title: Personalized targeted therapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma continues to heavily burden clinicians worldwide. Researchers have discovered the genomic landscape of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, which holds promise for an era of personalized oncology care. One of the most pressing problems facing this issue is to improve the understanding of the newly available genomic data, and identify the driver-gene mutations, pathways, and networks. The emergence of a legion of novel targeted agents has generated much hope and hype regarding more potent treatment regimens, but the accuracy of drug selection is still arguable. Other problems, such as cancer heterogeneity, drug resistance, exceptional responders, and side effects, have to be surmounted. Evolving topics in personalized oncology, such as interpretation of genomics data, issues in targeted therapy, research approaches for targeted therapy, and future perspectives, will be discussed in this editorial.
authors.affiliation: Xiaozheng Kang, Keneng Chen, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), The First Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Xiaozheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Xiaozheng Kang, Keneng Chen, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), The First Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Keneng
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Xiaozheng Kang, Keneng Chen, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), The First Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Yicheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Xiaozheng Kang, Keneng Chen, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), The First Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Jianying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Xiaozheng Kang, Keneng Chen, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), The First Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: D'Amico
authors.affiliation: Xiaozheng Kang, Keneng Chen, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), The First Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000077277:Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D010641:Phenotype; D057285:Precision Medicine; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: Cancer heterogeneity; Cultured tumor cells; Driver mutation; Drug side effects; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Exceptional responder; High-throughput nucleotide sequencing; Neoplasm drug resistance; Personalized medicine; Xenograft model