customized therapeutic approaches. In this review, we provide an update on promising biological prognostic and predictive markers, with a focus on growth factor signalling molecules, DNA repair systems, fluoropyrimidine metabolism and apoptotic pathways.
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Department, National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy. filippo.pietrantonio@istitutotumori.mi.it
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pietrantonio
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Braud
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Da Prat
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perrone
authors.forename: Marco Alessandro
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pierotti
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gariboldi
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fanetti
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biondani
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pellegrinelli
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bossi
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Bartolomeo
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality*; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor