Dr Gibson on Current and Emerging Biomarkers in Gastric/GEJ Adenocarcinoma

Michael K. Gibson MD, PhD, research director, Translational Research in Head and Neck Oncology, Vanderbilt Health, associate professor of medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses current and emerging biomarkers in the treatment of patients with gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma.

During a presentation at an OncLive® State of the Science Summit™ on gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, Gibson provided an overview of the biomarkers that currently help inform treatment decisions for patients with gastric/GEJ cancer in clinical practice, along agents for 2 biomarkers for agents in late-stage clinical trials that could affect the treatment landscape for patients with gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma.

Under the umbrella of currently approved treatment, immunotherapy is now a viable option for patients with gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma. For example, the FDA approved nivolumab (Opdivo) to be combined with select types of chemotherapy for the frontline treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, GEJ cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma, in April 2021.

Additionally, trastuzumab (Herceptin) is approved for patients with HER2-overexpressing metastatic gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma who have not received prior treatment for metastatic disease. Furthermore, fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan has also been approved for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma who have received a previous trastuzumab-based regimen.

The additional 2 targets with agents that are awaiting final data and review from regulatory agents are Claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2) and FGFR2b, Gibson expands. In the phase 3 SPOTLIGHT trial (NCT03504397), zolbetuximab plus mFOLFOX6 significantly improved progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) vs placebo/mFOLFOX6 in patients with CLDN18.2-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced unresectable or metastatic gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma.

The phase 3 FORTITUDE-101 trial (NCT05052801) is investigating the combination of the monoclonal antibody bemarituzumab plus chemotherapy vs placebo plus chemotherapy in patients with FGFR2b-positive advanced gastric/GEJ adenocarcinoma.