The efficacy-associated biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitors in gastrointestinal cancer: a literature review

Peixi Zhao; Rui Jin; Bin Zhao; Le Han; Wenjuan Chen; Nina Hao; Yi Cui; Ankit Madan; Joy Awosika; Shane Lloyd; Yili Zhang

doi:10.21037/jgo-23-843

The efficacy-associated biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitors in gastrointestinal cancer: a literature review

J Gastrointest Oncol. 2024 Feb 29;15(1):514-528. doi: 10.21037/jgo-23-843. Epub 2024 Feb 28.

Authors

Peixi Zhao^{1

2}, Rui Jin³, Bin Zhao⁴, Le Han⁵, Wenjuan Chen⁶, Nina Hao⁴, Yi Cui¹, Ankit Madan⁷, Joy Awosika⁸, Shane Lloyd⁹, Yili Zhang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacy, Shaanxi Province Tumor Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
² Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
³ Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Shaanxi Province Tumor Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
⁴ Department of Research and Teaching, Shaanxi Province Tumor Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
⁵ Department of Chest Surgery, Shaanxi Province Tumor Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
⁶ Department of Oncology, Shaanxi Province Tumor Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
⁷ Medstar Southern Maryland Hospital Center, Clinton, MD, USA.
⁸ National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Huntsman Cancer Hospital, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

Abstract

Background and objective: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been widely applied and studied in the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, and have achieved good results. However, in clinical practice, it has been observed that only some patients respond well to ICIs, and some patients may experience various degrees of adverse reactions during the treatment. Timely evaluation of the potential therapeutic effects and adverse reactions of ICIs for patients has important clinical significance. This review aimed to summarize recent progress regarding efficacy-associated biomarkers for ICIs in GI cancer.

Methods: The literature on ICI treatment in GI cancers was searched in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for publications up to April 2023.

Key content and findings: Clinical practice and research has gradually revealed some biomarkers related to the treatment of GI cancers with ICIs, which can be roughly divided into three types: biomarkers that predict the effectiveness of ICIs treatment, biomarkers associated with resistance to ICIs, and biomarkers associated with immune related adverse events (irAEs). This review article provides a literature review on biomarkers related to the efficacy of ICIs in the treatment of GI cancers.

Conclusions: According to existing clinical research results, there are multiple biomarkers that can be used for predicting and monitoring the efficacy and risk of adverse events of ICIs in the treatment of digestive system malignant tumors.

Keywords: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs); biomarkers; gastrointestinal cancers (GI cancers).

Publication types

Review