Current Status and Clinical Research Progress of Immunotherapy for Advanced Gastric Cancer

Abstract

Advanced gastric cancer is a common digestive system tumor, and its treatment has always been a difficult problem. In recent years, with the rapid development of immunotherapy, the treatment effect of advanced gastric cancer has been significantly improved. This article introduces the current status and clinical research progress of immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced gastric cancer. Commonly used immunotherapy methods include chemical drug therapy, biological therapy, and gene therapy, among which the immune checkpoint inhibitors are currently one of the most popular immunotherapy methods, including nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and atezolizumab, which target programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) low expression (1%–49%) and PD-L1 high expression (≥50%). The results of clinical studies have shown that immunotherapy can significantly prolong the survival of patients with advanced gastric cancer while having lower toxic side effects and better tolerance. However, immunotherapy also has some problems, such as drug resistance and repeated infection. Future research directions include exploring new immunotherapy methods, combination therapy, and individualized therapy.