Dr. Ahn on Targeted Therapies in Gastric/Gastroesophageal Cancers

Daniel H. Ahn, DO, oncologist and internist, Mayo Clinic, discusses targeted therapies in gastric and esophageal cancers.

In terms of targeted therapies, Ahn states that there are 3 relevant targets right now, including VEGF. There are positive data looking at using ramucirumab (Cyramza) in the refractory setting. However, the positive data from the RAINFALL study did not manifest in clinical significance. The difference was about 0.3 months. Therefore, Ahn recommends that ramucirumab be avoided in the frontline setting and only considered in the second-line setting or beyond.

Other agents that target VEGF include regorafenib (Stivarga) and apatinib. Both agents are oral, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Regorafenib is a multitargeted oral TKI, as well as apatinib—which is a selective VEGFR2 TKI. Both agents are currently being investigated in ongoing phase III trials, states Ahn.