title: Targeted therapies in metastatic esophageal cancer: advances over the past decade.
abstract: Esophageal cancer is one of the most aggressive malignancies of the upper aerodigestive tract. Despite advances in surgical techniques and multi-modality therapies, the 5-year survival rate remains poor (14%). Over the past decade, efforts have been focused on the field of drug development with the advancement of novel molecularly targeted therapeutic agents. These agents target a variety of cancer relevant pathways such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or its receptor, the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways. The number of approved targeted agents remains few, with HER-2 inhibitors leading the list for treatment of HER-2 expressing metastatic adenocarcinomas. Novel agents have not yet been widely explored in esophageal cancer. In this review, we will provide a concise and systematic overview of the development of novel targeted therapies currently under investigation for the treatment of metastatic esophageal disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Amr
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine and Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Bassel
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: El-Rayes
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine and Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Fadlo R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Khuri
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine and Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: nfsaba@emory.edu.
authors.forename: Nabil F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Saba
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D004947:Esophagus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy / Q000379:methods; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
keywords: Metastatic esophageal cancer; Targeted therapies