| Abstract: | Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the world and the third leading cause of death associated with cancer. The median survival of metastatic gastric cancer is less than 1 year. The primary therapy against metastatic gastric cancer remains cytotoxic chemotherapy, but recent advances in molecular research on gastric cancer have led to tremendous breakthroughs, thus attracting more researchers to focus on the development of targeted drugs. For the treatment of patients with HER2-positive gastric cancer, the addition of trastuzumab to first-line chemotherapy can improve survival rates. In second-line therapy, oncologists may use the VEGF receptor inhibitor ramolumab as a single agent or in combination with chemotherapy. The future of targeted therapy for gastric cancer is promising, and many clinical trials evaluating the combination of immunotherapy with molecularly targeted agents have stirred up great excitement.In addition, the number of new therapies targeting targeted therapies for gastric cancer is rapidly increasing, including small molecule inhibitors, antibody-drug couples, and bispecific antibodies. In summary, an increasing number of patients may benefit from approved and emerging targeted therapies for the treatment of gastric cancer. In this review, we summarize the latest advances in molecularly targeted agents for gastric cancer, provide an overview of emerging targeted therapies, and review the clinical trials associated with each molecularly targeted agent. |
